Wild Alaskan Mountain Pug

Awards

2008-08-19T18:20:00.003-08:00

Well, I am back from spending a fun-filled weekend at my neighbor's house. My parents went to a wedding in NYC and dropped me off next door where my best friend -- Logan, the labrador -- lives. I had a spectacular time running after him and his Daddy on a bicycle. My human neighbors were surprised that I can run fast enough to keep up with the bike (he was pedaling slow); didn't they know that pugs are second only to the cheetah in speed for land animals?

While I was busy, I garnerned myself two awards . . . now that's stylin'! One is from Emmitt and the other one from Puddleglum (isn't that a cool name)?

I would blog more, but my parents are demanding that I spend more time with them now because they missed me terribly while they were away. Well, duh! The hard life of a pug, having to provide humans with love all the time *sigh*!

Atttack of the Starfish!

2008-08-11T06:11:00.001-08:00

I used to think of starfish as a pretty and harmless marine creature. I even tried to eat one once (my Mommy was thoroughly disgusted with me when she saw that). But since moving to Alaska, I have changed my mind . . . yes, they are pretty when they are solo. But take hundreds and pile them on top of one another, and you get a something out of a horror film, or at least my horror film.

Mommy, no! Stay away from the rocks!

This is actually one rock on a good day (by good day I mean not too many starfish gathered in one spot)

Awww, aren't they pretty. And they come in such cool colors . . . NOT! They are slimy and they are everywhere!

I swear, one of them almost jumped off the rock to attack the camera. Mommy says I have a vivid imagination; I will let you guys decide for yourselves . . .

Back to Petersburg

2008-08-06T19:50:00.004-08:00

Mommy had to go back to the town of Petersburg for work, so Daddy and I decided to accompany her. For you faithful fans of my blog, you will instantly recall that I had visited this town of about 3,000 back in frigid February. Well, let me tell you the weather was immensely more hospitable this time around . . . in the high 60s.

This provides proof as to how I am mistreated by my parents. Apparently pets are not allowed in the ferry cabins, so all pets must remain in the car on the 9-hour ferry ride. Here I am begging my Mommy to bring me with her while my Daddy tries to sneak out the back of the car.

You can see that Petersburg's economy is driven by fishing

Look at all the snow in those mountains back there!

My parents had dinner at The Beachcomber Inn, where they were afforded this sunset spectacle

I, unfortunately, was not able to see such a beautiful sunset as I was left behind in the hotel room.

An Award and the Blueberry Festival

2008-08-04T06:03:00.001-08:00

Yay! I am on a roll -- this is my second Brillante Weblog award -- which means I must be good! This one was awarded by the gang at Nevis.

Thanks guys! Of course, there are rules to this award:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs (seven! who came up with that number?)
4. Add a link to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I am going to have to apologize to Poley and Ruki's mom; Mommy is being prickly today and I don't want to antagonize her by making her type more on my blog than necessary. I will see if we can pick this up another day . . .

One of the reasons she is not in a great mood is because she missed my appearance in Ketchikan's Pet and Doll parade because of her stupid work. This mini-parade (all of 5 blocks) kicks off our annual Blueberry Festival (trust me, it's a big to-do here); having come from NYC, this barely counts as a block party, but hey, this is Alaska.

So, the Pet and Doll parade is for kids and the young-at-heart; kids march down the parade route with their favorite doll or pet. Mommy made Daddy walk me in the parade wearing Punchy's dress; much to his chagrin. Daddy cannot multi-task, which means he could not walk me and take decent pictures at the same time. When Mommy saw the pictures, she just gave a big *sigh*.

This is the organized mess at the start of the parade. And yup, people are still wearing sweaters and sweatshirt even though it is the beginning of August. We have had only three days above 70 degrees this summer!

You will notice everyone looking at me . . . What?!? Haven't you ever seen a pug in a dress before?

Very unflattering picture of my backside walking the parade route . . . Professional photographer, Daddy is not.

I am a Pretty Girl

2008-07-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

WOO-HOO! Guess what we got in the mail yesterday . . . my new dress from Punchy! I don't know who was more excited, me or my parents. And it got here super-fast for Alaska also -- I think Punchy must have given the mailperson extra treats. Now I am not usually a good model (I hate wearing outfits, prefering to be au naturel), but this dress was absolutely made for me!

I am being so good sitting still -- my parents didn't even have to bribe me!

I must say, I do look smashing in this dress. All you Hollywood starlets, eat your heart out!

And it fits perfectly! Most dresses are too tight in the neck and too long, but this one is custom-made.

Here is Daddy's Little Girl all decked out

Mommy, Daddy, and I are just so pleased with my new dress. Thank you Punchy for the beautiful outfit!!!

Forgot My Award

2008-07-22T09:55:00.002-08:00

Thanks to Pearl and Daisy for reminding me that, along with being tagged for a meme, I won an award! I blame my humans for this oversight -- I think they are extremely jealous that I am winning awards and they are left in my dust . . .

Tagged

2008-07-21T07:23:00.006-08:00

I am embarrassingly late with this meme, but it is all Mommy's fault being out of town and all. I had asked Daddy to help me, but he then said, "What's a meme?"

Daisy and Pearl tagged me for the fridge meme, which I am sure most of you know what it's all about. Essentially: 1. Show a photo of the front of your fridge 2. Tell us about one thing on it and one thing you keep inside of it.

This is the front of our fridge in all it's glory. Exciting, eh? Well, that's my parents for you -- dull, dull, dull. Their excuse is that they have no human children; but then what's wrong with more picture of me?

I find it extremely insulting to have only ONE picture of yours truly . . . you would think my parents don't love me enough or something! That picture of me on top was a gift from Aunt Judy in Michigan . . . maybe SHE loves me more than Mommy and Daddy. The awesome puggy magnet was a Secret Santa gift from Willow, Belle, and Turbo's Mom. And you will notice the free advertising for Abercrombie & Kent, the travel company. Mommy and Daddy have been all over the world with that company -- they are awesome!

Inside our fridge is pretty boring. I suppose the only interesting thing is hummus -- it is a staple in our house as Daddy loves, loves, loves it. I find it quite tasty as well.

My Hero

2008-07-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Mommy is finally back from her multiple trips. She was very worried about me during this time: was I eating OK? Pooping/peeing enough? Getting enough exercise? I told her not to worry, that Daddy took extra special care of me . . . after all, he is my hero!

Here we are in front of his fire house

Go Away Birds!

2008-07-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Almost back to normalcy here. I am getting the full attention from my parents that I deserve, and my scheduled walks have been, well, on schedule rather than an hour or two off. Mommy, though, is off to NYC again for work, so it will just be Daddy and me for a week. That's ok, because I like to snuggle with Daddy more.

This is me at one of my favorite places -- the marina. Lots of fish, crab, and other carcasses here for me to sniff and try to snack on. For some reason, my parents get upset when I try to eat anything here

Eagles are like pigeons back home -- they are EVERYWHERE!

This is a young eagle sitting on the swing set in our backyard. Mommy likes watching them because they are majestic . . . but she does admit they are loud! They screech and screech and screech . . . it can get annoying when a puggy is trying to sleep.

Weekend's Over

2008-07-07T16:14:00.002-08:00

Well, I hope every puggy and their family had a good 4th of July holiday. I had a great time because my Mommy and Daddy were home with me nearly the whole weekend! It was kind of cloudy-rainy for the three days, though, which put a little damper on the festivities.

My town had a small parade and some booths where various organizations sold food and had games. Daddy helped out in one of the game booths; Mommy and I went to visit him, but we didn't get to play for free at all! What's the point of having connections if it doesn't get you free stuff? I did manage to weasel 3/4 of a hot dog out of Mommy, though . . . That evening we watched some fireworks by the marina. I wasn't sure what to make of them -- why do you need such a loud noise to go along with the light? But in the spirit of celebrating our nation's independence, I barked right along with the fireworks.

So, that is my holiday recap. And now the work week has restarted - ick!

My City

2008-07-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

After much needed rest and contemplation, I have decided that I like having guests over. This, of course, is not a universal decision in the Wild Alaskan Mountain Pug household as I think Mommy and Daddy get stressed over entertaining. But I don't care because it is MY house. So, in order to entice more relatives and friends to come visit, I am going to put up pretty pictures of my town. This is on one of the mountain trails Mommy and I hike occasionally:

This is the northern part of the city proper.

This the southern part of the city. Normally, you would see three or four cruise ships docked.

Nice scenery, no? Now, don't you guys want to come visit me? My parents will be fine with it, trust me!

Lazy Weekend

2008-06-30T00:17:00.007-08:00

Well, after not having seen the sun in one week, it finally was a glorious Sat-Sun. Here in the Wild Alaskan Mountain Pug household, we took it easy and did minor jobs around the house while enjoying the time off. After having company over for most of the week, all I did was rest my weary body.

It started Saturday morning with me attempting to wring out a few more minutes of sleeping-in time on my almost decapitated and destuffed bunny

Mommy made me go outside to enjoy the sun. She caught me lying around . . .

Sunday morning finds me snuggling in Mommy's arms

This was my position most of Sunday. After all, I needed to catch up on my beauty sleep!

Guests from NYC

2008-06-25T17:43:00.002-08:00

My life has been turned topsy-turvy this week with the arrival of Mommy's friends from New York City. We picked them up on Sunday and we dropped them back to the airport this morning. Whew! I think I have mentioned before how hard it is to be a good hostess, especially when the weather is crappy (rainy and chilly for two of the three days they were here).

One of the highlights was catching a silver salmon and some rockfish for dinner, which I had a chance to sample. Yummm! And then one of Mommy's friends bought some fresh Dungeness crab (a specialty here in Ketchikan). Double-yummmm!

This was Mommy and two of her friends trying to prove just how tough I am! We went on a 3-hour 50 minute hike up the mountain to two lakes. We actually hiked past the snow line, forging through treacherous snow and ice fields. This is me and Mike romping on some snow at the lower lake. Mommy actually fell on her butt climbing down; I tried not to laugh too hard at her . . .

This is Catherine, a little person. She was my pal during those two-and-a-half days

As you all know, I cam capable of catching my own crustaceans to eat. I find it much easier to beg my Mommy's guests for scraps, though. This is me enjoying the Dungeness crab; pardon the crab guts on my face . . .

Special Delivery

2008-06-20T06:52:00.003-08:00

My parents thought it was soooo funny putting me in a tote bag, they decided to put me in a crate:

Special Delivery . . . Did anyone order a pug?

To ease my nervousness, Mommy put a baby in the crate with me

Hellloooo!! Anyone out there? It's not funny anymore?!

I am unfairly taking out my displeasure at the whole situation on my poor stuffed companion

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T06:58:00.003-08:00

Whew! It's been quite some last few weeks, with both Mommy and Daddy away on conferences and weddings and other non-puggy things. I have been a tiny bit ignored, but my parents more than made up for it with extra snacks and toys. But we were all able to spend Father's Day together; I was able to pick out an excellent card for my Daddy.

This is Daddy reading my Father's Day card. Don't I have good taste?

I don't know why my parents find it amusing to put me in various bags and tote me around . . .

Carlanna Lake Trail

2008-06-02T20:57:00.000-08:00

I was being so cute and adorable this weekend that Mommy brought me on a walk along one of her favorite trails here in town, the Carlanna Lake Trail. It starts out as a gravel uphill path that looks like it leads to the nearest quarry. But then you get to the top and lo and behold! . . . pristine nature!

This is the view that greets you as you huff and puff your way to the top

As you can see, it is a small lake surrounded by forest and mountains

There are three walkways that lead out to the middle of the lake . . . for people who want to fish

I am taking a well-deserved break after leading Mommy around the treacherous path (it's actually an easy walk, just hilly)

We are at the waterfall at the end of the trail. Along the walk we saw bear poop -- that freaked Mommy out, but I said I'd protect her

I am a Mountain Pug after all!

Daddy diving

2008-05-30T00:59:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to relate a story about something I found in the water that surprised me:

Here I am walking along my neighbor's yard, minding my own business, looking for something to eat . . .

When I notice something sticking out of the water . . .

What is that? Some crazy fish?

No! It's my crazy Daddy doing some diving!

Salmon on a Hook

2008-05-27T01:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we had an absolutely gorgeous Memorial Day weekend here, with temps in the low 70s and beautiful sunny skies. My parents took me out multiple times . . . I thoroughly enjoyed myself, simply walking along the road.

Living dangerously as I pick my way around a sheer cliff

Here I am stalking Mommy . . . she couldn't see me as I crawled along the high grass and blended in with my surroundings . . .

Roxy's Mom wanted to see a 40lb salmon . . . well, this was the biggest one at one of the weighing stations during the 10 minutes we were there. This King Salmon weighed 26lbs!! He was almost as tall as Mommy (all 5 feet of her!)

Salmon Derby Time

2008-05-25T12:42:00.002-08:00

Here in Southeast Alaska, there is a time of the year which we call Derby Time. It is a series of three weekends (usually in May) in which there is a prize for the largest salmon caught in the surrounding waters. This attracts lots of fishermen from all around the country, and it usually is alot of fun. My parents brought me to one of the weighing stations last year, and we saw salmon being weighed that were 40+ lbs! That's actually heavier than I am . . . sheesh!

Unfortunately for us, we live next to one of the more popular fishing sites. From 4am we have fishing boats outside our backyard . . . this can get a bit annoying as I can't even eat my food without fishermen watching me!

This is what we normally see from our family room . . . Daddy usually counts from 4 to 12 boats out there at a time

Derby Time!

This is me making sure that the boats don't get too close to our property . . . we have some rocks in front that can do serious damage

Tagged Again

2008-05-21T06:51:00.005-08:00

Egads, I was tagged by Napoleon and Rukia's mom to do this fun meme. Since I am only a young puggy, I tried to get Mommy to do this meme -- she gave me a "go away and don't bother me I'm busy" look. So, I licked Daddy on the head repeatedly until he submitted to my wishes.

So, the meme is each player answers questions about themselves and then tags 4 or 5 people to also do the meme.

1. What was I doing five years ago?
Daddy was working as a bellman on Mackinac Island. I wasn't conceived yet.

2. Five things on my to-do list today:
Daddy: work out, do laundry, meet with diving students, pick up box of veggies, make dinner. Me: sleep, eat, poop and pee, bark at things my parents can't figure out, and lick my Daddy's face.

3. Three snacks I enjoy:
Daddy: Bamba (some kind of Israeli snack), radishes, almond cookies. Me: Yummy Chummies (salmon snacks available in Alaska), carrots, almond cookies (my Daddy is a very messy eater).

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Daddy: travel, buy more dive gear, buy a house on Mackinac Island. Me: buy more snacks, bones, toys, etc. Maybe I would give some money to my parents . . .

5. Three of my bad habits:
Daddy: cracking his knuckles, eating too much deep fried Mozzarella sticks, yelling at people while driving. Me: I have no bad habits -- I am perfect. Oww! Daddy just gave me a big swap on the butt. Ok, if I had to state any bad habits, it would be: pooping and peeing inside the house if my parents ignore me, eating all sorts of critters I find on the beach, trying to meet every dog and person I meet on my walks.

6. Five places I have lived:
Daddy: Mackinac Island (Daddy is obsessed with Mackinac Island -- Mommy can't figure out why . . . she says Manhattan is a much cooler island); Israel; Cayman Islands; Traverse City, MI; Key West. Me: NYC and Ketchikan, Alaska.

7. Five jobs I have had:
Daddy: dive instructor, commercial diver, bellman, poultry farmer, taking care of the elderly. Me: I am currently unemployed.

Hmmm, it seems that most of you guys have done this meme, so I will tag anyone who hasn't done this yet and want to play!

Busy

2008-05-15T06:54:00.002-08:00

It's been a bit of a busy week with Daddy trying to fix our leaking roof, Mommy visiting NYC, and me destroying my stuffed animals. When Mommy came back from NYC, she was gushing about how wonderful it is with all the people, food, and shopping. Oh yeah, can you see this in New York?!

This was taken in our backyard through our window. It would have been clearer, but somebody was too lazy to go outside.

I Am a Wild Alaskan Mountain Pug!

2008-05-08T07:52:00.003-08:00

Just in case anyone who read my last blog thinks that by being a cuddle-bunny I am a pushover, I want to prove that that is not the case. I am a Wild Alaskan Mountain Pug! I can live off the land and forage for my own food -- who needs humans to feed me? Warning: the following pictures may be too gruesome for young readers.

Proof: I am able to capture a crab on the beach

Watch me decimate this little creature

Yummmmm!

Don't mess with me all you wild animals!!

A pug gets thirsty after so much destruction

I Love My Daddy

2008-05-06T21:09:00.002-08:00

I just wanted everyone to know I have a great Daddy whom I love very much. One of my habits that Daddy finds annoying (and Mommy gets jealous) is licking Daddy's head. I lick Daddy's head and face every chance I get . . .

It's actually quite addictive

I . . . can't . . . stop . . . myself

And this is me, the cuddle bunny

Tagged

2008-04-30T09:17:00.001-08:00

I have been tagged by both Lex and Sophie and Dixie! Here are the rules:

1. write your own six word memoir
2. post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like
3. link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. tag at least five more blogs with links
5. don't forget to comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play
6. have fun

Fearless, destructive, intelligent, adorable Alaskan pug

Need I say more?

I am going to bend the rules a bit and tag anyone who wants to play.

Meet my new victim

2008-04-28T00:58:00.000-08:00

I was such a good puggy over the weekend that my parents gave me a new victim, er, toy. This unfortunate bunny is a gift from my Grandmother. Thanks Grandma!

Awww, isn't he cute?

Prepare to get de-stuffed!