Brudabaker

What are those large things?

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 00:20:00 +0000

A few weeks ago two beautiful black horses showed up in a neighbors yard. I've driven by them and seen them various times. Last week Miley noticed them when we were on a walk.

She stared at them so I decided to walk over with the pugs closer to them. It was really cute because when Miley noticed them the hair on her back stood up. Brutus I know has seen horses as he saw our horse Koko before she passed.

So we walked over but we stayed about 10 feet away. I didn't know how they would react to us, nor how the pugs would react. So it was a nice friendly stare down.

Yesterday the horses noticed us. So we walked over again. This time we did get a little closer. Brutus was unimpressed and generally wondered what we were doing.

Miley on the other hand, was so scared and curious at the same time. She would walk closer to them, then back off. I think they looked smaller from far away. Silly girl.

Wordless Wed!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Mancat Monday!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Here are some pictures of Belvedere aka Akita. He's named after this cartoon. My Dad and I use to say this all the time. "Oh Belvedere, come here boy"

The return of Akita

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Around this time in 2008 I was asked to foster a kitten named Akita. Oddly this was also the same time George Henry started coming around.

Anyway flash forward to about a year ago. I had seen Akita at the same animal shelter (no kill). I had asked about him and they said he would be a permanent resident. Apparently he was adopted out but it didn't work out. He hid and they brought him back. I kept thinking about him.

I put in an application to adopt him a week or two ago. A lady from ARF called me back and asked me if I was sure because Akita is "weird." I told her I had fostered him with a bad eye infection and he was ok here.

Last Saturday I went to pick him up to foster him for 2 weeks. So far so good. Poor Miley is dying to get close to him but he doesn't trust her yet. Miley just wants to play and Akita doesn't trust her yet. The great thing about him is that he's use to being around multiple cats so he is very friendly with the other cats here. They are not always feeling his love but no fights. Just some unhappy looks, flat ears and very confused faces.

He looks like a mess because he had matted fur on his sides so I took scissors to the mats and cut them out. He could care less. Hope to have some pics up on a day or two.

The pugs are doing great. Brutus is getting old. Nothing wrong but he's just slowing down some. Although he is enjoying the cooler weather. I'm having pet stairs made for the bed that are wider and made of wood so they are sturdy.

Spider

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:40:00 +0000

This spider has made a web either between the house or the tulip tree and this hanging basket for the whole month of August and a couple days into Sept.

Every night for a few weeks when I went outside to let the pugs out he/she was there. Sometimes with a full web, sometimes I get to watch the making of the web. It's quite remarkable.

Rugs and vaccums

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Since we have new floors, we also had to get new rugs.

For the entry way we went with this.

I got a large utility rug in the dining area because of the pugs. They drip water and etc.

I also got all new vaccums to go with the new carpet and hardwood. I know it's lame but I was excited to get them all. Most exciting is the bissel guy. I can't have any beater bars or anything and I wanted something easy to work with. I use it every other day to pick up hair and etc.

For the carpet I bought this bad boy. I love it too!

For any stains I bought this little guy.

Tough cookie

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Brutus is one tough cookie. I came home last week on Tues and saw him scratching his ear. I went to clean it and....his ear was infected (gross pus and very red skin). From looking at his poor ear you'd think he would be effected. He didn't miss a beat. All smiles and eager for treats and to go on his walk.

This isn't the first time he's had some type of problem and acted as if nothing was wrong. He's had other ear infections and allergy issues but never pus like this one.

Good news is that one week out his ears look great. He actually responded to the meds immediately.

Carpet

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:45:00 +0000

A few people asked about the hardwood floors and the pugs/animals. I don't think the pugs like the hardwood floors per se because they don't have the traction. Both have wiped out a couple of times. I do feel bad for them but Brutus does love it as it's cool and he has way more places to lay. As far as their nails/claws they don't harm the floor. I hear them clack on the floor but they don't scratch the floor from what I've seen. They do love the new carpet....

The new carpet is not as exciting as the hardwood floors but I have a few pictures. I didn't get new carpet in the guest bath but I did get the walls repainted. More about that in a second.

Closet before with very blue carpet...

New carpet

The great room with the new carpet

Bathroom before

Bathroom after. Now I thought I was going with a light green but instead it was bright lime green. I swear you can see a green reflection off the white floor tile. Anyway, since it was so green I choose to decorate with red. I love it!

Hardwood floors

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:05:00 +0000

Well like Brutus pointed out, we got all new hardwood floors in the main walkways and dining room. We got engineered hardwood that was hand scraped so it isn't "finished" or looks consistent. It does have a finish on it but it looks weathered. I love it!

So before it began they brought the wood over.

Here is my lovely cluttered kitchen counter. Clutter clutter everywhere for weeks. It drove me nuts!

Sammy enjoying the hardwood.

So here we are on Day 1, all carpet removed in the main area and dining room! YAY
I was able to finally get rid of where Lilly had messed on the carpet!!!! On a side note she passed one year ago on July 9th, I still miss her.

For the area where Lilly had peed over and over on the carpet we put baking soda down to absorb the moisture and then painted over it with killz

Day 2 was a bust because there was a low spot and it had to be evened out.

Day 3!!

Day 4!!

Day 5!!

Done!!

March was not a good month for me

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:57:00 +0000

My Dad passing has been tough. His death effects my Mom and I and also our relationships with others. I'm not going to go into it much but I miss him. I miss how things were. It's only been a little over 4 months. I focus on every 29th of the month because that's the day he died. Some days are worse than others. Most people don't talk about it with me which doesn't help. People are afraid they will hurt your feelings but really you want to talk. For the first few months I cried. Now I don't because I don't want to hurt. He is pictured here with his cat Dutch. Mom says the cats aren't the same. Both miss him as he used to pet them a lot because he sat in his chair a lot.

Not only did my Dad pass in March but a friend and co-worker did too.

In Dec of 2009 Seemann - yes that was his real name - aka CB was taken to the ER. Long story short he had brain cancer. He passed on March 10th.

I miss them both terribly. I went to movies and dinner with CB sometimes. He hosted all of our work parties. He helped me around the house with small things. He even built a beam in my house which I love. Both were people I could count on to help me and they are gone.

Lots of catching up to do - Miley and the Paint

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Hi all, we've got a lot of catching up to do. Moms been struggling a little since her Dad passed away. We have had some good times though.

In mid-July we got new hardwood floors and carpet all throughout the house. Before that happened though, Mom got some of the walls painted.

Miley decided it would be a good idea to see what the paint tasted like. Can you believe her?

Happy Monday!

Brutus

**Stacy here, Miley licks everything and everyone who is new. She most likely walked up to the can of paint to smell it and licked it at the same time.

Uncomefortable

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:27:00 +0000

This is a post about me and my feelings regarding the death of my Dad so you may not be interested.

When I was looking for a picture to describe how I feel I first put in devastation into the google image search. That one is hard to pick and find a fit because it's mostly peoples homes and weather devastation pictures that appear. The other word to describe how I feel lately is uncomfortable. I felt this picture fit. Mainly because while the kitteh looks uncomfortable apparently he/she is comfortable enough to sleep. Me though, I on the outside look ok, while mentally I am uncomfortable, devastated, and struggling.

Devastated from my Dads passing. He's gone. No more interactions, fun times, asking about the weather, my car, the livestock - my pets, questions, advice, etc. Gone. Not only is it difficult for me but for my Mom. They were married 43 years. I'm an only child. I have no grandparents left and half of my Moms family is gone or lives in FL. Dads family is scattered. That means no close family around. Just Mom and I. Dad was the center and he's gone.

I feel awful. No amount of crying helps. For a while I cried every day. Then I stopped. Time helps I guess but not in some ways. My mantra for the 1st month after his passing was, "I can't believe he's gone." Now my mantra is "oh my God he's gone." I am unable yet to look at the things to be grateful for, that he died quickly, that I have no regrets with my relationship with him, that he didn't suffer. There is no "bright side." For now he's gone.

Gone is that person but their things remain. I always thought of my parents house as "their" house. Now I realize it was mostly my Dads stuff. He was the youngest of 4 boys so he got a lot of hand me downs. I think when he became an adult he decided no more hand me downs. He collected things. LOTS of things all practical. Rope, knives, hunting knives, tools, gloves, etc. He had extra of everything. He had a pair or two of gloves in his truck, in the basement, in the garage, and in the toolbox. What the heck do we do with all of these gloves? He's given me a few pairs over the years already! Nail clippers, tools. ALL of this organized to the point that you had no idea he had multiples of this stuff. He has a jar of marbles in the garage? What for? To me the fact that he had all of this stuff including the marbles - there is a joke in there somewhere - was funny but at the end of it all you are faced with decisions. What do we do with this stuff? Some of we have given to family and friend. Some of we are not selling due to sentimental value. The rest, we have no idea, yard sale, auction, ebay?. My Mom told me the other day she found 5 more pair of boots under the stairs. I joked that maybe his items were multiplying on their own?

I never realized how much of an impact my Dad had not only on me but others. The total loss is devastating. Everything reminds me of him. I want everything "fixed." For me and my Mom to go back to "normal" but there is not a normal like it was. This feeling is just unshakeable.

I think this is why I tend right now to not interact with anyone. This feeling of dread and uncomfortableness consumes me. I am struggling to get by in my own life. I can't even give support to anyone else right now. I feel bad for that but I just want to be alone. I also don't want to honestly answer the dreaded question "how are you doing?" I guess in a way I want it because I want to talk to feel better but no amount of talking helps. So instead I avoid the dreaded question and people in general. I'm told this is a phase and it will get better. I wish I didn't feel this way.

I am not sure what my point is here. Just to get some thoughts out and feelings out on "paper."

Odds and Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:40:00 +0000

Hi all. It's been over 2 months since my Dad passed. We got the autopsy report. He died of a heart attack. I am not going to lie it's devastating still. I am trying to see the bright side of things to be grateful for, but am not there yet. I am not very wordy right now but here are some other things that have went on the in the past two months.

I saw a double rainbow I didn't have that guys reaction though.....

Our yard turned into a field....I couldn't find anyone to mow our yard. It's finally mowed now.

I saw a very outrageous license plate.

And this past weekend we went to 2 meetups! On Sat we went to the Indy Pug meetup, then on Sunday we went to the ARF Bark Park for smooshyface day.

We saw this cutie up for adoption. She's an 8 year old named Peggy.

Here is a general picture.

Happy Monday everyone!

My Dad Died

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:57:00 +0000

Hi all. I plan to blog about my Dads death for a few times. I want to document this while it's fresh in my mind.

As some of you know my Dad passed away.

On January 13, 2009 my Dad was having trouble breathing and went to the Drs office. They subsequently made him to go the emergency room. To make a long story short he was finally diagnosed that May with Pulmonary Fibrosis and Pulmonary Hypertension. It's rare to have both so I'm told. Basically not only were his lungs turning into scar tissue but he had high blood pressure in his pulmonary arteries which made his heart have to work harder. He was on oxygen and was fairly functional. He would go and get coffee. He and Mom would go to eat. He went to rehab 3 times a week and after he got on the lung transplant list he went 5 days a week. His illness though made me realize how much energy it takes just to get a shower.

In the summer of 2009 he had a stint put in his heart. This helped. I am not sure exactly when but he started doing the testing to be put on a lung transplant list.

When he was first asked he said "I've lived my life, someone younger could use those lungs." On another visit the Dr. said "what if you were the only person who was a match to those lungs?" So he and my Mom forged ahead with the testing.

On November 4, 2010 he was officially put on the lung transplant list. I won't go into detail but let me tell you it's a lot of testing and counseling and meetings to get put on those lists. All of it makes sense but wow. During all of this my Dads reply was "I'm ready." My Mom did everything she could to help him and support him.

Everything was going ok, relatively speaking, until this early March. His left lung collapsed. We didn't know it at that time, but this was the beginning of the end. Dad was in the hospital back home and then transferred to St. Louis Barnes Jewish Hospital (where he was on the transplant list). First he was in ICU then transferred to a regular room, then back to ICU.

I had planned to go out there on Thursday March 24th and that week of work was terrible. I wanted to leave so bad but knew I needed to get things in order. On the 23rd that Wed Dad was in such poor shape they were going to put him on an Echmo (SP?) machine. It was a machine that would filter and oxygenate his blood. It was risky because he could only stay on it for 4-5 days. This was our last option until they could find lungs. Luckily, at 5:30am on March 24th my Mom called and said they had lungs. I dropped off the pugs at 8am, went to work to settle a few things and headed for St. Louis.

I arrived about 2pm. My Dad was in ICU and he was grasping for air. He laid on a bed still except his upper body which was heaving up and down. He looked like an out of shape or out of breath athlete. I got to see him for a few minutes and then they rushed him off to surgery.

Around 11pm we were able to go back and see him. He was suppose to have had a double lung transplant and bypass surgery for his heart. He ended up with the right lung transplanted. Before any transplantation could occur they put him on the heart lung machine. A person can only be on this machine for 4 hours. Otherwise there is a risk of stroke, brain damage, etc. When they started the surgery a cannula was inserted and his aorta dissected. They way it was described was that the aorta is in layers and some of the layers tore which weakened the entire aorta. This took 2 hours to fix. It takes 1 1/2 hours to transplant each lung. So the Drs. decided to transplant 1 lung. Dad also didn't get the bypass. We were ok with all of this though because the bypass could happen at another time and he was alive.

The next morning he was having heart issues. He was on the maximum amount of medications to help his heart squeeze and also to keep his blood pressure up. The Drs. wanted to go back into surgery and unsuture his pericardium. The pericardium is the sac surrounding the heart. The physician who did the surgery sutured it up 1/2 way because Dad had a lung transplant. Normally the Dr. leaves the pericardium open in case of swelling. The surgery worked as they found some fluid and clots and this resulted in significant improvements immediately for my Dad.

From then on, Friday afternoon to Monday morning it was a waiting game. Dad was to rest. He was on paralytic medications to keep him still and heavy sedation. He was on other medications as well. Over the course of the 2 1/2 days he showed baby step improvement. He was slowly weaned off medications. The Drs. were constantly reminding us that he was very sick. One Dr. said it could be 2-3 weeks before he could be woken up.

To make a long story short, on Monday March 28th Dad woke up. He was still ventilated and was very very groggy but he was awake. He was able to nod and point. My Mom and I were thrilled. He told us he was hungry, which was a blessing because he was never hungry much since he got sick. We were able to talk to him. I told him I loved him, that I was proud of him. He joked with Mom and I about the nurses being mean to him and about being in pain. He told us and the nurses he wasn't in any pain.

My Mom and I both would come and go that day. We didn't want to wear him out. As long as we were in the room he tried to communicate with us. That evening he had some clotting issues and once those were taken care of Mom and I left. My last memory is of him laying there nodding with his eyes wide open when we joked about how he could handle some small oozing/bleeding after what he's been through and how happy he was just to be alive.

We called that evening about 11pm and the nurse told us that he was fine, they had (finally) started nutrition in his feeding tube. Mom and I were sure that once he started getting fed that he would really improve. He had a fighter attitude and was very strong mentally.

At 2:08am I got a phone call. When the phone rang I knew it was bad. The person on the phone said that his blood pressure dropped and they were performing CPR and Mom and I should come. I asked if he was Dead and she said no. I got up and told Mom. I panicked in my head. I tried not to in front of Mom but I hyperventilated while I was getting the car. We got to the ICU and there were a ton of people in his room. We went to a small room with 2 chairs and a couch. We waited for about 40 minutes. 3 physicians came in and one told us he had passed. I just sat there but I can still see my Moms face and her crying. The Drs were very nice and I could tell they were crushed. The Drs left and she and I went into see him one last time. She couldn't stay in there. I sat by him and touched his shoulder and talked to him a bit. I told him I was sorry, that I admired what he went through and how hard he fought to stay alive. I kissed his forehead. It's amazing how cold he was. I told him how happy I was that he could breathe deep and run free. I hoped he could now be with Koko our horse who passed last Sept. If I had thought I would have asked him to look after my Lilly who passed over the summer. I like to think she found him and gave him a very bitchy greeting. Aside from me, the only other person who liked her was my Dad. Anyway, after I talked to him I then got up and went to sign papers. Other nurses came over who had worked with Dad to hug us. We consented to an autopsy. I knew I would want to know why. At that time the Drs though his aorta had burst because his blood pressure dropped so quickly. I am still glad we did but I know it won't make anything less painful. We went back to the hotel, checked out and went home to Southern IL, about 2 hours south. In the hotel I panicked again and hyperventilated when talking to my Mom about how we will make it through this together.

I am an only child. I had a wonderful relationship with my Dad. I called home every day or they called me. The loss is devastating. It's a pain worse than anything I've ever felt. I am thankful for the relationship I had with him though. I have no regrets as I know he knew I loved him and cared for him. I said everything I wanted to say to him before he died. I have some guilt about not going home more often and about not going to the hospital sooner but I made those decisions with my parents and they were the right ones at the time. If I had known, I would have made different ones. Besides I can't go there and my Mom was very adamant that I don't have those thoughts or go there.

As of now I am in the denial stage. I know he's dead but it's as if it didn't really happen.

Richard Walker, age 67 of McClure, died March 29, 2011 in Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Richard was born on January 13, 1944 in Jonesboro, the son of William Henry and Elnora Elizabeth (Reynolds) Walker. He married Kaye Moore on April 5, 1968 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Richard was a member of the Jonesboro Masonic Lodge 111, the Cairo Masonic Lodge 237, Ainad Shrine Temple of East St. Louis, Operating Engineers Local 318, a lifetime member of Sword of Bunker hill and the National Rifle Association, and other various organizations. He was of Baptist faith.

Survivors include his wife Kaye of McClure; a daughter, Stacy Walker of Muncie, IN; three brothers, Joe (Jan) Walker of Marion, Merle Walker of Jonesboro and John (Karen) Walker of Pawnee, IL. Richard was preceded in death by his parents William and Elnora Walker.

Funeral services for Mr. Richard Walker will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 1, 2011 at the Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home in Jonesboro with Rev. Randy Morgan officiating. Interment will be in the Lindsey Cemetery in McClure. Military honors will be conducted at the graveside by the Military Funeral Honors Team in Marion. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 31, 2011 at the Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home in Jonesboro. Masonic services will be at 7:00 p.m. Thursday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jonesboro Masonic Lodge 111. Envelopes will be available at the Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home in Jonesboro.

Zoe

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:04:00 +0000

Zoe our neighbors dog started coming around over the summer. Even though she's a pit bull mix of some type

Catching treats....not

Catching treats

We really like her especially Miley. Unfortunately she just had puppies. I say unfortunately because she doesn't need to have puppies as there are too many unwanted dogs out there already. I am happy to say she is doing fine and a good Momma.

Wordless Wed

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:38:00 +0000

Happy "Gotcha" Day Miley!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:26:00 +0000

2 years ago today I picked up Miley to "foster" her until she found her forever home. Little did I know she was in her forever home. While I am a foster failure with her and George Henry, I am proud to say these were some great failures. I really didn't want another Dog but she is special to me in many ways.

As some of you know my Dad is on a lung transplant list. He initially was diagnosed with lung issues 2 years ago in January. In March and April he was really struggling and this was when I had started fostering Miley. The last thing I needed was another responsibility. But Miley turned out to be a good responsibility for me. There were days I was so down and she would be one of the only things to bring a smile to my face. She is in a word fun. She is always in a good mood, loves anything living, other dogs, cats, birds, people, etc and has a tongue that sticks out most of the time which is so cute and makes it impossible to be upset when she's around.

She has come a long way from that anxious dog I picked up. Although I didn't "officially" adopt her until October I still consider this her "gotcha" day. Happy Gotcha Day Baby Girl.

Hi

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 04:18:00 +0000

I just wanted to reach out and say Hi. For those of you who read I hope you all had a great time at March in the Pugs. I had (we) had wanted to go but I am just so exhausted. Work is really taking it's toll on me.

I went to DC for a conference last weekend and got back 9pm on sunday night and then worked all week. I had some off campus and oral practical exams this week so it was very time consuming. I was honestly hoping I could make it through the week.

Anyway the pugs are great. Brutus had surgery while I was in DC. He had 2 adenoid tumors taken off of his eye and a large tumor taken from his left rear area around his tail. He made it through like a champ.

My Dad is on a lung transplant list and tonight I found out earlier today his lung collapsed. He is ok for now but the first 24 hours are critical. I am on spring break and probably going to go home tomorrow. I am suppose to go to another conference on Wed thru Friday and I have no idea what's going to happen with that.

I just wanted to say Hi. I feel really bad that I didn't get to see some of you at March in the Pugs. work is killing me. I have barely been on the computer/twitter lately. I still read everyones blog and am very grateful to be a part of this community. I feel like a flake because I haven't been to many events lately. I just wanted to say Hi.

Snow/Iceapocalypse 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:51:00 +0000

George Henry thinking he wants out....

Into this mess where we see Miley

Front Yard

Brutus being cute

IJ and his swollen head from a fight (he got antibiotic shots)

So now onto some videos.

First up Miley!

Next up Brutus!

Don't judge me for laughing!

Sign Language?

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:17:00 +0000

Brutus is not getting any younger (10 1/2) and his hearing is going so I've decided to be proactive and teach him some hand signals (American sign language).

We are starting with the following:

Sleep

Play

Dinner

Cookie (treat)

Bathroom

I don't know how successful it will be. I plan on working with both Miley and Brutus on these commands. Wish us luck!

Happy Gotcha Day Brutus!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:32:00 +0000

Today 3 years ago I adopted Brutus. Here is a post from 2009 talking about the mistakes I made during the 1st year.

I didn't post about it last year, not sure why. I am excited about his Gotcha Day this year. I'm thankful to Brutus and especially to KPR for allowing a novice dog owner a chance. I knew very little about dogs when I adopted Brutus. Sure I had read about pugs but having one is a totally different story.

Brutus has changed my life and me in many ways. I've lived with Cats all of my life and they are loving wonderful creatures but dogs love in a different way. They are so loving and loyal. They just want to please, cats, not so much. Even Brutus at times doesn't care if he pleases, which is one reason I love him.

Here are some of the things I love about Brutus.

1. The way he acts when I get home when he is actually awake, all excited as if he hadn't seen me in weeks.

2. The way he loves to sleep and sometimes when I come home he is so asleep he doesn't wake up when I come home. So I get to gently walk over and get down close to him and gently pet him as he wakes up.

3. The way he gets so excited when it's dinner time and barks at me to hurry to feed him.

4. The way he snores and sounds when he's asleep.

5. The way he is so gentle with Miley even when she is annoying him and I can tell he is annoyed. He just takes it and doesn't lash out at her.

6. The look on his face when he is sitting and waiting for a treat or when he hears me say "do you want to go for a ride in the car".

7. His confidence. He is not afraid of anyone, anything, not even the vacuum. He walks right up to larger dogs, people, etc and greets them. He even ignores people and other dogs at times because he has other things he wants to do.

8. The way he wanders off during meet ups or anywhere out doors and does his own thing. Isn't he suppose to want to be part of the pack?

9. The way he will eat food on the mat instead of the food dish first to clean up and then go to the food dish. Does he have OCD?

10. The way he holds his stuffie toy in his mouth and looks at me when he's ready to play.

In addition to things I love about Brutus, there are other things he's given me.

New Friends

I've met many wonderful people through meet ups! I don't know how I ended up part of the Indy Bloggers but I can't even put into words how wonderful it's been to get to know everyone and their pugs.

Because I walk Brutus and Miley, I now know almost all of my neighbors and the neighborhood kids.

I remember when I was first going to adopt Brutus people would ask me why would I adopt an older dog. For starters I just have a soft spot for older dogs. I can't imagine being taken away from my family at an older age (or any age). I also don't have the lifestyle for a younger active dog (Miley is the outlier there oh how I do love my baby girl). I just though my house fit an older dog better, as I have no kids, it's quiet here and I"m a TV junkie. I thought it was a nice quiet place for an older dog.

As I look back now I've had Brutus for 3 years. Yes that's a short time but I wouldn't change it at all. In that short time Brutus has given me more than I can ever give him. I hope I've made him half as happy an he's made me.

Happy Gotcha Day Brutus! I love you my old man!

Stubby

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:37:00 +0000

We are so sorry to hear of Stubbys passing. He was a sweetie and the most photogenic little guy. I'm so thankful I was able to meet him and his parents. Heaven is a happier place now. RIP little guy.

Shame on me

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Hi all, I've been a bad blogger. Not only do I not post but I don't even comment. I promise I do read though!

I've had a tough time with work but should get some relief this Spring.

All of the furries here are doing good. I haven't taken any new pictures in I don't know how long.

I just wanted to say Hi. I don't expect anyone to comment. I just wanted to check in and say Hi. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Stacy

Big Pug Meet-up

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:46:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I haven't blogged in a while as I've been bogged down with work but I wanted to post about a huge pug meetup in Indy.

There were many of the usual "Indy Bloggers" there such as Sailinger, Apollo, Hank and Molly, Sophie, Dixie and Harley, Maggie, Lilo, The Pug Posse, and Yoda and Brutus

I took Brutus and Miley with me and it was great to see and meet everyone. I got to see Stubby in person who has to be one of the most photogenic pugs I've ever seen.

We also had some out town guests. It was wonderful to meet them all!

Foo, Stubby, Punchy, Clover and Chewy, Pearl, Those Elgin Pugs,

I think I've included everyone that was there. Please forgive me and let me know if I missed anyone!

There are tons of photos on facebook but I wanted to share 3. The last one is of me getting ready to cut the cake that Laura made. I've got both fists read to cut.

Don't I look enthused in both? I take the worst pictures.

Fred

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy Walker) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:06:00 +0000

About a year ago not only did Sammy (Scrappy) start showing up but this other tabby colored kitty stated coming around. He would come around at times and then disappear aper so I figured that he belonged to someone in the neighborhood. Over the winter I let him stay in the garage at times but I don't need another cat!

About 3 months ago he showed up with ear mites and looked terrible so I finally took him to the vet. It was clear no one was taking care of him. He looked terrible. Luckily he didn't have any diseases. I got him fixed or took away his manhood. Since then he hasn't been in any neighborhood fights and seems much happier. I decided to name him Fred.

For the record Lilly hated him :)