Hmmm. I'm quite sure I said I was full and couldn't take on any more at this time. That was why we got Yurik. To take care of that 'I need to have a new animal to care for thing...' and figured a kitten would have the least impact on the household. Yeah, sure, whatever.
Enter Amos and Andy. Two pug boys rescued from wandering the streets of New York. They were kindly taken in by Hedy in NJ after they passed their 'do not pass go' day. Sweet boys, around 6 to 8 years of age, their only offense is that they were dumped by uncaring human beings. They are emaciated. OMG skinny. Sores between their toes. Rotten teeth in their mouths. All their 'manliness' hanging out there for the world to see. Sores on their feet and bottoms. They look just like and act just like the dogs we get directly from the puppy mills. These boys are nothing but skin and bones.
So, in a moment of sadness (I was headed to a friends memorial in Connecticut) and lack of response from any other group that was willing to take them in for their lengthy rehabilitation, I loaded a large dog crate and cried my way to the memorial. The memorial was special and I bawled my eyes out. Poor Stephanie. I was a wreck when I met up with her to pick up the boys. So much so that she walked around her car and gave me a huge hug. Thanks, Stephanie, it was just what I needed. Then the boys got out of her car. It has been a long time since I have seen a dog that thin. These poor boys. They are definitely in desperate need of a dental and neutering. And a bath. (And not necessarily in that order.)
So, back to my house we went, me still crying. Not only for my friend Richard (who we lost) or his wife, Beth, but now for these poor pug boys, too.
So, off to my house, did introductions (everything was fine!!!) and let everyone out in the fenced in back yard to mark to their hearts content. Then the introduction to a belly band!
If I would ever have been able to read an animals mind, I would have that night. Andy was the more outgoing of the two. Andy walked up to the couch, sniffed the side of it, turned, lifted his leg, did his business and then turned back around. Amos did the same thing. I swear, they looked at each other in bewilderment that it wasn't dripping and smelling, so they turned and repeated the process again. Then they looked at each other, more bewildered! Then they kinda turned their backs, scratched the floor with their back feet and walked off. I almost fell out of my chair laughing at them.
After their baths they became much more pleasant smelling. They still need dentals. Phew.. and they definitely still need neutering, but, with the assistance of the belly bands, they seem to be marking less and less in the house every day.
(For those of you that don't know, a belly band is a piece of cloth - usually held on with velcro - which is placed around their abdomen and a sanitary pad is between the belly band and the belly. That way, if they lift their leg to pee, it gets trapped in the sanitary pad and not on the couch, floor or wall. They don't like the wet feeling on them and it helps - most of the time - to break them from marking indoors.) Andy usually has to change his 'pad' a few times a day, but Amos has been dry almost from the second day he was here.
They have become quite content, sleeping with Maggie, my other pug, or finding out that the couch is a comfy place to sleep. Sometimes, it is the towels in the laundry room that get their snuggle time. They don't seem to be as bonded as I first thought as Andy chooses to sleep in the crate at night on his pillow and Amos sleeps with Maggie on her bed.
Their sores are gone on their toes. They have fur growing back on their legs. They have come out of their shells. They do LOVE feeding time. If they hear any crinkling bag, they beeline right for the person who has the bag and woof at you until you are all done eating. lol They sure do love their meals!!!
Andy is the more vocal of the two. If the water bowl is empty, he will woof at it until someone comes to fill it. If the food bowls are left on the floor he will stand over it and woof, trying to convince someone, I suppose, that they haven't been fed in so very long and will someone please come a feed them now. He woofs if you walk out the door. He woofs if you walk in the door. He woofs if the phone rings. If he isn't woofing, he's licking your legs. If he would do that all day (and was a bit taller) I would never have to take another shower again. lol
It is a bit interesting cooking dinner. We wade through the pack to get to the fridge and Amos, Andy and Yurik all climb into the fridge together. It's quite hard, sometimes, to find what you are looking for. They love to help. Then you wade back through the kitchen to find a knife in the drawer, wade back to the stove, Andy woofing the whole while, just to be sure that you know he is there in case something, please make something, fall so they can scarf it up.... and while you sit at the kitchen table, eating, he's standing there, woofing and licking your legs, just to be sure that you don't miss the fact that he might, just might, be able to clean up anything you might possibly drop.
They have gained 3 pounds in the last 2 weeks. I have been feeding them three small/medium meals a day. Lots of hugs and snuggles. They will now come up on the couch with us and ask for pats and hugs. Adorable. Throwaways. People do most definitely suck. Glad Amos and Andy got another chance. At the good life!
