National Cat Day

Today is National Cat Day, so give your kitty a scratch behind the ears and let her lick the inside of the tuna can. And if you’r catless at the moment, consider adopting a furry feline from your local shelter. That’s how K got Rita, and OC was living on the streets under a dumpster when I scooped him up one windy October night seven years ago.

Here’s our pair today.

Planet of the Pugs

Scary movies abound come Halloween. Here’s a trailer spoof that’s sure to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. It’s Planet of the Pugs, and all bets are off!

Halloween Hauntings

For the past several weeks I’ve been taking photos of houses gussied up for Halloween. I snapped most while I was out walking Pablo, but some were taken during our motorcycle trip to Virginia and West Virginia. I’m a purist, so I didn’t photograph cutesy Halloween decorations of smiling pumpkins. Halloween is supposed to be scary!

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Wordless Wednesday

Pug-o-Ween Bash

This past Sunday K and I dressed Pablo in his spider costume and took him to the Delaware Valley Pug Rescue’s Pug-o-Ween. Pablo had a great time running around and making new friends, both human and canine. Here are some photos from the shinding:

Pablo in his spider costume

Mohawk Pug

A French Maid

What do you call a gathering of pugs? A puddle of pugs?

A game of chase

Pablo makes a friend

Udderly devoted...

Miss Piggy

A pug in a Yorkie costume????

Star Wars Pair

Yoda

Judge Judy getting ready

No idea what this one is, but cute nonetheless

Winning costume (female category)

Winning costume (male category)

Happy Pug-o-ween!

 

100th Post!!!!!

Wow! Hard to believe, but this is my 100th post here at Confessions of a Pugophile. A little more than six months ago—on April 13th, the day before Pablo’s ninth birthday—I created this blog as a homage to him and other of his brethren. It’s morphed into a blog about dogs, with the primary focus still being pugs (and most especially Pablo).

So how is Pablo doing? After a bout with allergies (seasonal, we think), he’s on the mend. His eyes and the folds in his wrinkles became infected from all the scratching he’s been doing. We took him to the vet for his check-up and also got some medication for his eyes and prescription-strength medicated pads to clean his folds. He’s doing much better. And so are K and I now that we can get a decent night’s sleep instead of staying up and listening to Pablo’s licking, slurping, and scratching all night.

For those who are anxiously waiting to hear what Pablo will be for Halloween (you know who you are), we have a costume. It’s Spider Pug! On Sunday Pablo tried out his costume at a nearby Halloween Festival to benefit rescue pugs. More about that event on the next post—number 101!

Friends Come in All Shapes, Sizes, and Species

Anyone who has more than one pet knows the ins and outs of animal relationships. Some get along quite well, others tolerate each other, and some form true bonds. My cat Moonlight (now deceased) was a kitten when we got him. He immediately set out to dominate our 12-year-old cat Jeremy. Moonlight clearly felt he was top cat and the two eventually settled into an uneasy truce. Then Jeremy died and OC came to live with us. OC took to Moonlight at once and to our amazement Moonlight reciprocated. The two cuddled together, licked and groomed each other, and were rarely apart. In Moonlight’s final days, OC never left his buddy’s side, for which I’m most grateful. Today, we have Rita. The two cats get along well enough and even play together occasionally,but they’re not best buds like OC and Moonlight.

If you’re in doubt that animals can have close friendships, click on the video below to see two BFFs in action. Suriya is an orangutan and Roscoe is a hound dog. They met at a preserve for endangered animals in South Carolina and have been together ever since.

Halloween Costumes for Pugs

I’m still searching for a costume for Pablo. This Youtube video has a lot of ideas. I especially liked the Andy Warhol pug.

Our Adventures, Part 2

Back on the road after our stay at the Wayside Inn, we headed for West Virginia. Kermit waved to all those we passed.

Crosses like the ones below are very big in the South. Not something we see much of up North.

We arrived at our destination–Berkeley Springs in the town of Bath, West Virginia. The springs have a long history. They were long known to native tribes who introduced them to the first settlers who bathed in the warm waters and swore to their restorative powers.

Here is the Roman bath house where you can soak in mineral baths. Sadly, we didn’t have time to do take part. Maybe next time.

George Washington bathed here. Really!

This planter bursting with flowers stands in one of the springs.

A small stream led up to the inn where we stayed.

The Country Inn was a much larger inn than the Wayside. It has 70 rooms and its own spa.

This shady garden to one side of the inn was where I escaped to read.

Here’s our room at the inn.

Scenic views abounded. This is the last shot I took before we left for home. But, wait…

Did you think I could go all this time without mention of a pug? I spotted this friendly beauty on the streets of Bath.

Our Adventures, Part 1

Our motorcycle trip was a lot of fun. This post will cover the first half.

We met up with our fellow riders (we were 18 in all) at a motorcycle shop in Virginia where some of us were renting bikes. K has his own, a BMW touring bike, and Kermit always comes along for the ride. This is Kermit #2. The first Kermit fell off and K did not go back for it. (You can be sure I held on tight every second.)

I took this shot from the back of the bike.

Another shot of the countryside from the bike. We were on our way to our first stop, an 18th century inn in the Shenandoah Valley.

And here it is—the Wayside Inn, the oldest continuously operating inn in America. We stayed here for two nights.

This fine fellow stood on the porch.

Each room at the inn is unique. This was ours.

Ye Olde Politically Incorrect Sign:

And after filling up the tank, we’re off again! Tune in tomorrow for Part 2.