It was raining on Saturday, so the People could not go to Bele Chere during the day. They did go at night, but it was fine with me, because I was tired and wanted to sleep anyway. They left me alone for like 6 hours, and I was a little annoyed by that, but the extra sleep was nice.
When they got up the next morning and left me again for another 3 hours, I was not ok with it, so I peed all over the wall and made a nice puddle on the hardwood floor. I also peed on the rug next to the bathtub (I get locked in the bathroom / hallway when they leave because I cannot be trusted). When they got back, the Woman kept yelling, "Bad dog pee pee on floor!" I wasn't sure who she was talking to though. I couldn't find this "bad dog" anywhere in the house, and I knew that I had peed on the floor. I guess she thought maybe I had some friends over while they were gone and one of them had peed on the floor. Eventually she stopped yelling for this bad dog, I guess maybe she realized she was just wrong.
Now she's telling me that I have lost my window privileges. I'm not sure what that means. I guess I'll find out though.
The Bele Chere festival is this weekend, but of course I don't get to go. According to the Woman, it's too hot for me to be downtown, but I think she's just embarrassed of me because of my big shaved spot. I even tried to convince her that I could hang out in the misting tent when I get hot, but she isn't going for it. I am very disappointed too, because the Purina Ultimate Air Dogs will be there, diving into pools and stuff. And there's a children's area where I could lick all kinds of chocolate off all kinds of little faces. Man - I am really going to be missing out this weekend!
Here is a picture of Chew Bear, Brother and me. The picture isn't so great, because Mr. Chris's camera was on the fritz, but I think you get the idea of what he looks like. Now, before you go thinking how cute Brother is, remember this - he hides the toys under the couch so other dogs cannot play with them! That is not cute. It is rude. Not all the dogs in the house can fit under the couch, myself included. Of course it goes without saying that Chew Bear can't fit - she's a big boned woman. Also, he gets all up in your face and tries to lick it. Most People don't appreciate this. AND, he is a mute and never says a word! No barks, he pants noiselessly, he never grunts, nothing! (Sometimes the Woman makes him talk like an Indian, and Mr. Chris gets really mad. Thank you very much - please come again!) He's just weird, and I don't like him at all. I won't even comment on the size of his head - look at that thing. It's like an orange on a toothpick! Sputnik!
Brother's name has not always been Brother. When Mr. Chris first acquired him, his name was Radar, but Mr. Chris didn't like that name and changed it. Some people think Mr. Chris is a monster for doing this. Maybe that's why Brother is such a weird-o.
I added links to my old blog in the Archives section of this page. I have been blogging for a long time! Check out some of the entries when you get bored.
Here are a few of my favorite things, in no particular order.
Belly Rubs
Butt Scratchings
Big Butt Basketball Kangaroo Thing
Blogging
Christmas Presents
Birthday Presents
Mr. Chris
The Chewb
Sneaking Bites of Food from Granny
Snuggling the Woman's Belly
Snuggling in the Crook fo the Woman's Legs
Fetch
Tug
Goosey Butt
Going for Walks
Licking Air
Licking Pillows
Licking Myself
Licking the Woman
Licking
Greenies (although I am not allowed to have them any more)
Meeting New Dogs
Visitors
Watering the Roses
Running Free off My Leash at the Gammie's
Little Kids
Chilling at the Park
Bath Time
Going to the Beach
Hiking in the Mountains
PetsMart and Pet Supplies Plus (really any store I am allowed in)
Beating Brother at Games (although it rarely happens)
Cheating (see above)
Getting Emails
If I had to pick a Top 5, they would be:
Butt Scratchings
Mr. Chris
The Chewb
Snuggling the Woman's Belly
Beating Brother at Games
Brother is sort of my nemesis. He is Mr. Chris's *other* dog besides The Chewb. Mr. Chris rescued him from the downstairs neighbors at his apartment complex. He's some sort of Jack Russell terrier mix, and he is the most competitive dog I have ever met and a huge pain in the butt. I have only beat him at fetch a couple times, and it was because Mr. Chris was holding him back and letting me have a head start. Brother is very fast, and does not like to lose. If he does lose, the next time he gets the toy we are playing with, he runs under the couch and hides it. You can see why I don't like him. I don't have a picture of him, because I don't like to look at him, but I will see if Mr. Chris will send me one to post. Then, you can all see how ugly he is.
It's been three weeks since my last lump was removed, and no new lumps have surfaced. I am getting sick of the Woman feeling me up for lumps. She needs to chill. I am now on all my supplements which include; Transfer Factor Plus Advanced Formula, Vitamin C, Fish Oil, Geriatric Vitamins and the Chinese herb Xue Fe Zhu Yu Tang. I especially like the taste of the Chinese herb. The Woman calls it Dong Wang, because she is convinced that all Chinese remedies contain some form of dehydrated penis. Yeah, she's pretty immature. I prefer to call it Wang Dong, because it sounds cooler. I get to eat two times a day, which is nice. I really enjoy my food!
We are now playing the waiting game, which is really quite boring. All these supplements are expensive, so we are waiting it out to see if they have any effect on the appearance of new lumps. My second lump appeared two months after removal of the first one, but that was with just the flaxseed oil and vitamin C. The Woman is not sure how long I have to take all these supplements, but she hopes it isn't forever.
The Woman found a couple references on the Internet that flaxseed oil is bad for Mast Cell Tumors, because the amino-6 acid has been shown to actually cause them! She is now feeling guilty that she may have given me a second tumor. On the other hand, she likes the thought that there is an explanation for the second tumor and is hopeful that there will not be a third since I don't take the flaxseed oil any more. Yeah, she has control issues. I am now on fish oil which only contains amino-3 acids. Let this be a lesson to you - never try to self-medicate your dog!
I wish it would cool down outside, because I am not getting to go for many walks lately. I need my exercise!
This is how I hypnotize people. See this look? It's cute, eh? You're having trouble breaking free from my hypnotizing gaze, aren't you? Are you getting the message I am sending? Give me Greenies!!!! OK, it might be more effective if I didn't have that eye booger, but I think you get the point.
Unfortunately, this message has not been working on the Woman lately. You see, I do not care for conventional dog chew treats. I am indifferent towards rawhides, don't like pig ears or cow hooves, wouldn't touch a lot of those other cow parts they try to get me to gnaw on, but I LOVE Greenies. The Woman was so excited to see me eat my first Greenie, because it's the only chew treat I have ever taken a liking to. Finally, a treat to keep me quiet! Most dogs get treats to reward good behaviour, but I get treats to prevent bad behaviour. I'm a different kind of dog. And they are advertised as being good for dogs, so the Woman was even more happy to see me eat them!
You can imagine how surprised I was when the Woman recently decided that I am not allowed to have Greenies any more! She has many reasons for this, but I think they're all a load of bull stick. She says they are not digestable, and a number of dogs have died from clogs in their intestines caused by the Greenies getting lodged there. She also claims they are made mostly of cellulose, and I can't have any type of ~lose, because it is sugar, and sugar feeds cancer. I am very very mad at the cancer now. Up until this point, I have been ok with the cancer, because it gets me lots of attention and a new diet of real turkey, but this is a turning point for me. I want to keep my new diet, but I want the Greenies too. I need to work on this hypnotism thing a little more. Maybe I can get my Greenies back.
I love to nap in the sunshine. The sun only comes through this window into the office for a couple hours a day during Summer, so I have to soak it up while I can. In the Winter, the other window gets the sunshine, and it lasts a lot longer. I think I prefer Winters - not just for the window sunshine, but also for the warm fires, couch snuggling and Christmas presents! I guess I don't like peeing in the snow though, but it doesn't really snow that often here.
Mr. Chris is in the process of buying his first house. I am very excited to see it. The Woman tells me that I cannot pee in it, but I'm not sure she understands the relationship Chris and I share. Of course I have to pee in his house! It's how he knows I'm the boss! We'll see what happens though - maybe I will not like his new house and therefore not feel inclined to mark it as my own. We'll pee on that bridge when we get to it.
It has been too hot for a Pug to handle here lately. The People took me for a walk on Sunday afternoon, and I was panting so hard that the Woman had to put me in the bathtub filled with cold water when we got home. I finally did stop panting ... eventually. It was almost too hot for me to help water the roses this morning, but I mustered up the strength somehow. It's a good thing Mr. Chris isn't around during this hot spell, because he hates it when I pant. He claims I taught the Chewb how to pant and that she uses it against him when she's mad at him. Pant away Chew Bear!
Yesterday I played with a big dog named Murphy who lives down the street. He tried to pee on my head. He's a lot bigger than me, and he likes to play rough, but I can handle it.
Do you see the big shaved spot on my side? That's how much they shaved me to do my surgery. I'm not sure why they had to remove 20% of my body hair to take off two teeny little lumps, but I do know that I look silly. Ian wanted to draw some switches and dials on my side to make me look like a robot dog. I was hoping there would be room left for a key pad of some sort. The Woman, of course, squashed our fun and forbids him from drawing on me. She says the Vet would probably not find it very amusing. Party Pooper!!! When I was first shaved, my skin was soft and pink, but now that the sun has tanned it a little, it's kind of grey. Pretty weird actually.
I love my new diet! I had my first taste of it yesterday, and it is so very yummy that I tried to wake the Woman up early to feed me this morning. She wasn't having it though, so I had to wait. When she finally did get up, I gobbled that food into my belly like it was the last dish of food left on the planet. Well, that's not really true. I guess if it was the last dish of food left on the planet I would at least try to ration it for a while. I'm a dog though, and we don't understand conservation, so I would end up hogging it down anyway. Here's the recipe - 1 part broccoli, 1 part summer squash and 2 parts ground turkey. I hate broccoli, but the Woman steams it and then cuts it up really small and mixes it in with the rest of the food, so I don't even taste broccoli - just the turkey mostly. I am currently getting 1 cup of this mixture a day, but I don't think that's going to be enough for me. It's really good after all! The goal is to keep me away from carbs, because carbs (ie, sugar) feeds cancer, and we're trying to starve out the cancer. If it can't eat, it can't breed!
There is music thumping somewhere this morning, and it's making the Woman crazy. She can't work when there is music thumping. Who on Earth would be blaring their music at 9:30am on a Monday morning? Some psycho - that's who! Well, that's what the Woman says at least.
In response to a comment from "Ragus Pug's mama" whose Lady Pug Chichi was also whelped in Wilmur, here is my Pedigree information. Maybe she's my Aunt or Cousin or something. I'm bonafide, and I have proof! (Click the picture for a bigger image.)
I have to say my favorite relatives' names are Kubla Khan Kohn and Little Buddy Hotshot. I come from some cool Pugs!
My new Holistic Vet is kind of a hippy, but that probably goes without saying since she is "holistic." The name of the clinic is Heartsong Animal Hospital. There is no scary table that I am put up on to be prodded at, but she actually gets down on the floor with me to check me out. It's almost like we're playing! She checked my Qi (Chi), and said that I'm running a little red. I guess that means I'm the boss, and I do what I want. She put me on "Transfer Factor Plus" Advanced Formula. It contains a lot of different things including; cow colostrum, IP-6, Beta Glucan and Shiitake Mushroom. It's supposed to be a super immune system enhancer. The Vet warned us that it tastes kind of bad, but the Woman mixed it into my goop (cottage cheese and flaxseed oil), and I didn't taste it a bit! The Vet also told the Woman to change me from flaxseed oil to fish oil, and to continue giving me vitamin C. She ordered some other herbs too, but I'm not sure what they are. Hopefully nothing that interferes with my red hot Qi, because I like being the boss.
I went to another Vet today to get a second opinion on my Mast Cell tumors. She is a holistic kind of Vet, and put me on some herbs and supplements. Also, I am on a cancer diet that consists of all people food! The Woman is going to start my new diet next week. I am excited, because I like people food. The Vet had to order some of the herbs, so I will let you all know what all I am taking once we pick it up next week.
Ian offered me a dollar to do a certain job for him this past weekend. I thought he was crazy, because a dollar will get me only one Greenie, and the job in question was worth a lot more than one Greenie! He explained to me that dog dollars are a lot like dog years - one human dollar is actually worth 7 dog dollars, so I would really be getting 7 Greenies! I was very excited to hear this! Needless to say, I got the job done, and I will be sending my 7 dog dollars with the Woman when she goes to the store tomorrow to pick me up 7 Greenies! I like this kind of Math!
The Woman just got off the phone with the Vet, and the news is pretty good. One of the lumps was NOT a tumor - just a fatty mass! Yeah! The other lump was a Mast Cell tumor, but it was a Grade 1, like my other one that was removed in May. She said it had very well defined margins and absolutely no sign of invasion of the surrounding cells. Thanks to everyone who was thinking about me. I appreciate your concern and support. The Woman does too.
I am going for a second opinion on Wednesday, because the Woman thinks it's a good idea. My Vet is very adament that nothing needs to be done, but the Woman wants to hear that from another Vet too. She is considering putting me on a cancer diet, and that's a very good thing, because it's all people food. Woot! I'm keeping my toes crossed!
I received flowers yesterday from Chew Bear, Hey Brother and Mr. Chris! They are so pretty and taste ok too. I only ate a little part of one though, because the Woman said they're for looking at, not for munching on. No, not even a little. They're yellow, and yellow is my favorite color! The Woman keeps them on the floor so I can enjoy them.
You may be wondering why the Chewb and Company sent me flowers. Well, my stupid Mast Cell Tumor cancer came back. The Woman found a lump on me last Thursday, and then another one later that night. I had them removed on Monday, and I have been waiting for the biopsy results before blogging it. I haven't received the results yet though, and it looks like I might not get them until Monday or Tuesday now. We were really hopeful that I would not get any more lumps, but now it appears I may be "prone" to them. The Woman is, of course, a mess, but I am trying to keep her entertained by licking her face a whole lot and stealing her blanket. I'll let you all know the results as soon as I get them, but just know that I am very hopeful and feeling fine.
Location: Asheville, North Carolina, United States
I live in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, and I am an ornery little pugger. Although I am only awake about 3 hours each day, I work a whole lot of mischief into each and every minute.
