 |
| Pugslee-9 Yrs. Old |
After much deliberation and begging a uniquely beautiful puppy entered our lives in the waning days of summer, 1997.
The grandchildren wanted a puppy. Their mother said it would be too much for her to handle considering a constantly busy schedule. After all, her little boy and girl were just four and six years old. Plus, she told them, “Mom doesn’t want a dog in this house.” Oh yes I do”, this grandmother said. “It would be really nice to have another dog.” There had been only cats after their beloved ‘humane society collie’, Angel died many years ago. Still, their mother, certain she shouldn’t take on the responsibility, told her children, “No puppy now. We’ll wait until you’re older.”
Days passed and the grandmother was prompted to admit she wanted a dog. She would get herself a bulldog. He would be for everyone to enjoy while all the responsibility for the new pet would be hers. Eventually, one Saturday afternoon she and her two grandchildren found their bulldog in a retail pet store on Lexington Avenue in New York City. He wasn’t cheap. Bulldogs never are. The grandmother laughed and told her grandchildren he wasn’t as expensive as their mother and uncle had been. And he would be the precious new child in her family.
Well, everyone helped groom, feed, water, and walk Pugslee. But it was the grandmother’s intense attention that got him trained to do his business outside. It wasn’t difficult since their mother bought Pugslee the most gigantic cage which sat in the dining room, unless company was coming. Once Pugslee was let out of his cage he was immediately taken outdoors. Oh, he had a number of gross ‘accidents’. The worst was when he would go upstairs, specifically it seemed, to do #2 under one of the kids’ beds. He did it enough times for them to know it was a preference that had to be changed. It was.
Pugslee was an energetic, intelligent and
fun family pet with full run of the house. His lifetime diet was Bil-Jac
dog food. He thrived eating that one
product just as the Veterinarian had told them he could. They never fed him table food. He fed himself table food whenever he got the
chance. For example, Pugslee could snatch
a buttered bagel from the breakfast plate as soon as the unsuspecting boy or
girl turned aside. He was a great travel
companion no matter the length of the road trip – was accommodated in many
a hotel or motel.
Today is the three-year
anniversary of having to say good-bye to that loving dog. It was his heart, old age really. The next day he had his final journey. He was driven out to Ohio and laid to rest where he had enjoyed many summer vacations with his family.
I think all who knew Pugslee will
never forget him.
(See my January 23rd
blog post, Blue Monday, for the story
of why he was named Pugslee Woods Blue.)
Have a good weekend. I will return on Monday
No comments:
Post a Comment