Kermit the Pug

We adopted Kermit in 2013 from Homeward Bound Rescue when he was 5. He came to us obsessed with his small chuck-it ball that he would kick around (and under things like the couch so we would have to retrieve it) or bury and unbury in a blanket endlessly. We would have to put it out of reach so that he would settle. He also, like most pugs, was highly food motivated. He loved squeaky toys and burrowing under blankets and was the best squishy cuddler.

Kermit is now 13 and has slowed down quite a lot but we still love him just as much! He has some joint issues now so he gets lifted up and down from the bed, couches and stairs. He has calmed down about his ball and will sleep with it now. He is still obsessed with food and will literally eat anything.

We call him our lemon pug because he has had many health issues over the years, despite actually being fairly healthy for his breed. He gets frequent ear infections, sometimes gets infected wrinkles, and now that he is older he has some arthritis and acid reflux which are treated daily. A few years ago, his left eye got scratched accidentally by our other dog, became ulcered and badly infected. Despite treatment with 3 different antibiotics and even dog stem cells, it needed emergency removal by a specialist vet in Toronto after rupturing while in the waiting room to be checked. It was so traumatic for us and obviously for him, but despite the pain our little man endured, he remained his sweet self and didn’t so much as growl, instead giving us his pug kisses. The removal was a success and he adapted to having only one eye almost immediately and has been his happy little self ever since.

Kermit is the boss of the house, barking to demand his dinner when he feels it is time, or to have us come and lift him down from somewhere to high to jump from. If he wants something, he is adamant until he gets it. We have definitely spoiled him but he deserves it.

He is a sneaky little turkey who has a taste for alcohol and cannabis it turns out. Through his Facebook page, I was contacted by his rescuer who told me she had tried to keep him initially but that he and her other pug did not get along (he was likely guarding his food at the time because he had been in a neglectful situation and was underweight). She told me about how one time she had been cleaning out her freezer and came across a weed cookie that she had been given but knew she would never consume so she threw it out. They went out and when they came home later there was garbage everywhere and Kermit was sitting in the middle of the kitchen looking out of it - turns out he had snuck the cookie and needed vet care to empty his stomach. We know he’s a real party animal because one Christmas while visiting family in Guelph, he waited until everyone was distracted and then snuck around the room knocking over people’s drinks and lapping them off the floor until he was quite wasted and we caught on to his tactics. Poor man was sick and his eyes looked like he had the spins, so his Aunt, the nurse, held and comforted him. This hasn’t made Kermit stop trying to steal drinks though; any unsuspecting person who visits and tries to set down their drink usually get a slimy pug tongue in it!

In addition to stealing food and drinks, Kermit has a bad habit of trying to mark anything that is “out of place” in the house. A friend came to visit and had just set her bag down in the hall to give me a hug and Kermit was there to pee on it before we could even blink. Nice greeting right?

Despite all his crazy antics, bad habits and health issues, he has filled our lives with so much love and happiness over these years and we look forward to every minute we will spend with him in his lifetime. We are so grateful to have been chosen to adopt him and give him the best life possible.