Aging Gracefully

This is my pug Trudie Claudette.

She was very young and svelte here.  This is before we had kids.  She was our only baby.  I guess I looked young and svelte at that point in my life too!

I adopted her in January when I was 20 years old.  She was 6 months old, and she weighed just a few pounds.  The people I adopted her from had paid good money for her.  I know this because my Mom used to breed pugs, and they were never cheap - think $300+.  However, they paid good money for her - only to abuse her.  I picked her up at their house.  They had left her collar on until it was so tight - she had no hair around her neck.  She was teeny tiny for her age, only skin & bones.  Her hair was coarse, she was terrified, and her legs & tail were a bit odd shaped from being in her tiny cage full-time.  They should have been ashamed of themselves - they had 3 kids - and their kids would have been taken away from them if they were treated in this manner.  Instead - they were happy thrilled to be rid of her.  Now that I'm more grown up - thinking about it really makes me angry - Mom knows what I mean b/c she saw it with me.

I took her home & she got sick the first night I had her.  She ate so much food - I felt awful for her.  I then moved her with me to Carbondale.  I illegally smuggled her into my apartment complex from January to August.  Then in August - I smuggled her into my next house.  She became my baby.  I dressed her up for Halloween.  However, her bikini didn't quite cover her 9 nipples - yes I said 9 - she has one extra!

She was my copilot in life.  When I drove the 2 hours to school - she rode the entire way sleeping on my lap.  Since then she has moved back to Shelbyville from Carbondale.  She lived with me and my parents and then moved in with Jade when we got married.  She daily went to my Mom's to be babysat when I worked too far from town.  Then she moved to our new house.  She will be 8 years old this summer, and is starting to really show her age.  Her black hair is turning gray.  She is gray on her face, her feet, her body & even her tail.  I worry more about her than I ever have.  She's still petite at about 16 lbs, which is never enough to back up a fight with a 2 year old wild boy. 

She is a 5 state retired model.  That's right, she used to model dog sweaters in the weekly Rural King flier.  She is super sassy.  If you come to visit our house she'll bark at you like a piranha, but sit on your lap the entire visit, only to bark at you like a maniac again when you leave.  She's very spoiled.  If it is hot, or cold, or rainy she doesn't want to go outside & must be forced out.  Even at 8 - she can not be trusted with her pottying.  I again blame her original parents for this.  You must force her out or you may get a tootsie surprise in the basement - the only thing I truly hate that she does!  Overall - she's still my baby.  I dread the day she passes, but until then I will share my popcorn with her & spoon her in bed as much as possible!