I am sadly reporting that as of Monday of this week we are no longer pet owners. After a looong weekend of tears, and frustration, we took the pugs to a small animal rescue in town.
No longer the center of attention…
There were many reasons why we had to give them up. The number one, in my mind, being that they weren’t happy not being the center of attention anymore.
When we adopted them, we thought we couldn’t have children…and like many others do, we treated them like our babies. We took them everywhere with us, found babysitters for them when we were working, let them sleep in our beds, clothed them (yes we were those people) and fed them. We referred to them as our fur-children, and were known everywhere we went as the couple with the pugs.
Then we had a baby…
It all started when Mona, the oldest, decided that she would get her point across by pooping on the baby’s belongings – many times climbing up into clothes hampers and stealing stuffed animals. We would catch her squatting over the baby’s things, and when we didn’t, well, that wasn’t ever a pleasant surprise. Vinnie, following her lead, would mark EVERYTHING. The crib, bedding, car seats, toys, pack n’plays – I would be horrified if EL picked up a toy and it would be dripping with pee – needless to say we threw away a lot of his toys.
We got Vinnie neutered, thinking that the boy hormones would subside and the marking would stop – but it didn’t. We set alarms to let him out to pee every hour, but he would save some just to mark. When we moved into a new house, I was furious at him for marking my new walls.
Pug World
Eventually, Mona and Vinnie went into “Pug World” – AKA, the dining room and would occasionally get some free range time when we could watch them and make sure nothing got destroyed. But with a toddler, to keep an eye on – priority goes into making sure he doesn’t hurt himself, not into watching two small dogs run amuck.
We even tried to change our behavior – my husband would deliberately set aside some “pug time”, I would let them snuggle up to me while I worked – but the minute we would turn our backs, they would lash out and pee or defacate on something…
Then EM came along – and IT.GOT.WORSE.
The pugs got a brand new crate, and because they were acting out so much, we would have to banish them to their pug cave. Last weekend, after chasing them into the cage because I found pee on EMs WHITE RUG – I broke down. Enough was enough.
Then, my heart broke because I felt like I failed. Mona was our first pet as a married couple, and we got Vinnie when I was having trouble getting pregnant when we lived in Portland — they were my babies. But, it wasn’t fair that they had to spend most of their daily life in a cage/room away from the family. They needed to go to a family with older children, or a person who lived alone, or a childless couple who would give them the attention that I couldn’t give them anymore…
I should also mention that when my mom got sick a year ago, she became unable to visit my home because the hair and dander (even if we would keep up with it…) made it hard for her to breath. Then, my niece was diagnose with really bad asthma, so she couldn’t stay with us overnight because she would have an attack. These were also factors considered when we decided to give the pugs new homes…
We emailed and called – and they didn’t contact us back.
We contacted a local pug rescue, we emailed and called – and they didn’t contact us back.
So, my husband woke up at 7:30 a.m., put them in the car and brought the to the Humane Society…who said they couldn’t take them because they were too old. But, right as they were recommending a small animal rescue, the lady who ran that rescue walked in – and immediately started to coo over the pugs. My husband told her our situation, and she quickly said she would take care of them and find them new homes. I didn’t get to meet her, but my husband said she was warm and passionate and excited to help us. He said goodbye, and the last we heard Mona and Vinnie were off to the groomers to get pampered…something that made me happy, because they deserved it.
But they are happier now…
All week I have been feeling like someone died, but in when the heartache begins I am quickly reminded that they are probably happy right at that moment – happier than they were last week at this time – and I feel a little better.
To help me through my grief, I am thinking of writing about the good times we had with the pugs…and so there is a record that they were here at one time.
I am going to miss you Mona and Vinnie, thank you for being there for me when I needed you most…
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