Last week's bowtie boy post sparked some silly fun. There were a few comments that sparked this follow up post. A comment from Brenda Cooper indicated that there has been a photo of Mr. Clooney holding a pug! So, of course we did our research and found this photo! A young George was indeed holding a young pug pup!
Since that was a long ago photo, we thought we'd give a more apples to apples comparison where we have a more mature George sporting a bow tie and of course, our old Henry, also decked in his formal wear. It seemed that the popular vote did, indeed go to our very own Henry! Heck, even George Clooney himself made a post that Henry had won this round of who is most handsome.
And Henry thinks all the talk is just a hoot! He knows that of course he is the most handsome pug. He finds the whole thing so silly that he even gives us the tongue about the whole thing! Class act, H! Bow tie and sticking your tongue out at us. The real deal, a sense of humor is the way to a woman's heart. And you've won many of the ladies over! (And a few men, too!) #HenryWinsBattleOfTheBowTie #HowFunnyIfTheRealGCWouldReadThis? #NoOffenseRealGC #WeJustLoveOurHenryThePug
When we were putting up our exterior lights for Christmas, Cupid was able to watch from the front door. We opened our front door and put up a baby gate so that she could not escape. She enjoyed that but what really made her day was when the tree and other decorations were gong up inside! She loves to lay under the tree. And not like many other cats, she doesn't really disturb the ornaments or feel the need to try to climb the tree. (Maybe this is because she is pushing 18 now but she has never really bothered the Christmas tree.)
She also has a favorite Christmas throw rug. Not surprising, it has cat decor on the mat! And even though it is not in the best condition (it's several years old and the backing is starting to disintegrate) we keep putting in out because it really is Cupid's favorite. She was a pretty good helper this year. She did a good job staying out of the way until everything was in its place. Cupid says she is now ready for Christmas. She reminded Sandy Paws to come fill up the kitty stocking with goodies and leave coal for the pug! What can we say? She's a cat! Meowy Christmas!
Every once in a while, Henry has to go for a car ride where only one of his peeps is in the car. While Henry will take ANY car ride he can get, flying solo rides are not his favorites. With that said, can you deny the pleasure on this boy's face? He is enjoying the wind and the smells being delivered right to his nose!
This is a video of Henry. Henry snoring. A passed out Henry. While there is nothing shocking about a pug snoring away, what is different about this, is that this is showing how Henry is getting comfortable again being back on the sofa. It has been ages since Henry has been comfortable enough to relax enough to get into a sleep on the sofa. But here is proof that he is slowly but surely coming back from a depression or whatever funk you want to label it. This is a huge show of progress to the Henry of old. #GoHank! #GetYourSleepOn #BackToTheSofa!
At our last vet appointment we were reflecting on how far Henry has come since he had his kidney removed and how scary the day of the surgery was. As Henry's peeps, we remember being in heightened anxiety that day and just filled to the brim with worry. It is still a vivid recollection about how they called us earlier than expected to come see Henry and take him home. They were worried about how he was doing. He simply was not coming out of anesthesia very well at all. Peep #2 rushed there and saw this first hand. Henry was indeed a hot mess. With that said, as soon as he heard peep 2's voice he immediately got excited. Peep 2 picked up Henry and just held him tightly. Henry instantly began to melt. He was still panting and overall "off" but he knew he was in loving arms and he was starting to settle and relax. It took the entire rest of the night for him to really calm and be restful, but he made it through the surgery and getting through that night was the immediate goal. He had staples across his entire tummy area and looked a bit like a pug Frankenstein, but he was moving forward. That was all we could hope for. Upon pick up, our vet was admittedly nervous about his recovery and while he was truly amazed how fast the love of Henry's person impacted his so positively, he was still concerned about taking Henry home. He knew ultimately, though that he'd be better off at home than in a strange over night medical facility. And our vet also knew that if something were to go awry we would get him to that emergency location with the speed of light.
So, back to our vet's recollection. And how we learned the rest of the story. And I must admit that while it was gut wrenching to hear, I am completely relieved that he waited to share some of the grizzly details with us at this MUCH later date. If he had shared any earlier then I think I would not have been able to take it. And it was kind of crazy how he can speak about now with a chuckle. He was describing the surgery and how when animals are on their back (as they are when they are operated upon) all of their organs and parts fall towards the back leaving the beating heart right there on top. And when he had Henry open and was cutting his kidney out that all kept seeing was his aorta was just pulsing. He was worried that with each move of the scalpel that if he even just nicked the wrong vein that he would bleed out right there. Doc told us that he was literally sweating through this operation. It was nice to hear that he was human and was concerned, but boy was it frightening to hear just how close we were to one small move costing Henry's life. And it wasn't like the doc was tooting his own horn about what a great job he had done (but believe me, we have often praised his work!) it was more like he was also relieved to have made it through that day. We had discussed the possibility of Henry dying on the operating table and that was, of course a huge concern and would have been just awful, but we knew we had to take that risk since the cancer was not removing itself.
We have come to learn a lot in life and one of the most important things we have learned is that perspective is everything. And if you can just shift that even slightly when needed then that is a wonderful gift. In this instance, the perspective of our vet was extremely powerful. We could see from his vantage point the different type of stress and pressure of getting this "just right" because even one small move could have meant everything and not only would Henry no longer be here, but he would have had to TELL US that! We have a great rapport with our vet but I am really not sure just how that would have played out. Fortunately, everything worked out in a winning scenario and we don't have to consider the what if version. Our continued kudos to our vet and his team. We are truly thankful for all his efforts and also his steady skilled hands. So, over a year later, having that perspective puts yet another spin on memories from that day.
Come rain or come shine, Henry must have his nightly car rides. If it is really raining hard, he will be ok if the window is down and he still gets the breeze but if it is raining lightly then he will still risk the wet weather and take the soaking just to get the wind in his face. Well, one recent evening, he did become one soggy pug and even though it was raining harder than a sprinkle but less than a monsoon, he propped himself on the window ledge, half in and half out as he usually does and got a good pelting of raindrops on him.
At a fun stopper (red light) he settled back in the car, we gave him a toweling off and had to snap a photo or 2 of him all bundled in the towel. In one he looks like a little orphan and in another it seems that the towel is a neck brace. After the fun stopper, he was back out the window where he again accepted each drop of water that came his way!
Anyone concerned that the towel was pink? Eh, H didn't care either. He played it cool. #HankIsComfortableWithHisManhood #InHonorOfLuna,HenryWoreAPinkTowel #WetPugsWearPink
#GoHank! #GetYourSleepOn #BackToTheSofa! 
