Pugsly the Pure

The tale of Pugsly begins a little over six years ago. My daughter, Kilee, had recently moved to Arizona and begun to make friends. After a month or so Kilee had become best friends with a girl named Nikki. The two were together all of the time. One night while staying over Nikki said that she was trying to find a place to stay but it was hard because her dog (Arie) was pregnant. After talking with my roommate we decided that Nikki and Arie could stay with us for a while.

Over the next several weeks Kilee kept saying that she wanted to keep one of the puppies. I was a firm no because I did not want to end up responsible for the puppy. At some point my roommate joined in on the band wagon and wanted to keep one of the puppies as well. I kept telling both of them no. Finally, Kilee came to me and presented a case that I could not argue. I caved and agreed to let her have a puppy. However, that meant my roommate also got to keep a puppy because it was fair.

By the time St. Patrick’s Day of 2015 arrived Arie had been in labor for a few days and was beyond uncomfortable. Everyone in the house took turns sitting with her. I finally went to sleep for the night about eleven but my roommate and Kilee decided to stay up with Arie in shifts. By two-thirty in the morning the two of them had both dozed off. They woke up to Arie trying her best to climb off the love-seat. It took them a few minutes to realize that there was a puppy on the love-seat since it was dark and they were watching to see where Arie was going.

By the time the sun came up on March 18 Arie had given birth to eight puppies. Over the next day and a half we lost four of the puppies. Arie was having a hard time and the puppies didn’t seem completely healthy to begin with. Of the four puppies that made it there was a tan short hair male, a black fuzzy male, and a set of boy/girl twins that were brown and black short hair. They looked so different. That’s when we learned that the puppies were pit, chow, and grey hound mix.

The twin puppies were both homed free of charge to good families, sadly they were not able to stay together. Kilee kept the tan short hair male and named him T’moan. My roommate kept the fuzzy black male and named him Pugsly. The puppies lived together here at my house for about two years. T’moan looked like he got all of the pit and he stayed tan. Pugsly on the other hand, looked like he got all the chow and he went from black to many shades of brown. The one thing they shared was their speed. The pups would play, go outside, and go to the river together. This changed when they got old enough to fight for alpha male so Kilee and T’moan moved into their own place.

About the time Pugsly turned three he had become a very big boy, bigger than we thought he would get. This is when my roommate began to distance himself from Pugsly because he’s afraid of large dogs (he had a bad experience). All of a sudden I’m responsible for a dog, just the thing I didn’t want. You see, at this point in time, not only was I already living with seizers and fighting cancer I was a full time student too.

In the last three years Pugsly and I have become close and there is no doubt he is mine. He has the softest fur that goes from cream to tan, then to brown, with tips of black. His big brown eyes make his faces so easy to read. He is happiest in the car on his way to the spa (PetSmart salon). He has the whole backseat to himself and to ensure his safety he has a seat-belt that attaches to his harness.

Pugsly has his own wardrobe because he likes to be dressed. For winter he has two sweaters, a pair of red plaid flannel jammies, and a light blue raincoat with rubber duckies on it. I also bought him a pair of dogie shoes. I did this because we live where it gets to be over 115° and I didn’t want him to burn his paws. Pugsly has a collection of bandannas that he wears in the summer, twenty-five so far.

Squeaky toys are Pugsly’s favorite type of toy. He has his own toy box that is full of ropes, balls, and squeaky things of various shapes and sizes. He is pretty good about not destroying his toys in five minutes. Pugsly’s favorite food is chicken. He only eats chicken kibble made by Rachael Ray and his favorite treat is chicken meatballs. The only food that he won’t eat is pickles.

I have saved the most remarkable thing about Pugsly for last. Pugsly has never been to obedience school or had training of any kind but when I am having a seizer he will come jump on my bed and lay across my legs. If I happen to fall to the floor he will lay by my face and lick me until I can tell him to stop, then he goes and finds another person that’s home to help me. He also follows me around the house like a fuzzy little nurse.

Pugsly and his pure soul are a gift from the universe. He is an endless source of love and comfort that I didn’t know I needed. I give him the best life I can. He is healthy, loved, happy, and wanted. If not for Pugsly’s help, love, and friendship these last three years would have turned out differently. I am thankful that he is my dog.