Wednesday, November 1, 2006

SEPRA’s PugFest

Last week we decided that it would be great if we could take a “mini vacation” and pull ourselves away from the daily grind for a weekend getaway.  Of course we wanted to take Benjamin, Henry & Luna, so we thought the SEPRA PugFest would be just what the doctor ordered.  PugFest is held the last Saturday of every October in the Atlanta, GA area and is SEPRA’s biggest fundraising event of the year.  Atlanta, GA is about 460 miles away.  It is about a 7 hour drive for us, but the road trip was going to be half the fun.  We are very lucky that all three of the pugs do very well in the car and that they really seem to enjoy car rides.

So we made the hotel reservations, printed our MapQuest directions, packed our bags and packed Benjamin, Henry & Luna’s bags.  We hit the road around 3pm on Friday hoping that we could get some miles under our belt before dark.  We crossed over the Florida / Georgia line right around dusk and we thought this would be a good time to let Benjamin, Henry & Luna to stretch their legs and go potty.  We also fed the pugs and picked up some dinner for ourselves.  With full bellies we were back out on the road.  It had started to rain while we were eating dinner.  This wasn’t ideal, but we just figured we would take it slow and we would be fine.  We drove for about 20 more miles and then traffic started to slow down.  Sure enough, we hit our first backup.  We were at a standstill for about 10 minutes and then we started to creep along.  After a good hour of barely moving we were finally able to see what was going on.  A tractor trailer had broken down in the right lane.  The highway was under construction and there was no shoulder so the broken down tractor trailer was completely blocking the right lane.  Since we were on a two lane highway this left us with only one open lane and it was very clear why we had been inching along for such a long time.

Once passed the tractor trailer, things returned to normal and we continued driving along.  After a long day at work and a long drive we finally arrived at our hotel around midnight.  We were exhausted, but as soon as we pulled into the parking let we were greeted by three other pugs that were also there for PugFest.  Just seeing the pugs in the parking lot made the long drive totally worth it.

While unloading the car, we must have met 5 other families that were all there for the PugFest.  This made us super excited and needless to say we couldn’t wait to get to the PugFest.  Meeting all the pugs and catching an 8 hour nap in the car also made Benjamin, Henry and Luna very excited.  They had no interest in sleeping and they spent Saturday night running around the hotel room, playing with other pugs and barking at the sound of all the jingling tags that passed by our door.  Needless to say, we got very little sleep on Saturday night.

Saturday was the big day and we got to the PugFest around noon.  When we arrived the place was already packed with pugs.  We spent the day talking to other pug owners, watching the boys and Luna meet all the other pugs, buying stuff from the vendors and bidding on silent auction items.  I find it nearly impossible to explain what it is like to be at an event with hundreds of pugs.  I don’t think there are words to describe it.  We did take plenty of pictures, so maybe that will help give you a sense of what it was like.

We left PugFest at about 4pm.  By that time, Benjamin, Henry & Luna were exhausted!  We went back to the hotel room and decided to catch a quick dinner.  We spent the rest of Saturday night hanging around the hotel getting better acquainted with some of the pugs staying at the hotel.  Early Sunday morning we packed up the truck and started our trek back to Florida.  The driver home went smoothly and it was much better than the drive there.

Since the pugs had about a 6 hour nap in the car we decided to stop off at the big dog park in Jacksonville on the way home.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather and Benjamin, Henry & Luna had a blast playing with the other dogs.  After about an hour and a half at the dog park, we hit the road again.  We were home in about an hour and we had three tired pugs on our hands.  This gave us time to get unpacked and to get ready for the upcoming work week.

The trip was short, but I wouldn’t change a thing.  We had so much fun at the PugFest that I’m pretty sure we will be there next year!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The 3 Little Pigs

Happy Halloween Everyone!  This year the pugs are the 3 Little Pigs for Halloween.  Henry piggy, the smart one has bricks added to his pig costume.  Luna pig, next in line with brains has sticks added to her costume and poor Benjamin is the piggy that made his house of straw.  We look forward to walking around the neighborhood early this evening and then opening the door for trick or treaters!  Enjoy your holiday festivities!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Halloween Costume Contest - Last Chance

If your little one is dressing up for Halloween this year be sure to enter the Owned By Pugs Halloween Costume Contest.  We just extended the contest deadline to midnight (EST) on Sunday, October 29, 2006.  You can find out the contest details as well as all the prizes that are up for grabs here.  So, snap a picture of your pug in costume and send it our way.  You may win one of our great prizes.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Define Comfort

Here is a picture of Benjamin sleeping in the extra chair in my office.  I have told him that if he is not careful all the blood will rush to his head but he doesn’t listen.  Can he possibly be comfortable this way?  He finally picks his head up and then props it on the arm rest.  Doesn’t seem to me like this position is much better.  I guess it depends on your definition of comfort.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Benny’s Turn

I keep a box on my desk for the cat to lay in so she will keep off my important papers as I work.  Well, sometimes the dogs also like to lay in the box.  There isn’t usually a problem until the cat wants her box back.  Well, here Cupid & Benjamin are in the middle of a stand off.  Benjamin’s case is basically:  On your feet, lose your seat, cat!  Cupid’s point is:  You’re too big for my box, dog!  Fortunately, they are pretty good about taking turns.  Cupid decided to nap on the desk while waiting for her shot at the box.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Why Won’t You Pet Me?

Henry’s curiosity is still peaked by the scarecrow. Yesterday, Henry sat patiently and waited for pettings that never came. Well, here is the follow up…This morning Henry jumped up on the scarecrow’s lap. He was inquiring as to the reasoning for the lack of lovin’. Henry doesn’t get it. (And folks, Henry is usually the smart one!) You can almost see Henry asking the scarecrow, “Why won’t you pet me? You got somethin’ against pugs? What’s going on with you?” Henry then decided to just have a seat in the newest lap in town.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Are You Alive?

Henry is somewhat of a spoiled little boy. We can’t so much as take a potty break from him. Whenever anyone goes to the bathroom, he will assume that if you are going to sit on the potty, then he has your undivided attention and that is time for Henry lovin’. Well, yesterday we built a scarecrow for Halloween. (It isn’t your traditional type scarecrow, it is a Baltimore Oriole baseball fan.) The scarecrow is sitting in a beach chair in front of the house. Well, Henry isn’t convinced that the scarecrow isn’t alive. Henry will go sit at the scarecrow’s feet and patiently wait for the scarecrow to pet him. He got a little board waiting for the petting, so he just laid down instead. Henry’s patient. If he thought the scarecrow would eventually give in, then he would sit and wait all day. I guess he will have to wait until the scarecrow needs to use the restroom.