A Man And His Pooch

[SARGE]

A year ago I bought a Chinese Pug at puppy stage to keep me company in a very lonely apartment. Coming off a nasty divorce after 30 years marriage and an early retirement after 32 years - both all at the same time, we became good buds who needed each other more than I knew. I kept her 8 months then had to move and realized the pooch would be happier at my parents' place with 30 acres and other dogs to play and my mom who would spoil her rotten with table scraps , versus an apartment. It was another difficult separation but placed her welfare first. Today I saw her for the first time since November and she shied at first as though I was a stranger but I began repeating certain words I'd used before when we were together and she cocked her head as the words were spoken and soon whimpered. After a bit she came over to me, literally stared for a full minute, then jumped onto my lap and licked my face non-stop forever. Me being the tough old codger I am, I began crying over this simple yet meaningful recognition. She stuck by my side for 4 hours and wouldn't leave my lap and Mom said she doesn't even do that with her. As I left I knew I'd made the right decision last year for she has other dogs to play with and 30 acres to romp and stomp, yet it was a great feeling just being remembered in such a warm way by someone such as a pooch. Of course I took numerous pics of her fattened stage thanks to Mom's home cooking.

[Punked Out Comp]

Wow, great story!

Post the pics.

[Yuanji]

it gives you a warm feeling to hear such stories

[Panama Red]

You the man, sarge! Thanx for sharing, tough guy.

[juppy]

Pugs are great dogs, Sarge. We had one for around 9 years but she passed away a couple years ago. Something that always struck me as funny with ours though......I read a list in a magazine once that gave the general I.Q. of various dog breeds and how smart they are perceived to be. The pug ranked like 121st out of 125 dogs in their tests, but I have to totally disagree. Ours was really smart. You could tell her the usual stuff like "go to your basket" or "go outside" and she'd do it. But what always got me was how she could even tell her toys apart. She had quite a few different chew toys but somehow she knew the difference between bone, rope, sock, phone (rubber cell phone chewy), etc. We could tell her "Go get your rope" and even if all the toys were piled together, she'd dig through them and find the one we said. We miss her alot.

[Punked Out Comp]

Maybe I should get one...
Are they friendly to most people? Do they make good watchdogs? Will they protect you? Do they need alot of exercise? Alot of food? Space?

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by Punked Out Comp Maybe I should get one... Are they friendly to most people? Do they make good watchdogs? Will they protect you? Do they need alot of exercise? Alot of food? Space?

Well, from my own experience and those I've known who had one, yes, they are very friendly with a dab of independence. A watchdog status isn't one I've witnessed nor being a protector as they ain't big nor aggressive. They will tolerate all the exercise you can give, love food, and love the outdoors so space is all you can provide; that's why I surrendered mine to 30 acres.

[Jaggannath]

My mate has one, friendly but inclined to get fat easily.
And I know what you mean Sarge... when I went to England to see my relatives, my cousin had an 8 month old daughter named Nicole. I was living with my aunt and uncle but I used to go around and play with her a lot on the weekends, and just mess around. From the very start every time she saw me I was treated to a 1000MW smile that melted my heart... now I'm back in Australia, and though I miss Jemma and Naomi (her sisters), it's that first smile I miss most