Sadly, no updates have been posted for a very long time. We had a tragic loss in the House of Pugs. Our precious, little Lilly Marie came into our home and hearts and was quickly taken from us. I have not had the heart to post anything to this blog since our loss. We have been devastated to say the very least. I wished I had posted more during the time we did have her. She was with us for only six weeks, but they were action packed, pug filled, fantastic weeks! Lilly had the most amazing life force, and I think I am finally able to share her story. Many of the details have been left out because it is still so incredibly painful. This will be the only time I am going to post about our loss of Lilly. Any posts hereafter where we mention Lilly will be happy memories. I promised Lilly she will always be part of our family and I intend to keep her memory alive by remembering her beautiful pug spirit.

In Loving Memory of Lilly Marie
February 15, 2005 – October 12, 2005

Lilly Marie exemplified living life to the fullest. Her little food dish had the word “indulge” written inside, and that is what Lilly did. She indulged in everything. Lilly was a non-stop little bundle of energy. She was a true puppy through and through. This was evident by the way Lilly played and how she loved to put things in her mouth. Lilly liked to explore everything with her mouth. She chewed, licked, and ate anything she could get into. She chewed her nylabones incessantly. She loved to chew and lick her pug sister, Willow. I’ll never forget the first day we had Lilly at home and she tried to eat a bumblebee!

Lilly especially loved being outside, but it was very difficult for us to keep things out of her mouth. She would run and play in the yard with her pug sisters, Cleo and Willow. While playing, she would pick up leaves, twigs, rocks, etc. and put them in her mouth. We would chase her trying to get them out of her mouth. She thought we were playing. I worried about this behavior because I was scared she would eat something that would make her sick. We decided we would keep Lilly on her leash in the yard except when Chris and I were both there to supervise all three girls. We wanted Lilly to still be able to run free because she loved having her sisters chase her. We thought that if we were both there to supervise, we could keep her from eating anything harmful. We even fenced off a portion of the yard to keep her in a more contained area.

When we were outside with the girls, we were always looking at the ground for potential hazards. We would pick up twigs, small rocks, or anything else we thought she might get. We thought we were being careful and that our home and yard were safe. Sadly, we were wrong. On Tuesday, October 11, 2005, Lilly began to act mysteriously. She was not her usual “Lilly” self. She was lethargic, and in my heart, I knew something was terribly wrong. I instantly called the vet and rushed her to their office. They were baffled by her symptoms and not sure what, if anything, she had ingested. They kept her overnight for tests and observation.

The next morning, I called the vet and drove to the office to see her. I really don’t want to dwell on the details around her death because Lilly was so full of life. I would like to sum up with what we think happened to our precious little girl. From her symptoms and after doing some research, we believe Lilly ate a highly toxic mushroom. Her liver was enlarged and her liver enzymes were drastically high. Her blood sugar was very low. These symptoms point to mushroom poisoning.

After Lilly passed away, we frantically searched the yard for mushrooms. We couldn’t find any no matter how hard we looked. We had never seen any in the back yard, but occasionally saw mushrooms in the front yard. The girls were never in the front yard so we knew it wasn’t possible for Lilly to have gotten them there. Finally, a few days passed and Chris thought he saw one by our fence where we had just ripped out all of our plants. It was only a rock, but he looked beside the tree and saw two tiny mushrooms growing at the base of the tree. The mushrooms were no bigger than my pinky finger. I was shocked and devastated. These were probably the mushrooms she somehow found. After researching, I believe these are the deadly destroying angel mushrooms.

Lilly Marie had the most amazing and beautiful life force. My husband, Chris, said to me the day we lost her, "You know, the saying, 'the flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long,' - that's Lilly." I thought how this truly represents her life. She did all of her living in a very short time. As I said, Lilly lived life to the fullest. When she slept, she would stretch out completely and take up as much space as possible. When she was awake, she was always on the go looking for the next adventure.

Lilly Marie was part of our family for a short 6 weeks. Honestly, those were some of the happiest weeks of my life. She brought so much joy and love to our family. I will never forget adoption day. We were so excited and waited anxiously at the gate for her arrival. We were so overjoyed to see her and knew our family was now complete. We had our sweet, little girl.
I would like to share my letter to Lilly.

My Dearest Lilly Marie,
The day you came into my life was undoubtedly one of the happiest days ever for me. You brought so much energy and life to our home. There was never a dull moment with you! I will forever cherish every single moment we were blessed with you.
One of my favorite memories is our naptime together. I loved snuggling up with you in the morning with your little face pressed against mine. You would snore in my ear and we would drift off to sleep. You were so peaceful, and I knew when it was time to wake up, you would be ready to go! You sure kept your pug-sisters on their toes. They miss you, too.
Home is not the same without you, Lilly. You brought so much love and life to your sisters and us. I think of you often and know that somehow you are still with us. I like to go to your favorite spot in the backyard and say hello to you. I like to think you hear me. I hope you know that I will always love you dearly.
Your beautiful, little face still lights up our living room with your photo that we have on a shelf with your toys in honor of you. We will always keep your spirit alive and will be thankful for the time we had with you. You will always be part of our family. We got 3 frame ornaments for our Christmas tree this year and put all the pug girls pictures in them. You were at the top, Lilly, in a beautiful, white, sparkling snowflake. Just as no two snowflakes are alike, there will never be another pug like you.
You will always be alive in our hearts and in our memories. My memories of you make me smile, and yet I still feel sadness because I miss you so incredibly much. I want to thank you for sharing a part of your short life with us. You gave us more than you’ll ever know. You made us realize what is important in life – family.
I love you my sweet baby pug.
Always,
Your Mama

Greetings!! My name is Lilly Marie, and I am the newest member of the House of Pugs. I am Cleo and Willow's brand new baby sister. That's my picture up above. I am officially moving into the House of Pugs this Sunday. You see, I am a rescue pug from pugrescuenetwork.com. Pugsmama and Pugsdaddy applied to adopt a rescue pug, and my foster mommy thought I would be a good match. I am so excited to be going to my forever home. I can't wait to play chase with Cleo and Willow in our yard. I'll update more later once I am settled into my new home.

Update from Cleo:

Yep....we're getting a baby sister. Pugsmama says she is only 5 1/2 months old. She's even smaller than Willow. I didn't know they made pugs that small! This has been a busy summer in the House of Pugs. Willow and I got to hang out with some of the rescue pugs at Petco. That was a lot of fun. We got to educate people about how cute we pugs are. Hopefully we helped find some fellow pugs homes. I'm happy we are giving Lily a new home. She's pretty cool to play with. I chased her in the yard until I couldn't move! I hope mommy feeds me more so I won't lose my full figure!

Mommy and Daddy had to go to Florida last week without us. Mommy said it was an emergency because our pop pop was sick. He had something called a heart attack. We were all really scared and mommy was crying. Boy do I hate to see mommy cry. It makes my heart hurt when she does. I wonder if that is how pop pop's heart felt.

Anyhow, we had fun at the boarding kennel. The people there were super nice to us, and we didn't have to sleep in wire cages. We had our own small room with all our toys that mommy packed and our beds. We got to hang out with Jenny (the owner) in the office and greet people when they came to drop off their doggies for daycare. Mommy called every day and checked on us. We were good girls the whole time. We've never been boarded before so this was a whole new experience. It was pretty fun so maybe we'll do it again sometime.

Willow's Update:

Like Cleo said, it's been a busy summer for us. Mommy had surgery on her arms and hasn't been able to pick us up and hold us. I have been climbing into her lap and snuggling since she came home from pop pop's house. I sure hope pop pop will be okay. I remeber the first time I met him. I barked at him for 4 hours straight! I was trying to tell him about my life. He thought I didn't like him, but I did. Pop pop spoils us when we visit. He calls us his grandpugs! I sure miss him. Mommy said that she will take us to see him around Christmas.

I can't wait for Lilly to get here. She's going to be my partner in crime. I just know it!!! She's my size, well maybe a little smaller, and she's super cute like me! I had so much fun when she came to visit. We ran all over the house. All this exercise will help me maintain my girlishly pug figure.

We'll update again after Lilly's arrival.

Today is going to be a busy one in the House of Pugs. Our grandma and grandpa are coming all the way from Florida to Michigan to see just us pugkids!! Mommy has been running around all morning trying to get the house cleaned and a little more organized. We got brushed, ears cleaned, and wrinkle folds cleaned. I hate getting my ears and folds cleaned, but it's a fact of pug life - it must be done. Mommy wiped us down with baby wipes and sprayed us with our favorite puggie perfume. We are all ready for grandma (aka food lady) and grandpa!

Things have calmed down since "the incident." Willow and I now have our own rooms called crates that we sleep in downstairs every night. I have to admit, I was scared the first night, but don't tell that to WIllow. She's used to the crate thing, but this is all new to me. Mommy said I did really good, and actually I don't mind my new room. It's big and roomy, with a soft gray furry liner. I sleep with my new favorite stuffed toy manatee and a leopard print doggie pillow. I sneak a nylabone in, too, in case I wake up and need to chew on something. I'll let Willow tell you about her room in her report.

This week has been a good one for me. Mommy and Daddy think I am doing good with my new room. They seem to be much happier, too. They keep talking about something called getting married. WIllow and I aren't too sure what that means, but as long as we get to stay with the mommy and daddy in the new house forever with lots of toys and food, we will be happy.

I thought it would be fun to list some of the names that Mommy and Daddy call me. You see, I go by many names. Cleo is my given name, but I have tons of nicknames. Here are some: Bigs, Biggie, Big-o-metric, Big Mama, Biggers - These names are because of my volumptuous pug figure. Pugsmama says that just means there is more of me to love. The vet says I should lose a couple pounds, but screw him! I like being a 21 pound pug diva.
Some other names I go by are: Monkey (like my Daddy), Gita (as in Pugita), Scooter, and one of my favorites, Boo-Bug-a-Pug. Mommy made up that one and she usually sings me a little song with it. I like it when she sings to me. Sometimes she picks me up, and we dance, too! Mommy is crazy, but she's fun!

Well, Pugsmama says my time is up and it's WIllow's turn now. I think I'll go take a nap. This blog is hard work!

Hello, it's me, WIllow! I like my new room. It's bigger than my last one, and I can see more. It's nice having Cleo's room beside mine. During the day, if her door is open, I sneak in there and play with her toys. SHHH! Don't tell Cleo or there may be a repeat of "the incident."

My room is a little smaller than Cleo's. That's because I'm smaller! It has a soft blankie with penguins on it, and I have my toy turtle and sock monkey in the corner. I was a bit angry when Mommy and Daddy put me in there to sleep at night. I wanted to show them I was mad so I pooped in my crate. The next night I pooped and peed in my crate! I didn't know it would be so gross, though. Last night, I was a good girl and kept my room clean! Boy were Mommy and Daddy happy! It felt much better not waking up in poop and pee.

Mommy and Daddy keep asking us if we want a new pug-sister. We aren't too sure how we feel about this yet. Mommy is now volunteering with a pug rescue group. They save pugs who don't have a home. It makes me sad to think of other pug kids who don't have a home. Cleo and I are so lucky to have our own forever home. Maybe some of our readers will go to the link www.pugrescuenetwork.com and find out about adopting a pug kid. I'm glad Mommy is going to volunteer so we can go hang out with other pugs and play, and hopefully she can help some puggies find forever homes!

I guess since Cleo made her list of nicknames, I will add some of my own. Here are some: Smalls, Tiny, Little, Little-head, and Smallastica (These are because I am on the small side). Everyone thinks I am a pug puppy, but I am just a little 13 pound pug diva! Here are some more names: Widdle (or Widdle in the Middle because I am always in the middle of mommy and daddy), Gita (short for pugita), Monkey-Head, and my least favorite, Turd Ferguson. Daddy started that one because of my anal aggressive tendencies. Sometimes when I get mad at Mom and Dad for leaving me, I poop. I have gotten a lot better, though. I am slowly learning to control myself and my anger.

I think I will go join Cleo on the comfy couch for a late morning nap. Nap time= Good time.

The Incident at The House of Pugs (continued)

Pugsdaddy's statement:

I can't speak as to what really happened on the night in question (only Cleo and Willow know the true account of the event and they're just pointing fingers) but I can gave the facts to the best of my knowledge...

We were all sleeping in the standard arrangement (me on the right, Pugsmama on the left and Willow and Cleo in the middle, with Cleo tending more towards the feet) when Willow started with the ruckus. Before I could even register what had awoken me from my slumber a no-holds-barred pug-fight had erupted on top of me. Instinctively I separated the furry combatants as best I could (for my safety/sanity as much as theirs). It was about that time Pugsmama flew back into the room in a panic, “Where are they? What’s wrong? Is anyone hurt?” This last question, of course, meant more for the girls. Fortunately it could be answered with a “No.”

Besides from a few minor scratches – one for Cleo and a couple for me – and a night of solitary for an angry (and more than likely, scared) big-mama Pug everyone and everything was OK in the end. Though, Pugsmama did suffer some Chucky-esc fear that Cleo would escape confinement unleash 21 lbs. of voodoo-Pug fury on us in the middle of the night.

The only lasting effect of the incident was a re-thinking of the sleeping arrangements, namely the beginning of night kennel training for both the girls. Hopefully it won’t become necessary for Pugsmama, too :)…

The Incident at The House of Pugs

Here is the account of the incident at the House of Pugs this past weekend as told by each party involved.

Pugsmama's statement:

On Saturday night just before midnight, I was asleep in the bed with Cleo, Willow, and Pugsdaddy. As ususal, I was on one side of the bed with Pugsdaddy on the other. Willow was in between us snuggled close to my side, while Cleo was asleep in between our feet. I went to turn over away from Willow, and when I moved she suddenly freaked out and began crying. Actually it sounded more like screaming!!! I've never heard her do this before, and I had no idea what was going on because it was dark. So I jumped out of bed scared to death and before I could turn on the light, I hear the pugs growling and fighting with each other. Pugsdaddy did his best to separate them as quickly as possible. It all happened so fast!

After we got the pugkids separated, we tried to assess any injuries. Willow appeared to be unharmed, but Cleo, who was still mad as hell, jumped off the bed and began pacing until she ran under the bed. Pugsdaddy got her to come out, and we noticed she had some blood coming somewhere from her right eye area. I freaked out because I thought the injury was inside her eye. Cleo has enough eye problems so she didn't need another one. As Pugsdaddy held her, I looked at her eye and noticed a slight scratch on the skin beside her right eye corner. We cleaned it and I put some of the ointment I had left over on it. The injury was fortunately very minor, but Cleo was still extremely angry with Willow. I tried to get them to go back to bed, but Cleo kept trying to dominate her. WIllow was her usual sweet self and tried to get Cleo to play. WIllow tried everything to get Cleo to calm down, but to no avail.

At this point, we were left no other alternative. I brought Cleo downstairs to sleep on the couch. We returned to the bedroom and tried to go back to sleep. We were all pretty shaken by the incident. Little Willow snuggled in between us and fell right to sleep. I was worried about Cleo downstairs. I felt badly that she had to sleep by herself, but I knew she was not going to give Willow a moment of peace. I've never seen Cleo so angy and it really upset me. I kept thinking that she was going to sneak back upstairs and attack Willow. At the foot of the stairs we have it blocked so she couldn't get upstairs. I heard her running around downstairs as I was trying to fall asleep, and I swore she had made it up the stairs. I whispered to Pugsdaddy, "She's up here!" He tried to reassure me that she wasn't, but I was still freaked out that she was going to get upstairs and attack. That's pretty bad when you are afraid of your pug flipping out and attacking her pugsister and parents as they sleep!

Willow's statement:

I was having a nightmare about my stuffed toy sock monkey. He had turned into a gi-normous robo-sock monkey and was chasing me. All of a sudden mommy moved and I woke up from my terrible nightmare. I was scared to pieces, and I began to do my best puggie scream ever! Next thing I know, Cleo is on me trying to eat my head. I fought back as hard as I could. I guess I was still part asleep and maybe I thought she was the giant sock monkey! I got Cleo right by her eye, and I drew blood. Boy was she mad!!! Daddy broke us up, and mommy was all freaked out and upset. Cleo wouldn't leave me alone. I tried to be nice. I tried to play. I tried ignoring her. Nothing worked. So mommy sadly took Cleo downstairs to sleep on the couch. I got to stay with mommy and daddy in the big bed. I sure was a scared little pug!!

Cleo's statement:

Look, I thought the little one was attacking mommy. There was all this screaming and mommy jumped out of bed. I was only trying to save mommy from Willow. I was trying to hold WIllow down, but she started fighting me. Things got a little out of hand. Then I realized I was bleeding! I was livid!!! Daddy got us separated. Everyone tried to calm me down, but I was so mad that the little monkey drew blood on me! I kept instigating a fight because I wanted my chance to get even. You know how sisters fight! Instead, mommy carried me downstairs and blocked the stairway. I had to sleep by myself! Can you believe it?!?! Where was the gratitude for saving mommy's life??? I was angry at mommy for making me sleep alone. I was angry at daddy for not letting me kick WIllow's booty. I was really ticked off at the little turd burgular for causing me to bleed, even though it was a really small amount. Anyhow, I got over it by morning once I got to eat breakfast. Food somehow magically makes everything all better and right in the world!

Pugsdaddy is currently unavailable for a statement, but will post one tomorrow.

Sweet Pug Faces

Willow is on the left side, and I am on the right. This is on one of our many car rides with mommy.