As I have been going through posts and cleaning up a few things around here (see the category buttons?) I noticed that I have left out two important members of our family. Our pugs, Mona and Vinny!
Mona (6) and Vinny (3)
Ramona Lisa
Ramona (we call her Mona) is my first – she’s the dog you get when you are first married, and you aren’t quite ready for kids, but you feel like you need to have a test run with something alive. We found Mona in the spring of 2005, about 6 months after we were married. I didn’t have a job at the time, and spent a lot of time alone while my husband built his business, and I had always wanted a pug, so I began searching the internet for a pug in our modest, newly-wed price range. I ran across a posting for a tiny pug, who was the last of a small litter, and looking for a home. I immediately emailed them, asked about her health, where she came from, and how old she was. She was 5 weeks old. She had her papers. She was freaking ADORABLE.
The actual picture sent to me from the person on the internet. She looks so sad!
So, on a Sunny Sunday morning, we hopped in our car and went to pick up our first baby in parking lot off of the expressway. When they pulled up and I saw that little face, I fell in love. She was sleeping in a child’s lap in the backseat of a van. When they handed her to me I wrapped her in a pink cashmere sweater (it was still pretty chilly) and thats when she earned the nickname “Mona the fancy pug”. We took turns snuggling with her on the long drive home. She slept on Mat’s arm, and my lap. She woke up a few times to check out what was going on, but was pretty sleepy the whole way.
Mona and her sweater
Mona then became our life. We took her everywhere, we bought her all the best toys, I put a profile up of her on Dogster.com, my first baby. I worried about her eating enough, struggled with potty training, and nursed her back to health when she was sick. She bit my ankles and chewed on everything – but I loved on her as if she was a person! When I went off to work when she was still a baby, I made sure she had a baby sitter so she didn’t have to stay home alone all day in her crate – My mom and dad watched her during the day and called her their grand-pug.
When Mona was two years old, we moved to Oregon. By this time, she was used to moving (we had moved once into a rental house) and she took the cross country drive with her daddy quite well. I had stayed behind a month to tie up some loose ends, and during that time she and Mat bonded. She kept him company in a strange new place, and helped him explore as they went on their walks. She was happy to see him when he got home from his new job, and snuggled with him at night. By the time I got to our new home, they were the bestest buds. I think having her there was really good for Mat. We vowed never to be apart that long again!
As time went by, and I started a new job in OR, Mona became lonely. She started tearing up the apartment, intentionally messing on the floor and giving us the evil eye when we got home from work. I knew that she needed a buddy. Thats when we found Vinny.
Davinci
We found Vinny through the magic of Craigslist. I was very aware of the health problems a pug could have by now – and I wanted to make sure that our next pug was a healthy one. Before deciding on buying him, we went to visit a huge litter of pugs in Sandy,OR. When we drove up to a home in a nice subdivision, two children were outside, each with a happy little pug on a leash. These were the parents. Happy, healthy and friendly – a great sign! We were met at the door by the nice family – a mom and dad and two little girls. We chatted for a bit, and then they opened the gate from their utility room that was behind their kitchen and flood of baby pugs came running out!
We watched and played with the little pugs, 8 in all. But one caught our eye. He was bossing around and herding the other pugs. He was very burly, and very active. When Mat picked him up, he immediately began chewing on his nose. We knew this one was the one. At the time, they were calling him “Houdini” because he orchestrated puppy escapes during the night. A natural leader. Someone to give Mona a run for her money! =D We paid a deposit, and made arrangements to come get him when he was ready to leave his mama (they were still tiny babies at this time)
The day we picked up Vinny was a joyful one. We went into the house and came out with a sweet baby boy – and this time I made sure he slept on me the whole way home. He, however, wasn’t sleepy – he spent the entire drive terrified and on my neck. He didn’t like leaving his brothers and sisters, and was a little weepy the first night home. He missed his mama. This of course, made me baby him more!
Mona was ecstatic when we brought him home. She jumped and sniffed and tried to get him to play, but he was still a little freaked out.
But he found his footing, finally, and they became the bestest of friends.
Look at those feet!
Vinny was exactly what Mona needed. And now you never see them apart. They even like to dress up in costumes together!
Christmas Pugs!
Since having L, now they have a new purpose – herding the baby. When the baby cries, there is at least one there first to see if he alright. When we brought L home, it was like they knew that he was another member of the family.
There was never jealousy, only love. And now that L is older, and starting to notice them more – they enjoy him even more! Of course he pulls on their tails, and pushes them out of the way – but I don’t have to worry that they will retaliate. They are so gentle with him. They come and tell me if they hear him waking up from a nap. They sneak in kisses when he will let them, and snuggle up to him when he is relaxing. I couldn’t have asked for two better family pets! They taught me a lot about taking care of someone else. And now, I can’t imagine our lives without them!
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