After a good nights sleep was had by all, we got up the next day and tinkered around the house some trying to ignore the pooches to see if they would befriend one another. A well rested Spike was in need of a walk to burn some energy. So we took him for a quick mile walk around our neighborhood. We came home and added Henry and went for another (MUCH SHORTER) walk. Hoping that this would tire out both boys and leave them in a state of calm, this was our real opportunity to give them some alone time. It wasn't "too alone" though. We left the boys inside and went to do some yard work. Henry was mostly passed out on the kitchen floor most of this time and Spike was more curious about our whereabouts. It was hard to check on the boys here and there since Spike has all his faculties. Unlike Henry, Spike could see us when we peeked in the front door and could hear us coming from the back yard to look inside through the sliding glass doors. So we had to default to using our spy cams. And after the yard work was done we realized that we had to go more away than just our own yard. So, we took a nice walk (sans dogs) around the neighborhood and gave them about another hour to see what would transpire. In that time Spike settled and Henry unsettled. At first Spike did not seem to care but then he got in on the action and then we had 2 unsettled dogs. They were not off the charts unsettled but the point of being together was to be together in calm and not in angst. So, we hustled back home and suited the boys up for more action (we know tired dogs have a harder time being anxious since they've burned all that energy up).
So, it was Doris Leeper time! (Side note: we Googled Doris Leeper and she was a local person known for her artistic and community impact. So added bonus in our book. ) The boys did great in the car and once we were there it was game on and both boys were bundles of energy (as energetic as they each get for their capacity). Both boys did the whole walk. And this is where Spike actually seemed to do the "job" we "rented" him for. He could have marched way ahead of Henry but instead, he went a few steps forward, came a few steps back. He could explore around the area where our slow walker was because the space allowed for a lot of investigation. And maybe this was really the only time that Henry even seemed to notice that Spike was there. Spike would sometimes bump in to Henry in his explorations. And the fact that Henry knew that there was a pace setter there perhaps influenced his efforts to try a little harder to keep up. We tried to get some photos of them sitting still together but there's something about a rescue dog we have found...they are wiggly in front of the camera! Luna was the same way. I guess because we started so young with the boys that they just got the hang of photo shoots. But there are a few good photos.
By the time we got back home, everyone was pooped and it was time for dinner for everyone in the house. After a nice meal it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It's crazy but since Henry and Spike are both "good breathers" they didn't even snore! They were just 2 quiet little boys. But they still were not hugging up or even sleeping near one another. It was getting more clear that even though Henry was tolerating Spike, he was not embracing him. And I can tell you who really was not embracing Spike was Cupid! Holy Heck! She was hissing at him all weekend and literally only came in the house from her special chair on the lanai once we were asleep. Spike never chased her or even paid her any attention. But he did break the cardinal rule (and this was our fault for turning our back on him for even a second)---he jumped up on Cupid's little table and ate her food! Oh! We are out of practice with having such mobile animals! Shame on us! But really, if we put the food up higher, Cupid can't get it to it. She's an old lady herself. It was kind of turning out like we thought originally...it was like giving a nursing home a toddler and telling them to have fun! Not really the ideal scenario from either side. Although the old folks are sweet and the baby is adorable is wasn't a match made in heaven.
We knew our time was running out and we did not have much longer to try to make this work. We knew that Ann would be there the next day to pick up Spike or be ready with adoption papers. Our hours were ticking away. We had considered seeing if we could keep Spike through the next week and weekend to see how the routine days would go but we knew that our Monday and Tuesday back to work were not going to be the usual and we also knew that if we kept Spike THAT long that we would have overridden Henry's vote and preferences if he had still continued to say no to Spike. We knew that it was getting away from us and that our focus had to remain back on Hank. Ugh. It was a back and forth over and over again.
So with swirling thoughts, it was off to bed for the 2 tired pups and 2 worn out peeps in OBPland. We hoped Sunday would bring clarity and friendship. More tomorrow.....
The introduction to Spike came on Friday night. Ann from CFPR appeared on our doorstep with some of her pack. In tow was Julia, her own baby girl and Flynn, also her pugger. Poor Flynn is stuck wearing his cone of shame for a while. Of course, Spike came along, too. We met in the driveway where Henry had more interest in going inside than playing meet and greet. So, the rest of the socialites hung out for a bit, chatted, sniffed bottoms (just the dogs, of course!) and eventually we made our way inside. Once inside the visiting pugs explored the house. It was crazy to see a home full of pugs again! Not just pugs but mobile, active, heavy breathing pugs! We were taking it all in. Henry, on the other hand wondered off to be alone. It was sad. It was probably a bit overwhelming for him though. So, we tried not to push anything.
Letting everyone get to know one another and recognizing that this was probably our home check should we end up adopting Spike, we toured Ann (and her hubby Bill) around the house (mostly the yard). This was where I experienced a moment of weirdness. We walked out back and Ann promptly announces, "MIMO!" referring to our Mimosa tree in the back yard (which of course we have discussed many times on the blog. But what is so weird about this is that it is a reminder that whenever you have someone in your home for the first time that has read the blog (especially faithfully like Ann has) you have a tendency to forget that they pretty much already know EVERYTHING about you! So hearing her recognize Mimo, and call Mimo by name (and reflect when Mimo was barely a sprout in pot) just gives you a funny feeling. It is hard to describe.
Anyway, so pugs are bouncing around the house and we try to bring Henry a little bit into the mix and pretty much as soon as Spike moved in Henry's direction Henry started to nip at him (well, technically it was the air since Henry can't see and his aim is off). But it was Henry's little warning that this was not yet cool. So, we again tried to give Henry the distance he needed. After a bit, it was just Henry and Spike. It was at this time when it sunk in that this little exuberant new pug needed a walk to take the edge off. He was a bit of a bundle of nerves (new house, new people, old pugs and people gone, etc). So, we divided and conquered. One took Spike walking while the other stayed home to reassure Henry that all would be ok.
After the walk things did go better. Spike was starting to wind down a little bit. Henry was not longer cranky. And we took this as a good sign. Not long after all of this, it was time for bed. While Spike is very agile, he doesn't quite have enough giddyup to jump on the people bed. We wheeled in the ottoman so that he could make it with a 2 step process. He learned this quickly! (Although torturing us, he did not use the ottoman to get down in 2 steps.) He simply leaped off the bed! Mind you, we are used to senior pugs! No one has jumped on or off our bed in eons!
So that was night one. More about Saturday and Sunday in future episodes.
Last weekend, Henry had a weekend visitor. His name is Spike. Spike is a young 7 year old, one eyed pug (who looks very much like a young Henry). Spike is currently in foster care and looking for a good home. (Any takers out there?) The lovely people at Central Florida Pug Rescue were kind enough to allow us to give Spike a test drive. He is literally a perfect pug! The question then, I am sure, why didn't we keep him? Well, we were considering a buddy for Henry. And even after a few days, Henry still did not warm up to the young whippersnapper and Spike really was not so interested in our old man, either. So, it just wasn't a match. If the decision was exclusively that of the OBP people, Spike would not have gone back. But Henry was the one to have a final say. And he just never got on board the Spike boat.
Henry has been physically fine for a good while now but emotionally he's still kind of bummed. We knew that the only thing we really had left to try was a new BFF for him. Turns out he's not really interested. We've seen him be uninterested in other dogs, but we thought maybe if another dog came to the house then MAYBE he'd warm up to the idea. Dogs being pack animals and all, we thought he'd like to rebuild his pack. But it just was not meant to be. Between what we know about dogs and pugs and what so many other people have recommended we try for Henry, we thought maybe another dog would bring the joy back to him. Since there is so much to share, stay tuned this week for more stories about the weekend with Spike. It will probably take the whole week to share the saga.
We hope (and we know) that Spike will land a great home. He was so sweet (and even gave hugs!), is fully housebroken, rarely barks (CFPR said they have never seen him---but I got it on video. See below.) and he is recovering from a skin irritation leaving his chest a little bald, but there's nothing wrong with a bare chested sweetie!
Again, this is one of those stories where I'll tell the end before the beginning. So bear with me.
On a recent trip to the SeeMor Memorial Dog Park, we saw this guy on the big dog side. It reminded us of the movie, Honey I Blew Up the Kids! It's like Henry on steroids! Little ol' Henry was on the small dog side oblivious to his king sized twin. We were going to ask his dad for a photo of the two dogs together but the man had his nose buried in a book so we did not bother him. It made for funny discussion though.
In the OBP household we spend a lot of time cracking ourselves up. And cracking each other up. One of the things that we started to do when Henry was struggling with getting food and water in him during his chemo time was offering food and drink in unique ways. The one thing that has really stuck beyond his chemo time was how we offer Henry water. We don't tell Henry to take a drink, or ask him does he want some water, we bring him the bowl and we say, "your beverage, sir" or "would you like a beverage?"
We know this sounds totally ridiculous but this is what would get him to drink post chemo. It's almost like he knew that we were trying to make him laugh, then he would at least take a sip or two for us even though he didn't really want to do so. Everyone is probably wondering, why the heck does he need water brought to him? Can't he find his water bowl? Well, like I said, when this started he was really too weak to get up and get anything on his own. And now it is more for when we travel. If we are at a park or in the car where there is no set water bowl. And honestly, at home now being blind he still doesn't always nail finding his water bowl on the first try. So, that is why the "would you like a beverage?" has sort of stuck. You know Henry, he is such a refined young gentleman pug. He doesn't want just a drink of water! He wants a beverage!
I guess we will have to research who Doris Leeper was because her name is on so many parks around our town. We have found another park named after her. (I guess we could be technical and say that the parks are like one continuous park but that is somewhat of a stretch.) In any case, we found another Doris Leeper park and ventured there recently. This one is more of a fishing spot with a little less shady areas and a little more waterway.
Henry cooled off in the water a bit but we did not want him to stay in there long. We saw a lot of crabs and other critters in the water making it uncomfortable for us. Of course we would not want a crab to catch hold of his tail or legs or any other part of him!
It was nice new adventure nonetheless. He walked the whole walk and got his feet wet on 2 separate occasions.He wasn't even so tuckered out when we got home! This little 13 year old was like, "Hey! Give a me a challenge here and there, won't you?!" #OneStrongPug #HenryStrong #HenryIsAGoodBoy #GoodPug
) The boys did great in the car and once we were there it was game on and both boys were bundles of energy (as energetic as they each get for their capacity). Both boys did the whole walk. And this is where Spike actually seemed to do the "job" we "rented" him for. He could have marched way ahead of Henry but instead, he went a few steps forward, came a few steps back. He could explore around the area where our slow walker was because the space allowed for a lot of investigation. And maybe this was really the only time that Henry even seemed to notice that Spike was there. Spike would sometimes bump in to Henry in his explorations. And the fact that Henry knew that there was a pace setter there perhaps influenced his efforts to try a little harder to keep up. We tried to get some photos of them sitting still together but there's something about a rescue dog we have found...they are wiggly in front of the camera! Luna was the same way. I guess because we started so young with the boys that they just got the hang of photo shoots. But there are a few good photos. 
