Pugsly 8/25/99-7/1/14

July 2, 2014
My trip started yesterday....though I couldn't write at all.  I was in tears most of the day as my beloved best friend dog Pugsly passed away.  I'm aching even writing these words as he's been with me for nearly 15 years.  So, if you don't want to hear sentimental memories about a dog....skip this part.  He was my first-born child by my side through EVERYTHING!  I got him shortly after Ryan and I married, actually picked him out at three weeks old and gave him my shirt to sleep in, so he could be used to my scent.  He was the only fawn boy pug out of the litter, so it was fate.  He was soooo tiny and soooo sweet.  But he was a true devil as well, with absolutely no remorse.  Many dogs feel guilty when they do something wrong.  Not Pugsly.  I remember being pregnant with Ethan and left a foot-long subway sandwich on the kitchen table.  Ryan comes home and screams at me from upstairs....Pugsly managed to leap up high enough to get the sub to fall on the floor, opened it up, and demolished it.  However, he left just the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and mustard laying on the floor.  He wasn't hiding when I came downstairs but just lounging and licking his chops.  Even when I yelled at him, he looked away.  When Ryan was away at sea, I taught him to shake, sit,  and lie down in two days.  He couldn't roll over though.  Never learned.  That was the extent of his dog tricks.  The rest of him was all human.  He slept with us, ate with us, traveled with us, watched TV with us, walked with us, and just hung out with us.  I even snuck him into my class (multiple times), and he, wearing a tuxedo, performed in the school play "Men in Black."   My students even brought him presents on his birthdays.   Despite all the love I gave him, guess whom he loved most?  RYAN!!!  Are you kidding me?  I'm the one who spent months taking care of him while Ryan was out to sea.  I'm the one who came home in the middle of my lunch to walk him.  I'm the one who made sure that not one single day Pugsly spent in a kennel.  I'm the one who took Pugsly into bed with us when he cried even when Ryan told me to keep him in his crate.  However, years later, I also kicked him out every night because of his snoring.  I'm the one who shared my lollipop with him....I know, that sounds gross, but you would share your candy with your child, wouldn't you?
Pugsly had so much character.  He wasn't a typical pug.  He never licked and gave kisses....saved that for males only-- and then only in small amounts.  He was fiercely protective, and if you visit my house, you will see intense bite marks on the fence.  When Brielle and Ethan were babies and I took them for a walk, if anyone would come and comment on their cuteness, he would snarl at them.  When another dog came up to play with Ryan or me, he'd bite the dog on his neck.  When someone left the house and didn't say goodbye to him, he'd bite them in the ass or sometimes the leg.  When Pugsly was hungry, he'd bang on the washing machine and dryer with his paw (where his food was kept), and if you didn't respond immediately, he'd stand in the hallway pissed as HELL!  I could write about him forever and his quirky ways.  He's been slowing down for a while, but I never thought he'd actually die!  He was the phoenix, always rising above!  In the midst of all my pain and guilt of not being there when he took his last breath, God and Pugsly saved me so much extra heartache.  The decision to put him down would have been torture for me.  Remember, Pugsly is not a dog to me.  He's human!  How did I have the right to take away his life?  How would I know if I were making the correct decision?  Pugsly was perfectly happy days and moments before he died.  He was on my side of the bed (he made it a point to show me that was his spot, so he could be next to Ryan), wagging his tail, and breathing normally.  The morning he died, Ryan came out from taking a shower, and when he pet Pugsly's head as he was getting dressed, he noticed Pugsly wasn't moving.  He even had the compassion to die when no one was looking to save us from that agonizing pain.
Pugsly knew that I would mourn and cry and hang around the house smelling all his belongings.  That's why he decided to let go when I had just left to go away on a three-week trip.  He knew I would be distracted and around people who would comfort me.  Yesterday, my eyes were bloodshot from crying, and my throat was sore from screaming.  Today, I'm numb and have waves of sadness and grief.  Pugsly is my guardian angel.  Today, he's running around the lake at our first apartment without his huge pus-filled tumor, marking his territory, and cuddling in a warm spot with his tongue going in and out just before falling asleep.  Rest in Peace, Pugsly......Love, your Mama

Pugsly wasn't just loved by me.  He was surrounded by family who viewed him as human, especially Ryan, Ethan, Pop-Pop Mark, Abba Shmuel.....(Notice these are all men :)  These four people were his favorites!  So, please reach out, and send a prayer out to them.  They are also mourning the loss of the best pug EVER!!

Pictures of Pugsly as an old man with his favorite people

 At 13, his "Bar Mitzvah"