Petlife logo

Meet Pugsly

Are Those Shoes?

By Kristen ReneePublished 2 years ago 3 min read
1

Meet Pugsly, a dog with shoes.

Pugsly is a pit, chow, and grey hound mix. He has a V8 block engine head and lock jaw from the pit, his brown and tan coat is full and fluffy thank to the chow, but underneath all his fluff he is very slender like a grey hound. He is also very fast for seventy pounds. Pugsly is currently seven years old. Thankfully his bark is solid and loud which makes him sound like a junkyard guard dog because he is so sweet and gentle.

Pugsly has spent his life being an inside dog that enjoys hogging the air conditioning. There are two reasons for this. First, our part of Arizona spends a great deal of time in triple digit temperatures. Secondly, our yard is not completely enclosed. So, to ensure that he does not overheat or run off he gets taken outside on a leash when he asks.

The summer of 2019 was rough on Pugsly. Temperatures that year were so high that it was still over 100 degrees in the early morning hours. I had tried to get him to use a puppy pad so that he did not have to go outside and swelter but that did not work. Pugsly is such a good boy he would not potty in the house even when being told to. This made me feel horrible. His poor paws were getting toasted.

At first, I got him a pool. I was hoping he would use it to cool his paws, allowing him to be outside long enough to go to the bathroom without burning his paws. Pugsly would look at the pool and occasionally try to drink from it but that was it. Lucky for Pugsly I was looking at Facebook and saw shoes for dogs. I was curious so I checked them out. They were made of durable material, waterproof, came in a variety of sizes to ensure a good fit, and they were affordable.

I’m sure you have guessed; this is when I ordered Pugsly shoes. After measuring his paw, I ordered him a pair of medium dark blue snug-fits. Less than two weeks later I helped him open his package when it arrived. He was excited. He gave me his front paws without any prompting. The bad paws were a bit different, Pugsly thought he could stay seated but that was not the case. Turned out that he had to either be laying down or standing up. Getting his shoes on became part of the routine to go outside.

I am sure it goes without saying but Pugsly was loving his shoes. He no longer had to rush while outside. Pugsly could now take his time and sniff around to find the perfect spot. Things were going very well. The shoes were holding up nicely but more importantly Pugsly was no longer burning his paws every time he went outside. I was finally starting to feel like a good fur momma again.

Towards the end of summer, we had family in town and things always get hectic when family visits. People were coming and going and Pugsly was getting all kinds of loves and attention plus snacks. At one point he came and started asking each of us to take him outside. When a friend said they would take him because I was busy, I yelled toward the front door to put his shoes on him first.

That is when I was called crazy by a few family members. They were shocked I spent money on shoes for my dog. They did not see a reason until I responded with, “It is 117 out and that means the ground and walkway are 130 degrees if not higher. Would you like to go stand outside and pee while you are barefoot?”

I chose this memory because that first time Pugsly went outside in his shoes the look on his face was priceless. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and a dopey smile featuring his floppy tongue and all I could feel was relief that his paws were not cooking. Pugsly still has and wears his shoes. It melts my heart every time I help him put them on.

dogfeaturereview
1

About the Creator

Kristen Renee

Kristen Renee

Writer of poems, short stories, and soon a novel.

Six "Editor's Choice Awards" (1997-2011)

Published in the Library of Congress

Bachelor's Degree in English

Master's Degree in Business Administration

Collector of Books

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.