The Mysterious Tools of Karma
Everyone knows that I am an angel...world domination plans aside. So, it turns out that the dog that blinded me in my right eye actually saved my sight in my left. Confused?? I understand if you are, here is what happened: it turns out that I have an immune problem which has led my body to believe that something is wrong with my eyes, and this condition has probably been around since I was a puppy. My body's reaction was to flood my eyes with blood to protect them, but over time the blood would build up and detach my retinas, thereby blinding me. This takes time since the body is able to absorb and recycle a good amount of blood. So, the reason for the "freak accident" with the other dog was that my eyes were already bleeding and his contact with me created a full blown hemmorage that blinded my in my right eye, but led to me going to the dogtomitrist. The Dogtomitrist said that my "good eye" was in such bad shape when I came in that had the collision not occurred my parents would never have known anything was wrong and I would actually be blind in both eyes by now...that's how bad the damage was two weeks ago. Luckily, the steroids have put my body's natural reaction in check and probably saved my one eye, although we are not completely out of the woods yet. In conclusion, that dog that attacked me saved half my sight and may have been my reward for being a furry angel. By the way ladies- I will be on steroids the rest of my life, so very soon I will be a very buff pug!!! [Parents' note: Winston is actually going to probably become a very fat pug since the steroids have actually tripled his appettite, but everything else is true.] Once last thing, last Friday (August 24) was the 1st anniversary of my "forever-home day."

This is me with my good and bad eye. It turns out that my bad eye does not reflect the flash anymore it seems. My parents have theorized that this is because the retina is not where it is supposed to be.

I was the pick of the litter and this was me sitting in my other corral just moments before my parents took me home. Can you guess which one I am??? That's right!!! I am the rather chunky one in the middle with the collar.

This is me on my first ever car ride. My breeder kept me and my siblings in the corral so my first day home was the first time I experienced so many things, including grass and cars.

This is me getting as close as possible to my Mommy on the ride home. I was afraid that they might not want to keep me so I really sucked up to everyone. Luckily, they kept me.

As soon as I got home, I had lots of fun toys waiting for me. It's almost like my parents knew I was coming

This is my first stand up fighting with my tongue out and ear flipped picture that I know to be in existence. My Mommy likes my little tongue, My Daddy likes my flipped ear.

I also had a nice bed waiting for me. All the play was somewhat tiring.

But I was only home a few hours before I realized that I prefered the big bed.

Now, one year later, I still have lots of toys to play with, and now I am big enough to jump right in my toy box and play with all of them at once.

I also still love the big bed, and take up the majority of the room on it, along with at least two of the three pillows. That's right, my parent's bed has three pillows - one for Mommy, one for Daddy, and one for me.

Snarf everydog later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

Hello Everydog
I am afraid that there is not much to report since I am under Doctor's orders to stay calm. Therefore I am giving a veritable greatest hits of cute face shots.

This is my perplexed/concerned look.

This is my invitation to give into desire and give an extra treat to this cute face.

This is my "longing" look. I am normally longing for either more food or attention.

Hello, what are you doing and why doesn't it involve me??

Okay, okay, no more closeups! I apologize for the boringness. I hope to soon be back to my mischievious plans for world domination, but I must first get medical clearance from the dogtomitrist.

snarf everydog later,

/s/ Winston, The Grand Duke of Pugsworth

Tagged By My Buddies Duke and Gidget

I have once again been tagged by my bestest buddies. I love this tag because it allows me to talk about my favorite subject-me!!

1. Where is your favorite place to sleep?
On the bed, in between my parents, on my pillow. If my parents are not around then the pillow pyramid will suffice.

Also, I love being on my Mommy's or Daddy's head.

And, on the back of the couch, if no humans are in the bed.

Oh, and I would also like to note that I do NOT especially like to sleep on the bed my parents bought for me. But it is handy when I need to take a short break on my way from my toybox back to the couch.

2. Is there a specific trick your parents make you do to get treats?
Sometimes my parents tell me to sit, and sometimes I do it...but mostly I get by on my good looks.

3. If you could spend an entire day doing anything at all with anyone, what would it be and who would it be with?
First, I would want to get up, have a breakfast of chicken breast and cheese, and take a nice nap on the couch. Then I would want to go to the Doggie Diner.

I would like to go to the Doggie Diner with my Mommy, because I can't hold the fork myself.

Later, I would like to help Mommy do the dishes. Daddy calls doing the dishes a "chore", but I find it is a very fun activity.

I would also like to play fetch with Daddy.

Finally, for dessert I would like a cupcake from Three Dog Bakery.

4. What is your favorite toy?

I could not pick just one, as I have many many favorite toys. But I think the top three are my strawberry;

my Alberto Gonzales Ducky;

and my loofa. Note that this is my very first loofa, I am now on loofa number 23 or so.

5. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
I would try to be less of a work-a-holic, and take more times to relax and enjoy the finer things in life, such as naps and cupcakes. This is me working studiosly on a post.

Snarf everydog later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

A Rough Couple of Days
So, it turns out that I will be blind in my right eye, but my parents were actually relieved to hear that. See, I went to the optomitrist and she saw some serious injury in my good eye, but thought that it was pre-existing since a cataract had already formed off to the side (it probably should not be a problem). The concern was that such symptons can be emblematic of other serious health problems such as high blood pressure, hemophilia, or certain types of cancer. High blood pressure was ruled out and we were immediately sent off to get a battery of tests done the same day (Wed.). However, come Thursday the vet refused to give test results over the phone so Daddy had to rush to the vet (in a bit of a panic) to find out what was going on. Fortunately, the "no results over the phone" is a policy (in no way due to HIPPA) and it turns out that my results were normal. There is still a danger that I could go blind in my good eye since there is a lot of blood in it, but the dogtomitrist said that she would give a treatment of steroids (the good stuff) to try to clear out my eye. I am now on orders not to shake my head or play until the blood has been relieved from my eye and my retina is no longer under strain. My parents are extremely relieved that there was nothing more serious and, while they are concerned about my eye, they think that based on my adjusting to one eye that I would be just fine without any sight. After all, I'm a tough pug...and my parents promise to help me whenever I need it.

Snarf everydoggy later,
/s/ Winston, the Grand Duke of Pugsworth

Some lesser, but nonetheless cute, dogs
Since I was viciously attacked, I have not been able to do much playing because the V-E-T told my parents to make sure that my blood pressure doesn't get too high, otherwise my eye might pop out. So I have been using the time to do some soul searching. As I discussed with you, my loyal reader, I have recognized my pugist ways and think it is about time that I give lesser dogs some credit on my blog. I remembered that I actually have several cousins who are lesser dogs, and I decided to introduce them. Thus I give you my first pug-free post:

This is Migo. He is a mutt, possibly part papillon, part cocker spaniel, part beagle, and probably some other stuff. He lives in Ohio with my Mommy's Mom.

This is Mindy. She is part boxer, part something else. She also lives in Ohio, poor girl.

This is Sophie. She is part german shepherd, part something else. She lives in Texas with my Daddy's Mom and Dad. She is huge. Seriously, she weighs like 12o pounds. But my Daddy tells me she is as sweet as she is big.

This is Roxie. She is a pure mutt. She also lives in Texas, and is also very sweet.

This is Mr. Bones. He followed my grandpa home one day, and is still there. He was very rambunctious but it wasn't long before he won over Roxie, and was tolerated by Sophie.

I have never actually met any of these dogs, but I guess I can admit that they look pretty cute, and my parents tell me they are all very good dogs.

Snarf everydog later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

Am I A Pugist???
So, I was feeling a bit down this past week and nursing my eye (which still does not have sight but may be getting better) when my spirits were buoyed by the kind comments of my new buddy Peanut. Wow I thought, kind words from a pug named Peanut. But when I looked to Peanut's web-site I realized that Peanut was not a pug at all, but rather a Boxer. So I got to thinking and realized that all my buddies are pugs. I assure everyone that my past exclusionary behavior was an unfortunate oversight and I have rectified my ways ala George Wallace. I have made a new section for all "lesser dogs." So, if you are a "lesser dog" that is willing to be my friend, please leave a comment and I will list you on my new friends' tab.

I was quite down in the dumps when I finally recognized my rude behavior.

I really wanted nothing more than to hide from everyone, myself included.

Oh! I'm so ashamed! So very very ashamed.

My embarassment quite often pushed me to the verge of tears. All I could do was sleep and mope.

But during this dream it occurred to me that redemption is the best medicine. I shall now expand my horizons and be happy to call numerous lesser dogs my friends.

Snarf everydoggy later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

My Blogiversary
It has been one year since I started this blog in that time there have been 161 posts, more than 10,000 unique visitors (that means people only get counted once a day), and numerous new furry friends who have the uncanny ability to type and possess outstanding grammar. I think a retrospective look back is called for. A little bad aside, I have still not yet regained sight in my right eye but I am still cautiously optimistic.

August 10, 2006, The day the blog began. I was just over a month old. Silly as it seems now, my parents were the ones that originally started this blog and made the posts. Now, of course, I merely use their laps as boosters so I can type. They are also very handy to get me treats or a BFF for inspiration while I work.

This is me during one of my brief periods of writer's block. Sometimes it helps to just chill out a minute with an old friend. In this situation I relied on my yellow ducky Alberto for reassurance that I was not past my creative peak.

This was me at 9 weeks. At this time I was still getting use to my parents and I was willing to pretend to be a good dog and stay still during pictures. I am now secure enough to have abandoned this childish behavior.

Yes, I am quite adorable.

This is me at 12 weeks. I still have a hard time believing that I was ever this small.

This is one of my original BFFs, my weird cow. This guy, along with my yellow ducky Alberto, is one of my few surviving original BFFs.

20 weeks- Getting big and feisty. I had nearly established myself as the Alpha dog by this point.

As my parents say, I am cuteness in a furry package.

24 weeks- I think my folks realized that these progression pictures were quickly going to become memories.

This is just a nice picture of me outside, showing what a stud pug looks like from an elevated camera angle.

9 months- this WAS the last one of these pictures that there will ever be. I think I can see my Daddy's belly growing along with me in these pictures.

Dignity personified...in pug form. I have really enjoyed my first year blogging and hope that you all have enjoyed reading about my adventures as well. I hope that I will be able to fill another year with the amusing ramblings of a pampered pug, a pug who is also royalty.

Snarf Everydog Later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

I Feel the Love!!!
Thanks everyone for all the well wishes. I assure you that the love you feel for me is quite mutual!! The veterinary did not seem too concerned about my inability to see out of my right eye and even performed an advanced test that consisted of coverning my good eye and trying to poke my bad eye with his finger. He was careful not to touch any whiskers or eye-lashes that could trigger my touch sense, and I blinked! This indicates that there is at least some sight in my right eye. The vet says that time is the key to my full recovery, but I have kind of gotten use to only one eye and I am confident in my ability to maneuver through this harsh world regardless of my sight. Does anyone know if I can park in one of those good parking spots if my sight does not come back? Also, I wanted to mention that despite the three hour wait the Emergency Vet was very good. We were put an exam room almost immediately, which is good because all the other people there seemed to get really bad news about their babies and my parents did not want to hear anymore of those sad stories, and the delay in treatment was probably due to the fact that my injury was not deemed life threatening.

This is a picture of me as a little pup. It was this cute face and wonderful personality that made my parents fall in love with me...thereby leading to three hour hospital waits without hesitation. I shall endure, but apparently I cannot play hard for a while because a rise in blood pressure (which is associated with hard play) can actually damage an injured eye on occaison. Thanks again for everyone's concern.

Snarf everydoggy later,

Winston, The Grand Duke of Pugsworth

Temporarily Out of Commission
So, I was doing my usual bit at the dogpark on Friday, barking at a big dog and threatening to chase him into the water when, without warning, the dog turned on me (scary music begins to play). He knocked me over and then stood over me barking right in my face. His people and my Mommy reacted quickly and pulled him off me, but the result was severe mental trauma and a three-hour wait at the Emergency Vet. Long story short, I have a really really bad doggy black eye, with my eye itself looking horrible. It looked really bad on Friday night through Saturday morning and, believe it or not, this is the best I have looked all weekend. Only two things really concern me at this point: 1) I cannot see out of my right eye very well, but my parents said they would inquire about that at the follow up vet appointment tomorrow, and 2) PIA failed to warn me of an impending assassination attempt despite increased Jack Russell Terrier chatter. Both my parents and I are optimistic that I shall be up to my mischievous behavior in no time.

There may be some rehashing of old photos since I will not be highly involved in any adventures/coup attempts for at least a week.

Snarf everydog later,
/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth

I've been time-capsule tagged!
My bestest buds Duke and Gidget tagged me and asked what five things I would put into a time capsule. After much consideration (as well as consultation with PIA) I have made my choices.


The first thing I would put in the time capsule is my nail clipper, so that dogs of the future can see the medieval torture devices we were subject to.

The second thing would be my raincoat, for the same reason as the nail clipper.

Might as well throw in my entire wardrobe, there's nothing especially worse about the raincoat.

Third, I would put my cone in the time capsule. For the same reason as the nail clipper and my clothes. Geez, my parents torture me a lot!

Fourth, I would put in my destroyed toys. I imagine the pugs of the future will be as lazy compared to us as we are compared to our ancestors the wolves, and will need to see evidence of our ferocity and bravery.

Lastly, I would put in a picture of the breed standard. All modesty aside, no one now or in the future can ever deny that I am absolutely perfect.

Snarf everydog later,

/s/ Winston, Grand Duke of Pugsworth