In honor of “Vinnie, George, and the love of my life Jessie.”
I owe my first introduction to
Pugs to the wonderful Jessica Frank. She and I started dating and that’s how
I met li’l Vinnie Frank. I have always been a dog lover, but have never
owned my own dog. Pugs, being the friendly and attention loving creatures
that they are, Vinnie welcomed me immediately. He would spend countless
hours licking any piece of skin or clothing of mine that he could get his
tongue on. I can even remember napping on the couch with him at my feet.
Poor Vinnie has breathing problems and I never seen a little animal make so
much noise grunting, breathing, and blowing snot on everything. I used to
call him the little “Gremlin.” :-) The scariest moment came when he began to
choke on something and just fell over on his side motionless right before
Jessica and I were about to go out. She was freaking out, and I sure as hell
didn’t have a clue as to what to do, but I began to press his chest up and
down and he eventually plopped back up like nothing had happened. To this
day, I’m not sure if what I did helped any, but he made it through it and
that was the most important thing of all.
Little George didn’t come along until just a few months ago, and he is still
a growing little puppy with the most adorable eyes you could find (to match
his mom’s). I took the liberty of nicknaming him Jorge, which Jessie didn’t
care for too much…ha! Just a few months in, George developed pneumonia and
had to be placed in an incubator for several days to try and help his
breathing. One image that will be engrained in my mind forever is walking
into the animal hospital to see my Jessie crouched over next to the
incubator, petting, and talking to George to show him how much she loved
him. If there is one thing that Jessie is a pro at…it’s showing her love for
you. It was a very sad sight to see George, docile, and lazy inside the
incubator. I had grown used to seeing him run around endlessly, as puppies
do, biting on to the bottom of your pajamas or your shoelaces…or climbing
into the hamper as a second home (which actually looked really comfortable).
Fortunately, George’s health improved and he was sent home a happy, healthy
puppy again. Jessie has gone through so many ordeals with these dogs, stuck
with them through thick and thin, and it is a true testament to the
magnificent woman that she is. I can only imagine how these qualities will
carry over into her true motherhood and her relationship with her children.
Well, Vinnie, Jorge, and Jessie, are surely leading their normal lives now,
but I am not a part of it at this point. My selfishness has hurt their mommy
to a point where she doesn’t feel secure and stable. Looking back, as we all
do when we do things wrong, I wish I could have done many things
differently. She’d tease me to tell her how much I love the doggies and how
I was their daddy, but in that horrible male selfishness, I chose to be
difficult and withhold the words most of the time. I never doubted my love
for her, but I must say that I probably was a little afraid of taking on the
“family.” That is something that I truly regret, and now know otherwise. I
hope they know that I truly do love them all and that even though I didn’t
admit it, I still would have acted as a daddy to help protect them (and
their mommy) from anything! I am ashamed of many things, including my fear
of growing with them.
Thi
s
donation is sent to you in their honor for enlightening me to the irregular
cuteness of Pugs and for taking me into their life. But mostly, it is in
honor of the precious woman that Jessica is, along with the family she has
created. They have given me so much, and I will forever view Pugs
differently and with absolute fond memories. It is the holiday season, and
they are still so important to me that I’d like to honor them somehow to
show them that I care and that I am forever grateful. This donation is sent
to Pug Rescue from me, but it is in honor of the most special family that I
could have ever been a part of. I love and miss you Jessie, Vinnie, and
George.
Snort, Snort, lick and xoxoxo x infinity
-Audi