Sunday, October 5, 2008

Fashion Forward

I can’t quite remember where we got this dress, but I know Luna has had it for quite some time now.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Flashback

This week’s Flashback: Bark for a Cure

October is Breast Cancer awareness month, so I thought it fitting to share the pugs posing in their Bark for a Cure t-shirts from October 2006.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Baby Benny’s Pugkin Bread Recipe

Ann was kind enough to send over her pugkin bread recipe for me to share.  So without further ado, here it is!

• ½ c. unbleached all purpose flour
• ½ c. whole wheat flour
• ½ c. buckwheat flour
• ½ c. old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1 t. cinnamon
• ¼ t. salt
• ¼ t. nutmeg
• ¼ t. ginger
• 1 can pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 T. flaxseed
• 2 T. wheat germ
• ½ c. milk
• 2 T. plain yogurt
• ¾ c. unsweetened applesauce

Blend ingredients and spoon into prepared (greased and floured) pans.  I use three small loaf pans…or you can use one large loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove loafs to a rack and cool completely.  Serves three hungry pugs….or one Benny.

Note:  This is a very flexible recipe…you can add or subtract here and there to suit the tastes and food sensibilities of your pugs.  If they have allergies to milk or eggs, for example, add more applesauce to moisten the recipe.  I sometimes add a little more oatmeal (love that fiber!), adding just a touch more yogurt or milk for additional liquids.  Oh, and if the pugs will share, this is perfectly suitable for humans, particularly if you are trying to cut down on sugar in your diet.  One more note…I make my own applesauce for this recipe, and I make it using unpeeled apples.  More fiber and vitamins to boot!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Night Vision

A few months ago, the pugs were outside for the final potty of the night and Henry was smelling around in the grass.  Dead tired, I was waiting for everyone to do their business so I could get to bed already.  As Henry is smelling around, I see him jump straight up in the air like a frightened cat.  Assuming a frog or some other Florida creature startled him, I am practically rolling on the ground in laughter.  It was quite a sight.  A few minutes later, Henry goes potty and everything seems normal.

A few weeks after the first incident we are taking a nighttime walk with the pugs to beat the summer heat and as we are walking along on the sidewalk, Henry does the same frightened cat jump straight up into the air.  This time, however, I know there was nothing there.  He looks around and is a bit on edge for about a minute and then we are on our way and he seems fine.

Over the last few months, these little incidents have continued, but they have only occurred outside when it is dark out.  Not dusk, but dark.  However, last week, we were watching TV and the pugs were chewing a bone.  There was dim lighting in the room from the TV and a lamp and while switching bones with Benny Henry springs up in the air like a frightened cat.  He did it two more times while chewing that night.  He was scheduled for his annual in about a week so I made a note to be sure I remembered to tell the vet.

During the annual exam, I describe Henry’s nighttime behavior to the vet who was slightly amused by my description of the events.  I tell him it is almost like he sees things that aren’t really there.

The vet does a thorough examination of his eyes and then breaks down what he thinks might be going on with Henry.  Two things come to his mind and he is leaning towards one more than the other.  The first thing he tells us about is seizures.  He says it is possible, the the jumping in the air is a form of a mild seizure.  He went on to explain that sometimes you will see dogs involuntarily snap at the air and this is in fact a mild seizure.  But he doesn’t think it is seizures because they have only happened at night.  If it was some type of seizure, it would not just be a nighttime behavior.  So he wants us to pay very close attention to make sure we are not seeing any of the same types of symptoms in Henry during the day.

What the vet really thinks is happening is that Henry is developing cataracts on the back lenses of his eyes.  The vet thinks that he sees very small cataract development now and that these cataracts are affecting the way light passes through Henry’s eyes causing him to see things that aren’t really there.  Since we take Luna to the ophthalmologist frequently, he suggested we make Henry an appointment and let the specialists look into this.

Luna’s is due for her next ophthalmologist visit at the end of the year.  So we will have Henry tag along with her at that time and get thoroughly checked out.

Interestingly enough, Henry has not had any incidents since we went to the vet.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Pugkin Bread from Ann

When we arrived at the Sock Hop, Ann greeted us with a very special bag.  The bag had a loaf of pugkin bread for each one of the pugs!  When we got home from the Sock Hop on Saturday night Benjamin was very anxious to get a piece of Ann’s special pugkin bread.  So we set them up in the living room each with their own loaf.  The silly pugs thought I was going to let them eat the whole thing!  I snapped a few pictures and then we broke off a few pieces for them.  We did the same thing on Sunday and Monday night too!  The pugs are in heaven!  The best thing is the pugkin bread is very diet friendly for the pugs.  It is made with whole wheat flour and uses applesauce instead of sugar.

Thank you, Ann!  You are so very kind and thoughtful!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Caption This #76

Luna and Henry acting like two little kids making faces for the camera.  Looking forward to your captions in the comments.

Monday, September 29, 2008

At the Hop

On Saturday we went to Central Florida Pug Rescue’s Sock Hop and we had a blast!  First, let me just say, in our mad dash to get out of the house and get the truck setup to ensure the pugs’ maximum comfort on the trip, I forgot to bring the camera!  Yup, how silly am I?

So, our picture with Elvis is the only snapshot we brought home from the event.  That is also our first official photograph with Elvis.  The pugs have been photographed with Santa and even the Easter Bunny, but this was their first time meeting the King.

There were lots of vendors at the event, many of which had free treat samples.  This went over quite with the gang, but especially Benny.  We also got to chat with Ann from Central Florida Pug Rescue.  Ann made the pugs a very special treat, that they had a chance to gobble up a little bit of on Saturday night and some more on Sunday.  More to come about the pugs’ special treat from Ann on Wednesday.

We also had a chance to talk with Marcia and her friends from Compassionate Pug Rescue.  Compassionate Pug Rescue is where we adopted Luna from so it was great to see Marcia again.  We had not seen her since the day we took little Luna home over 2 years ago.

Overall, it was an awesome day that really tired the pugs out.  The pugs slept the whole ride home.  They had a great time and so did we!