Living in Pug Heaven - A Quick Trip Around the Block

Surprise visits are always a joy! I received a call at work from my mother today - asking if I could go up to Kim and Cathy's to stay for a bit. The situation seemed kind of odd, but I agreed. It turns out that not only is Cathy bedridden, but Kim pulled a muscle somewhere in the top half of his leg and can hardly walk unless heavily medicated. It was quite the sight to arrive here and see both of them in bed, overwhelmed and glad to see that I had arrived.

Walking into the Taylor Moore house was almost depressing - I remember just a few short months ago being greeted by a mob of no less than 18 pugs, wondering to myself if I really had what it takes to do the work of two people on my own. Today when I arrived I was greeted by only 7 pugs. What was once a mob has dwindled down to the smallest group - the show dogs went back to the people they are co-owned with, Wahini is with Sue, Kahuna at my house... There are also a few adults that are either at my house or have been placed in new homes.

Anyone who has ever visited the Taylor Moore house knows how noisy it can be - a giant roar of pug whines, barks, and grunts has turned into a rolling lull. It almost makes me miss the chaos.

Feeding them all was a breeze - with only 5 to put into crates and the two to feed in the kitchen. Washing dog dishes took less than five minutes(it took me longer to unload the dishwasher).

I am not sure how long I will be here for - however long it takes for Kim to get better it seems. I hope it will at least be for a few days - I would love to get some things taken care of to help them out.
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Good news and then some not so good news.

When I set out to start writing in the blog I found that it is much tougher to do these things when you sit down to do it. It starts to really hit home what is going on as you write it out. This past Sunday I had a wonderful one on one visit with Cathy. The Chemo has really been taking it out of her and she was exhausted so we just laid in her bed and had a few giggle's and then some tears as we talked about how things are going for her. She had a CT Scan this last week as it was her mid Chemo treatment and we were anxious to hear the results. Unfortunately the news is not at all what we had hoped for. The good news is that they feel this Chemo has slowed how fast this Cancer is growing, the bad news is it is still progressing. As you can imagine this has been taken pretty hard. They are going to start a new Chemo treatment this next Tuesday for 3 treatments. It will be only a One day treatment instead of 3 long days in the hospital which will hopefully be easier on Cathy as well.
Please continue to keep Cathy in your thoughts and prayers. She loves the notes and cards she has been getting to. Her and Kim are spending a few quiet days away from home to themselves right now and Alecia and Aron are up watching the pugs.
I will write more as we learn more. Also, I have 3 retired bitches of Kim and Cathy's to place in great homes if you know of any awesome people looking for adult pugs. They are 3, 4 and 5 years of age and Spayed, UTD on vaccinations and housebroken. i will have them here and do the placements from here as well.
If you would like to send a note or Card to Cathy here is the address again:
Cathy Moore
11637 NE 112th Street
Kirkland, WA 98033
Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts and for all that so many of you have done.

Living in Pug Heaven - Sticks and Stones

It seems apparent that my mother and I are both quite horrible at keeping things updated!

All 17 pugs here in Pug Heaven are doing just fabulous! Vanilla Bean has started to eat again, which is fantastic! In previous stays she had been quite picky and getting her to eat was like trying to get a pug to move off the couch. Sir Claude the great is still off at the dog shows, seeing the nothingness that is Montana.

Sunday my mom and I made a trip up to the Norton's (that is a vet clinic, for those of you who don't know), and decided we wanted to see Cathy as she got home from Wenatchee. My mom suggested we go to Shari's for coffee seeing as how Kim and Cathy were an hour out, and I decided I would rather take the time to mop Cathy's floor! All of the dogs were with them, which made it a breeze. A clean floor, 3 pug puppies, a pizza, and some cookie dough later, mom and I finally left. Today's picture and blog title were inspired by the letter Z, for Zac Attack. The one pug responsible for the 10 pinecones and 3 rocks under the couch. Here he is eating a stick!

We will be here through the weekend, where I plan to undertake some other projects. Updates to come!
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Living in Pug Heaven - "And you have to eat this!"

Aron and I arrived here at the Taylor Moore house just after 10pm on this fantastic Labor Day. I had an absolutely fabulous long weekend, and I hope everyone else did as well!

Cathy is going back in for chemo tomorrow, so Aron and I made it here just in time for dinner! Kim was more than willing to let me take over the feeding ritual, despite having just walked in the door.

I should be able to do a bit more blogging this week, as I don't believe there is anything special going on such as a BBQ or our Summer's biggest local show. This weekend, of course, is the Puyallup Fair! I will be volunteering on Saturday and Sunday night in the Pug booth for SPR.

Having been here for only two hours or less, I have learned two amazing facts about our younger pups... Alexander is turning out just like his mother, Peanut. When he is done eating he just bails out of his crate like he has nothing to lose. The only downside to this is that his crate is not a Third Story High-Rise, but a Second Level Sequester... And try to catch a little launching pug is like trying to catch a greased pig.

Kim also told me that Vera is talented enough to poop IN her food dish.

What a fantastic week we have ahead of us!
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Living in Pug Heaven - Puggy Profile #1, Wicked Wahini

I decided while I was here a few weeks ago that I wanted to take the time to profile each pug between the adventures in the Taylor Moore house. While something comical is practically guaranteed to be happening here, some nights are slower than others and don't quite warrant a full blog post.

Tonight I didn't get much time to be at the house, Kim took Aron and I to the Whidbey Island Kennel Club picnic, where we were treated with fantastic food and general dog show politics. Once we got home I had a few minutes to relax, then it was on to feeding and facebook time!

Those of you who are my friend on Facebook may understand why tonight's post is about Wahini - for those of you that aren't, you will soon find out.

I've heard from numerous people that you always want to be careful of what you name your pug. Many times a pug will grow into the persona that it's name puts out, much like my mother's little pug, Trouble. Wicked Wahini is certainly no exception to this rule.

Wahini is the one and only black pug in the Luna Pug gang. She is arch nemesis to Peanut, and she enjoys running away when you try and pick her up.

I remember a few years back hearing Cathy tell people about how Wahini had jumped into the refrigerator, and was unknowingly locked inside for a short period of time. She has also jumped into the dryer, though she never went for a tumble.

When she was younger she had come to visit our house a few times, where Blake gave her the nickname of Swahili, simply because he couldn't remember the name Wahini.

Tonight, after the pugs had eaten, I realized that Wahini was on the couch, growling at any pugs that came near. As I moved closer I realized it was food aggression - but I had no idea what there was to be aggressive over... Moments later I noticed something long and feathery hanging out of Wahini's mouth.

I think Wahini ate a bird.

I can't imagine what else would be small, black, and easily torn apart by a viscous fridge-jumping pug. I stared in disgust as she held feathers under her paw and ripped away whatever was at the other end, like a homeless man with a chicken thigh. I couldn't fathom getting close enough to see what exactly it was, but Wahini was very proud of her catch.

I told Kim to keep an eye on her so that we can make sure she doesn't get sick. I'm not sure what a bird would do to the intestinal tract of a pug.
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Second Round!

Cathy's second round of her 3 day Chemo has started today and she had to be admitted for it because it is pretty intense. She is doing well, but really tires easily. They found her oxygen level also isn't up so that may be contributing to it as well. It looks like she will miss the Specialty unfortunately, but she knows she has to do this. Hopefully we can pick her up later Friday afternoon and bring her back to Enumclaw so she can watch some of the shows.

Living in Pug Heaven - It's hot as h*ll outside!!!

We're bbaaaaacckkkk!!

I know a few of you have been on the edge of your seats awaiting the return of Living in Pug Heaven, and the time is finally here! Aron arrived at the Taylor Moore house around 430 this afternoon, while I took my sweet time packing and getting Miss Dot. I arrived around 9:45 and was greeted by the entire gang, each and every one excited to lick my toes.

After dropping Dot off and bringing my things inside I felt inclined to go say hello to all of my pugs. I kneeled down and promptly got knocked back into the counter after being bum-rushed by no less than 15 pugs. Lara begged to be picked up, repeatedly launching herself up my leg. Claire stood at my side and licked my leg, Cypress jumped and nipped at my fingers, and Mac rubbed himself against my leg in a cat-like fashion. In all honesty, I think I was more excited to see them then they were to see me! I wanted to hold each one and give them attention.

I spent some quality cuddle time with the fabulous Hula and shared a few snuggles with Peanut. Shortly after I arrived it was time to feed the pugs and boy were they ready! Tomorrow we will be going to a BBQ and who knows what is in store for the remainder of the week! For now, I am all pugged out and ready to crash.
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In between treatments

In life you always have your friends and then your friends in life who are truly treasures. Our friend Tom Henry is one one of those. He went to the Cathedral and had some Holy water blessed for Cathy and sent it up along with a beautiful Pug Limoge and a gorgeous orchid from us and Julie Mayer. Tom, We love you and you are a treasure.
Cathy and I had a wonderful visit and our friend Julie Mayer spent part of the time with us as well. We attended the Garage Sale benefiting our Pug Rescue for a bit and then left as Cathy still tires a bit easy. I brought her some Paisley scarves in different colors which we had a lot of fun with and also dug out some wonderful knit hats she has which was perfect timing as she just started losing a few strands of hair today. Sue McCluskey and Pat Putman drove over and had a brief visit with her as well. It was good to see Cathy enjoying her company, but we all realized she was tired and needed to rest a bit. Thanks to all of the wonderful friends she has for all of the notes,cards and gifts of support! It has been incredible!
Kim is doing a marvelous job taking very good care of everything and the pugs. He is getting Cathy all set up with her own Laptop for in the room as well!
Diana

The Check Up

Cathy went today for a Check up and her schedule of treatments. I am glad to say all went well and she is right on schedule. The only trouble right now is that today's trip was really exhausting for her. She is still recovering from the surgery and chemo so it is understandable. She so appreciates all the wonderful flowers, gifts and notes she has received. She has a whole world of support which is really appreciated and heart felt. i will write more in a few days, but for now Cathy is enjoying some quiet time, and rest which is so important for her right now.

Diana

Living in Pug Heaven - A Day Without Spit

When I saw my adorable little pug Louis all sprawled out on the floor like this, I couldn't help but take a picture. As of late this has become a feeding time ritual for Louis - as I prepare the food for all the pugs he rolls around happily on his back and side, occasionally letting out a few random pug noises. Tonight's ritual was interrupted by Mac standing directly on top of Louis and trying to bite his face. This of course upset Dot so much that she could do nothing more than bark in circles around the wrestling pair.

This morning I got to have a good chat with Cathy before I went to work - more than anything she was just glad to be out of the hospital.

Kim and Cathy took a total of 6 pugs with them - Zac and Lara, who are both being shown, Princess and Peanut, and the two puppies Vera and Alexander. Cathy had asked me this morning which pugs they should take to make it easier on me, and I just told her to take whichever pugs SHE wanted to take, and the rest could be handled just fine here.

It is absolutely incredible the difference that 6 pugs make. When it came to dinner time there was actually silence, or as close to silence as a pug can get. The crated pugs were excited at first, but calmed down once they realized that I can not work miracles and it takes time to feed pugs. It was almost blissful!

Dispersing the dishes was also much nicer, and a bit more dry. When Lara is in her crate she barks, gets mad, and drools all over herself. This means that anyone walking by gets what I call, "The Spray". Needless to say I was thrilled, and I am sure that Cypress was as well, and she resides directly below Lara.

Tomorrow shall be a new day! The pugs and I will have a bit of time in the morning and evening to come up with some new antics.
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Out of the hospital at last!

This was just taken tonight by Jim and Jan Bradley while Cathy and I were talking!! Thanks so much :)
Cathy is doing well but very tired which is very understandable. Kim whisked her off to Sequim as they had some wonderful plans to just hang out at the shows this weekend and the wonderful Bradley's are cooking dinner both nights. The trip was a lot for Cathy but luckily Kim was driving the motor home and she could go back there and lay down for part of the trip. They figured it would be a nice time to get away from everything. They just took a few pugs and Alecia is at the house watching the others. Thank you Alecia!
It is wonderful that there are so many people who have so much love for Cathy!
It is great for Cathy to have a break from the intense Chemo and she will be going in the week of our Specialty for 3 more days of it. Not only is it tiresome, it makes her muscles sore and puffs her up. But as long as it does it's job it will all be worth it.
Diana

Living in Pug Heaven - More like Hell!

Today was one of those days where it seems like nothing goes as planned. I have finally become settled in here, and I have a routine with the pugs. I know how long it takes to get to work on even the worst traffic days, and how long it takes to feed the pugs.

My morning started out with quite the mess. Dot somehow managed to catch some sort of stomach virus and left a nice present for me by the door. No less than four of the pugs remembered that there is a doggy door for their convenience and my sanity. I chased a few pugs down in an attempt to get them put away, Claude made it off the deck, and the puppies chewed an empty planter to pieces.

All of this and I still hadn't even made it to the shower!

In other news - Cathy is home!!!

I was sitting at the kitchen counter - Coors Light in one hand and a knife in the other, quartering up Louis' next month of meds. I am sure the beer and tiny pills would look great to any passersby, but Cathy couldn't have been more thrilled. She gave me the biggest hug she could muster up and thanked me for everything. I was just glad to see her!! She was off to bed shortly after that.

Funny story - Cathy told my mom Wednesday, "I am so glad to have a daughter like Alecia!!" :)

The pugs were being fairly well behaved this evening. Peanut and I took a quick trip to the Norton's - what I thought was an injury from a pug scrap was no more than a healing hot spot. According to Melissa once the hot spot starts to heal and scab up some pugs will enjoy the taste of the scabs - yuck!

Today's photo is sir Zac - eagerly watching me as I prepared dinner. The pug in the background is Mac. :)

This weekend is going to be odd, I fear. Zac and Lara are being shown, which means they will be gone. Kim said they will be taking a few other pugs as well, but I won't know until tomorrow after work. Surprise!! Hopefully we can get lots accomplished with a few pugs abroad.
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Living in Pug Heaven - How to Heal a Broken Heart

First off - let me start off by saying that this is NOT my most flattering angle... I just took this picture maybe ten minutes ago - after working all day and taking care of puggies, I am also not too horribly clean, haha. In this picture you will find myself - Alecia, and little miss Peanut.

Peanut appears to be having a tough time - being the Alpha dog in the house she tends to get in quite a few spats with the pugs. Earlier tonight when I put her in her crate to eat I noticed that she had a little mark on her back, like one of the other pugs grabbed her and just would not let go - but have no fear! Peanut is fine and all injuries were minor and completely taken care of. :) When I sat down at the computer to jump on Facebook I noticed that Peanut was at my feet - which is not like her at all. She is usually off stalking Cypress or laying on the couch, fast asleep. She seemed a bit upset, which could be due to her Pug Spat, or she could most definitely be missing Cathy - as Cathy absolutely adores Peanut.

Having this many pugs makes it difficult to give them ALL the attention they deserve. It usually comes in the form of a snuggle and a kiss before they get put away to eat, or when they stand on the back of the couch and watch me on the computer they get a few pets. Peanut seemed like she needed a little bit more, and who was I to turn her down? She is incredibly light, which made it very easy for me to hold her up against my chest while I clicked on my 654 plot farm on Farmville. :) She seemed to really enjoy cuddling with me, and even ended up falling asleep. In this picture I was trying to get her to give me a kiss, and in usual pug fashion, she sneezed directly in my face.

We had another issue today with missing pugs... I had all the pugs put away, Aron had prepared all the food, and I turned to start handing out dishes and I realized that Cow Pug's crate was empty, with the door wide open. The back door also happened to be wide open, so I of course peeked my head out the door and looked around for her. Nothing... And, why would Cow Pug be outside unless she absolutely needed to be? Quick examination revealed that there were two pugs sharing, though this was quite more comical than Kahuna being in Cow Pug's crate. On the bottom row of the crate wall there are a total of five crates - 4 large wire crates, and directly next to the bird cage is Zac's tiny blue crate. Yeah, you guessed it. Cow Pug -AND- Zac were in Zac's tiny blue crate. How in the WORLD Cow Pug managed to fit in there is completely beyond me, but once she is in a crate it is quite impossible to remove her from it unless she is done eating. So, to grant Cow Pug's wish, I removed Zac from his own crate and put him in the much more spacious wire crate.

One other pug that I think may be missing Cathy is Kahuna... What appeared to be a mental disorder at first glance seems to be a cry for help. What I mean by this is that Kahuna will. not. leave. me. alone... As mentioned earlier, he is usually quite content sleeping in his crate at not. But not tonight - tonight I was holding Peanut at the computer and he climbed onto the back of the couch and stared me down, demanding the same attention. What I see as a cry for help may also be a bit of pug jealousy. :) Kahuna got a good rub down, and after a kiss on his wrinkly forehead he was more than content to sleep on the couch.

I will be here at the Taylor Moore house at least through the weekend - with any hope, Cathy will return home tomorrow then her and Kim are taking the motor home (and a few pugs) to the Hurricane Ridge shows in Sequim, providing that Cathy feels up to it.

The 2nd day

This picture is of Roscoe who is out of Cathy's boy Louie and my girl Mable. We hope to get him started in the ring soon.
Cathy is still battling with a bit of fluid in her lungs which is lowering her oxygen level and making her tired. Her Dr. stopped in today and said she is doing well at tolerating the Chemo and is still hopeful she can can back home Thursday. She said it is really agonizing being away from all the pugs for this long :( She is eating, but it is mainly small things so hopefully that will improve with time. Her pain is getting better which is great and she is only using the pain meds at night. Cathy also said she can feel the arms of love all around her with the notes and posts she has read and heard about from everyone. Thank you everyone for taking the time to write. It has meant a lot!
Diana

Living in Pug Heaven - To jump, or not to jump?

First things first, tell me this is not THE most adorable thing you have ever seen in your entire life. This comes courtesy of Karen Rogers, and the pugs in the photo are near and dear to quite a few people, including Cathy herself. Gretel was the girl that got Luna Pugs started, and Karen was lucky enough to get to adopt her. Karen also has the ever so cute Polly Pug - who was a rescue through SPR. I am especially loving miss Polly in this picture, and she spent some of her recovery time at our house. Apparently what Polly REALLY wanted her sign to say was, "Kick cancer's ass!", but a true lady can't wear such signs.

Seeing as it is a Monday, we didn't spend too much time with the pugs today. It has been over 85 the past two days and that most definitely slows them down. I have currently been living at the Taylor Moore house for 8 days, and I have learned one definite thing.

Pugs suffer from mental disorders.

I work in the medical field (certified medical billing specialist), and I actually do billing for quite a few mental health specialists. I have also always wanted to work in a mental hospital, because crazy people are absolutely fascinating.

When I say that pugs suffer from mental disorders, I am not entirely sure that these pugs are truly suffering. Cathy's pugs seem to actually enjoy their insanity. Just when you think that you know the ins and outs of each pugs personality, they turn things upside down 100%. For example - Kahuna has been ON one lately. I wish I could describe the complete flip he has experienced, but it is unbelievable.

The Kahuna that I have always loved and had the chance to get to know over the past few years is the King of Laziness. I fell in love with his gorgeous face the second I saw him, and as he was being specialed I always had to visit his crate and give him lots of lovin's outside of the ring. He would be only barely awake when the National Anthem was playing, and by the time the 6-9 Puppy Boy class was up he was zonked out. Someone was frequently having to wake him up for his turn in the Winner's Circle, and all he had to do was stand up, shake off, and he was good to go.

Here at home Kahuna is still quite the same. He would rather be in his crate than out with the other pugs, very similar to his sister Hula. Some time last week Kahuna got this weird bug up his butt, we will call it Bipolar Disorder, or P.I.T.A.S.(Pain In The Ass Syndrome), and decided that he wanted to eat in the kitchen with Louis and Mac. I had to chase him under a desk, where he promptly rolled on to his back expecting a belly rub. I finally managed to get him in his crate, and he barked at me the entire time I made his dinner! Tonight I finally got all of the pugs put into crates, and I realized that Kahuna's crate was empty. A quick glance around the pug room proves to me that he is for sure not in here - a quick glance outside provides the reassurance that he was indeed inside... Then moments later he comes out of the shadows, inside of Cow Pug's crate, getting ready to take a nap! For those curious, I did manage to snap a picture of this, and it will go up with an oncoming blog post, so keep an eye out for it. :)

Peanut also went through quite the disorder herself today. As mentioned in an earlier post, once Peanut is done eating she expects to be let out of her crate A.S.A.P. As soon as her door opens you better damn well be ready, as she will launch herself directly out of her third story high-rise at your face. Today was a different story - Peanut stood inside of her crate and stared at Aron, then stepped onto the ledge of the crate below hers and looked at the ground, then back up at Aron. It was almost as though for the first time in Peanut's life she realized, "That is a loonnnggg ways down.", and was hesitant to jump. We tried closing the door and opening it again, but it did absolutely nothing to change her mind... In the end I ended up pulling her out, giving her a hug and a reassuring kiss, then set her on the floor so that she could hoover away.

Here is to hoping that tomorrow is a more pug - friendly day. Right now I just want to shut myself in the hole that I have been calling a bedroom and PASS OUT. Another big thanks to Karen Rogers, who let me know that even if Cathy was 100% better she would still want me living here in the house so I could tell more stories about "The Secret Life of Pugs", haha. I appreciate all of the compliments I have received, but in all honesty writing about pugs is the easiest thing in the World!

It finally started

The Chemo started today and Cathy was feeling pretty good this morning! By later in the day she was pretty tired and it was sounding like she would need to get back on her oxygen. She is also trying to eat lots of protein which she is really only able to do in small frequent amounts as well as up her antioxidants. She is requesting Kim bring her blueberries and she is also sipping Green Tea. Kim has spending all day everyday at the hospital with Cathy. They have been watching some movies as they can in the evening. It is great for Kim having Alecia at the house with the pugs so he is able to do this. We'll write another update tomorrow and also hopefully know if Cathy does indeed get to come home Thursday.
Today's picture is from Perry Stanfield. He bred his girl Beatrice to Cathy's boy Mac and got this singleton. He is 4 weeks old and Perry thought Cathy would love to see him. I bet she will :) If you have been to the shows lately you know Cathy has been showing a puppy named Zack. This is a repeat breeding of Zack. Zack is best known for screaming ringside at the ring if Cathy is out of her site!!
Diana

Living in Pug Heaven - "Holy Shit!"

Here's to hoping that today's posting goes a little bit faster and is typed a little better, seeing as how we are using the fully functioning Taylor Moore PC!

In this picture you will find pugs doing what pugs do best - and that is "helping". A pugs way of helping means standing where you need to be, sitting where you need to clean, and falling asleep where the next object goes. It is embedded somewhere in the pug mind that this is how life is supposed to be, so pugs do it very well.

Toni came down to help me with quite the undertaking today. We disassembled the Crate Wall, washed each and every crate, cleaned the platform, moved it out, and then washed all the bedding and all of the pugs. In this photo (taken by Toni), you will see quite a few pugs "helping" her clean the floor / crate platform. Cow pug in the one standing so triumphantly in the middle (seeing as how she is nicknamed COW PUG one could assume that she was of absolutely no "help" at all), Mac sitting in front of the vacuum, a few curious pugs, and Lara the attention whore posing for her close-up.

The Crate Wall houses a total of fifteen crates, ranging in size and shape. On the bottom there are 4 wire crates and a smaller blue crate, then there are medium size crates on top of the wire crates, and small crates on top of the medium crates. These are all placed on top of a platform that I would assume Kim the Genius Man built, and each pug has their own place that they belong. Some crates have name tags, some don't. Toni and I started an assembly line, which really means that Toni did the majority of the work, and I love her for it. :) She vacuumed out each of the crates and carried them out to the deck, where I hosed them off and scrubbed them with bleach water. I then sprayed them down once more and we left them in the sun to dry. As I finished washing Toni cleaned the platform, pulled it away from the wall and started cleaning underneath the platform, which was a decent mess all on it's own.

We then took to bathing all of the pugs - which consumed quite a bit of water and clogged the drain all too much. To bathe 18 pugs in quite the task, and I most definitely could not have done it alone. We set up two stations - the first was in the tub where the pugs were soaked, scrubbed, and washed clean. After a good squeezing out of the wrinkles the pugs were lifted to the top of the washer, where Toni quickly threw a towel over the top of the pugs to shield herself from the incoming shake. Once the pugs were rubbed down and dried they got their nose wrinkles cleaned out and off they went. We ended up bathing all of the pugs, my french bulldog Dot, and Sir Winston as he was picked up this afternoon. Mister Howie also got to visit, and he got doused in cool water just for the heck of it.

By some miraculous act of who-knows-what, I remembered how each crate was placed when I reassembled the Crate Wall. In my mind I could picture that Peanut had the small red crate, which was above her arch nemesis, Wahini, who was above Cow Pug. Hula's crate was above Vanna's, and Star above that. The difference a good clean crate makes is in-cred-ible. HUGE shout out to Toni for working with me today, and another shout out to the ever shy but oh-so-willing to help, Diane Bates who offered to help Toni and I, should we fall short. Our escapades today took about 5 hours, with a lunch break included. Funny story - Toni thanked ME for letting HER come HELP. Seems kind of backwards, but I was more than willing. :)

Things are just as hilarious as usual here at the house - I assume that some of you were expecting another post about pinecones and pug poop with the title... I have no new stories about pug poop, but I did learn today that pinecones float, as there is one floating delicately in the water dish next to the pool. How it got in there? One could only guess. Our title today comes from a conversation I had with Cathy - it was actually the first time that I got to speak to her since before her surgery Monday. I called Kim's cell phone because Suzy had left a message on the house phone inquiring about Winston, and Cathy picked up.

C: Well how ARE you?!
A: Me? How are YOU?
C: I heard you gave some pug baths today.
A: Toni just left, we bathed ALL the pugs.
C: Holy shit.
A: And we cleaned all their crates.
C: HOLY SHIT.

I love Cathy. :)

It was definitely nice to talk to her - she seemed to be in good spirits, which is nice to know. She informed me that she was not all worried about the on-goings here at the house, which was a relief to me. I find it funny because even my own mom worries when I pug-sit. Cathy also informed me that because it was closer to work, and because I used less gas that I was just going to have to move in! Now, this isn't the first time that Cathy has tried to adopt me in some way. She always tries to steal me right from under my mom's nose, and she also offered to let me take her last name once when I went through a rough patch with my father. Alecia Moore - Not too shabby!

I look forward to the week ahead - Miss Cypress was returned to us after her weekend in Portland, and I can already tell that she is glad to be home. She is currently hanging over an arm of the couch. It is about 10:30 now and I still need to clean up the kitchen before I can even think about sleep.

Tomorrow's the day

I had to include this picture as it is one of Cathy's favorites from Argentina! Gaston's mom gets all the girls a new pair of underwear every year for Christmas and you can't wear them until Jan. 1st! We will never forget this :)
Cathy had a bit if a set back with fluid in her lungs and she then spiked a temperature. She was put on more oxygen, antibiotics and steroids. This morning they gave her double the dose of steroids and she felt like superwoman taking extra laps and straightening up her room! She was able to finally eat last night after 8 days of no solid food! They also installed a Porta Cath into her chest to make administering the Chemo easier. The hope was that it would all ready be started but she needed to be healthy and eating so the thought is that Monday she will start it. Everyone say a little prayer that she tolerates it ok as she will be getting it for 3 days straight.
I went up and straightened up her bedroom at home a bit today and put lots of pug things around the room for her. Alecia and Toni Reyna did quite the job and bathed all 18 pugs todays and washed all their crates as well as cleaning that area! Alecia also worked on the covered deck adjacent to their bedroom so Cathy would have a nice place outdoors to hang out. She will love it Alecia!
The thought now is that she will not be home until Thursday so maybe we could send flowers home for her then. I will update you on how tomorrow goes for her. Thank you for keeping her and Kim in your thoughts.
Diana

Living in Pug Heaven - Questions of the Day

How busy busy things have been here at the Taylor Moore house! I finally have an hour of quiet time before I have to feed the puggies so I figured I would sneak into my quiet back bedroom and start typing away.

Today's photo is from a plant in the backyard - the landscaping here is quite gorgeous, and the amount of land they actually have here is incredible as well. One thing I have learned about having a big yard for lots of pugs is that a big yard holds lots of pug poop. The house itself is older, which means that quite a few large tree surround it. Do you know what looks very similar to pug poop? Pinecones. Pinecones and pug poop are what cover the majority of the yard here.

Two different things make this okay - A.) It was warm outside today so all of the pug pooped dried out - which makes it super easy to scoop. B.) Kim and Cathy have what I like to call the Colossal Scoop - could possibly be one of the biggest pooper scoopers I have ever had the joy of holding. One would wonder why any person would need such a colossal scoop - those who wonder must remember that 18 pugs poop at least 18 piles a day - usually more than that. Now that's a lot of poop!

Moving on to better subjects - I am sure a few of you are curious as to how we measure things here at the Taylor Moore house. Actually you probably haven't, but that is beside the point. Today while I was outside filling the also colossal dishes, I wondered how much hose water it takes to fill said dishes. I then came to the realization that the amount of water it takes must be balanced with the number of pugs drinking out of the dish at the time, and the number drinking directly from the hose stream. I have also learned that the big gate across the kitchen is as wide as Louis and Mac are fat. This means that laying down, side by side, you can fit one Louis, one Mac, and three smaller pugs the length of the gate. Should Cow Pug want in on the action you must substitute two smaller pugs per Cow Pug. There is no substituting Louis and Mac.

In other news - I managed to get the computer running. After five days of it being touchy and shutting off at random intervals, twelve disk cleanups, 2 Spybot scans, and the final Malwarebytes scan that found the file the computer seems to be okay. I broke down and bought a small can of compressed air, though this PC could have easily used an entire big one. I also unplugged everything, wiped everything down, and ziptied the cords somewhat neatly. In the end it seems that it was an infected Registry Key.

Tomorrow should be a good day! My momma is coming down to clean Cathy's bedroom (I haven't seen her since Sunday!), and the lovely Toni Reyna is coming to help me with quite the undertaking - we are going to attempt to bathe all the dogs and clean all of their crates. Shout out to the wonderful Melissa Norton who said we could load up all the pugs and use her tub. :) So much love for Cathy!!
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Better day today

Cathy was feeling much better today. She is pushing herself to take more laps as we would all expect from Cathy! The plan as of now is to start the Chemo tomorrow so I will let everyone know how that goes or is there are any changes. We are not sure if she will be home Monday or not but will let everyone know for sure. She got to read her blog pages and was deeply touched by it! She said she could feel the messages as she read them and is just overwhelmed by it all. I told her she has a lot of love for her. She also had a very special call which we sneaked in on her by Pat Ayllon a fellow Pug breeder of Australia! Cathy has never met Pat, but Pat has been through many of the things Cathy is and had a positive upbeat talk with her on a lot of helpful hints and even how to talk to the Chemo bag and tell it she was going to win! Thank you so much Pat as this meant the world to Cathy!

Living in Pug Heaven - Big Thanks!!

Extending a big thanks from Cathy and Kim to Sabrina, and Duane & Carolyn for sending these lovely flowers! I will do my best to keep them alive until Cathy gets to come home. The good news is, that should they die, Cathy would be the one person on this planet to appreciate their deadness.
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Living in Pug Heaven - From wigs to twigs.

Any person out there who has lived with a pug knows that pugs come with an excess of hair. I have lived with at least one pug my entire life(though it greatly ranges from 1 to 37), so I know the telltale signs of a pug owner. This is so true, in fact, that I approached a woman standing in line at the Fashion Bug in Spanaway who had a giant patch of short blonde hairs on her arm. Without any sort of introduction I said, "Do you have a pug?" I'll be damned if she didn't own a pug mix!

The photo I have used for this blog post may seem odd. I have no idea what type of tree this is, I just know it is some little twiggy thing right outside of Cathy's back door - which is also about six feet from Cathy's grooming table. Aron called me outside this evening to point out this giant wad of hair in the tree, which was pure pug hair. After closer examination I spotted a second wad of pug hair - which we decided was actually nests that the local birds had put together. Imagine a bed of pug hair - so soft, smelly, and permanently stuck to your Chanel suit.

Tonight I would like to write some more funny things about Cathy's pugs, because they are down right hilarious.

My first story is for the lovely Jen - we know how much she loves Sir Macaroon. Aron and I let all the pugs out when I got home, and while discussing the pseudo birds nest we looked over to find Mac in the garden... We then realized that Mac is the World's laziest potty-goer. Instead of lifting his leg like most proud males do, he just hovered over a short shrub and let it all fall out.

In being here we have learned that Peanut is not afraid of anything. After she is done eating she expects to be let out RIGHT NOW. The funny thing is that when you open her crate door she all but launches herself out of the crate, trusting the receiving person to catch her before she turns into a pug-cake. She only hesitated this morning when I stood a good three feet away from her crate as I opened her door.

Kim and Cathy will occasionally pug-sit for friends with pugs or pugs they have placed in forever homes when their people need vacations. That brings us to Sir Winston. He is easily spotted for being a little bit taller than the other pugs - he is a big boy! His other spotlight was the red harness he wore, and happily so. I woke up this morning thinking that I had somehow misplaced Winston, then realized he had simply misplaced his harness! We went into the yard to search for it - I tried asking Winston where he left it and he would just wag his tail and take a few steps forward, then turn back at me excitedly as if to ask where our next adventure was! We ended up finding it in a flower bed next to the house, so it is in the washer and he can be a free man for another night.

The last story I have is for the lovely Miss Cathy, and the pug who loves her the mostest, Zac. Pugs have never been a breed known for their intelligence, but some art quite clever. Zac falls into this category. Zac does not like being crated - the extent of his crate time is while he eats and the moments before and after. I was standing outside (Funnily enough this was while Mac was watering the plants)and I turned to look down at the cement step to find that Zac has removed the bed from his crate and brought it out for me to wash.

I look forward to tomorrow - mainly because it is the end of the work week and I can sleep in a bit on Saturday, should the pugs be so kind as to allow me to do so.
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A bit of a tough time

Today was a bit disappointing for Cathy and a bit of a set back. She is scheduled to start her 3 days of Chemo but cannot until her digestive track is working correctly. She was overjoyed yesterday after 5 days of not eating solid food to finally get a smoothie! She could also have other soft foods like pureed soup and yogurt. But today was very uncomfortable for her. They took her for an xray and found her digestive track is not working correctly so she is back to IV fluids and no food by mouth. They will need to wait to start the Chemo until she can tolerate food which will delay her coming home for a bit. We should know tomorrow. She seemed a bit sad and exhausted which is very understandable. The nurses had plugged in her phone, but Cathy decided to keep it unplugged as she is just not up to visiting yet or talking yet. She still needs time as she has had a lot to absorb and is exhausted. I did print out the Blog for her and all though she was too tired to read it, it did bring a big smile to her face and she had us place it where it was easy to grab so she could read it. Right now we are thinking it will be at least Monday before she will be home, but we will know more tomorrow. Kim is doing a remarkable job staying by her and tending to her. He is tired to which is easily understood. We will have to continue to keep them both in our thoughts.
Also, our wonderful friend Tom Henry has a client at UCLA who he checked with about Cathy. He had this to say about Cathy's treatment: He did however, say, that the Swedish Hospital and Medical Center that was treating her was one of the finest institutions in the country, and that she's in very good hands.
Thank you Tom for all your help with this!
Diana
Kahuna being shown by Frances Smith of Argentina!

Living in Pug Heaven- Thought for the day.

Those of you who think that you have experienced a true rude awakening have never woken up in the Taylor Moore house.

Being in the back bedroom, as far away from the pugs as possible means that I can experience some quiet. My alarm clock goes off just before 7:00am, and as soon as I come out of sleep I can hear the faint cries of hungry pugs.

The unfortunate part of all of this is that it wasn't faint cries of hungry pugs - it was just one pug. Within moments I have at least five to ten pugs screaming for breakfast - if they were up, then I should of course, be up as well. They were hungry hours ago!

Living in Pug Heaven - A Day in the life of Cathy & Kim

The last time that I stayed at Cathy's house was in December of 2008. Some of you may remember Cathy and Kim departing to the shows in California while I stayed at their house to undertake what I thought was a big challenge - 12 pugs for 12 days.

I was in for quite the surprise when I arrived at the house on Sunday to find a few more than 12 pugs, a french bulldog, and two little puglets. To top off this lovely bunch of dogs I ended up with my own frenchie, Dot. She can hardly stand to be without me, and any person who has ever been to Cathy's house knows that all pug and pug friends are welcome and that they will thoroughly enjoy their stay.

In a home where people breed and show dogs there are 3 different classifications - the puppies you sell, the dogs you keep to show then retire and place or sell to another show home, and the permanent fixtures. Our dear friend Cathy has quite a few permanent fixtures, as I am sure most of you know.

My favorite pug of Cathy's has got to be Louis. Imagine the biggest most squishiest loveable pug you can, and that is Louis. He has a head to die for, wrinkles for days, and a temperament that demands love and devotion. I was thrilled to see Mac and Claire - they may as well be twins they are so similar. The lovely Miss Island Girl, who has stayed at our house and is probably the easiest keeper of them all. Crackheaded Peanut, who as Kim put it "is determind that the enemy is above her", and the always lazy but loving Cow Pug and CeeCee.

Kim enjoyed telling me some of the true characteristics of each pug on Sunday night. Peanut will get a drink of water, walk a foot away, go back for more water, leave, turn back to drink, etc until she is finally satisfied. Kim told me, "Peanut drinks a lot, and Peanut pees a lot." Kahuna is a messy eater, which means Peanut gets to play vaccuum and clean up the kibbles. Island Girl(Hula for short) looovveess to be in her crate. She actually seems to need crate time - and at least five of their pugs will put themselves into crates. Zac Attack has to eat and come out right away - anyone who has stood ringside knows that Zac loves his momma and they can never be apart.

If there is one thing that I have learned growing up around pugs it is that once you have a couple, a couple more is no big deal. Once you break that line of 3 pugs any outsider will tell you, "Wow, that's a lot of pugs." A few people have asked me how in the World I can handle this many pugs, and to be honest it is quite simple. Each and every one of Kim and Cathy's pugs is trained - they pee outside, they know when to eat, when to sleep, and when it should be time for them to be out. There are a few that are out of crates all the time, and those pugs know they shouldn't be put away - they let me know too! Poor Aron can't tell these pugs apart to save her life, but in the three days I have been here I can name each one, and even without crate tags I could put them where they belong.

Miss Cypress was picked up yesterday - she is being shown in Portland. If anyone is going to Portland be sure to cheer for your own pug, but for Cathy's as well!
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The Dr's Report

The Dr. came and spoke with Cathy and Kim today and explained it is actually 2 types of Cancer that Cathy has which is aggressive and unusual. She is starting a Chemo regimen which will last 15 weeks and includes 3 days of Chemo and 18 days off and 3 days of Chemo and 18 days off over the 15 weeks. Kim has picked up some maps so they can take some trips in the motor-home with some pugs Once Cathy is feeling up to it.
For those who would like to send Flowers it would be nice if they could arrive Monday at their house as Cathy should be home then. Her address is
Cathy Moore
11637 NE 112th Street
Kirkland, WA 98033
I will be spending about 3 1/2 hours with her tomorrow and reading from the Blog and other nice notes sent for her. She so loves these things and it puts quite the smile on her face. Thank you for posting them for her!

Living in Pug Heaven - What has Cathy taught you?

Introduction time! Most of you know me, some of you may not. I am Diana's daughter, Alecia - and I am the one currently living at Cathy's house being the pug mama. My best friend(who some of you know or have seen with us at shows), Aron, has also been staying at Cathy's house. We arrived Sunday night and she just left this morning - her dad is going out of town so she has to watch her own puppies! I plan to write a bit more about what is going on around the house, stories about the pugs, etc... Kim and Cathy's computer is currently on the fritz (if anyone wants to offer some Geek Squad services I'm sure it would help ;) ), so I am forced to do what is called Mobile Blogging. I of course, tried to set it up yesterday and failed miserably. So now I am writing posts, e-mailing them to my work e-mail, then sneaking online to post them before my boss gets into the office.

In the photo above you will see Aron - and quite a few pugs. We spent 2 hours on the couch watching an episode of the Bachelorette on Monday. :) In the far left of the picture you can see Latte(lovingly referred to as Cow Pug by myself, Aron, and my other friend Blake), then left to right from the outside - Mac, Louis, Peanut(she is trying to look over Aron's shoulder), in Aron's lap you have Claire, then CeeCee who forced Claire over and made herself a spot in Aron's lap, and Cypress on the back of the couch. My couch was a bit more comfy with Vanna on the back, my french bulldog Dot at my feet, and Kahuna in my lap.

I would like everyone to take a second and write about something that Cathy and/or Kim have taught you. Two things from me to start it off:

1. Cathy has taught me that there is NEVER a wrong time or place to say something. Whatever is on Cathy's mind comes out of Cathy's mouth - and boy does everyone around her get a good laugh!!

2. It is perfectly fine to ignore police lights as you drive down the freeway. That is, of course, until Kim yells from the back of the motor home(where he is firmly planted in a lawn chair) that there is a cop behind you and you should probably pull over. It is then also fine to not be able to locate your drivers license, tell the officer that your registration is in the glovebox - then look over to find your best friend frantically searching for a non-existant glovebox. When the officer tells you that he pulled you over because you have a headlight out, it is also 100% okay to ask him how in the World he knew that, seeing as he pulled you over from the back of the vehicle. Cathy has proven to us all that you will walk away with no ticket - but an amazing story to tell your friends.

After the Surgery Day 1

Today was a tough day for Cathy. She did enjoy the well wishes I shared with her and told her I will be putting them together in a binder for her as well. My daughter Alecia and her friend have done a wonderful job staying at Kim and Cathy's and taking care of all the pugs so Kim can focus on Cathy. I was able to spend about 3 1/2 hours with Cathy and Kim today. Cathy and Kim will be meeting with the Specialist in the morning and he will describe in detail her treatment. A few of us came up with what we was an important list of questions for the specialist as well. The thought is she will be starting Chemo tomorrow as they cannot waste anytime in her treatment. All though she was able to have the hysterectomy the Cancer is aggressive and has spread more than we had hoped. Cathy is hanging on to all the prayers and positive thoughts which is very important right now. I will write more tomorrow after Kim calls with the report from the Specialist.

After the Surgery

They performed the surgery which was an aggressive hysterectomy and had found the cancer has spread even more since last week. It is now involving not only the muscle tissue surrounding the area but has wrapped itself around the surrounding lymph nodes as well. They will start Chemo today or tomorrow to try and slow it's progression. Please keep Kim and Cathy both in your thoughts. Even though this isn't the news we were hoping for, we know Cathy is such a fighter and will give this her all. I will be visiting with her for a few times today and I will share her notes with her today which I will know she will enjoy.

Cathy's Surgery

Has been delayed and she only went in about a half hour ago! Kim has a long night ahead. Kim will call when she is finished and I will post an update before I go to work. I will be leaving work at 10:30 am and will stay with her until 2. Thank you everyone for all of the support and I know Cathy will love seeing all of these posts!!

Cathy my friend.

I love you very much. You are an incredible friend and I cannot wait until you kick this in the ass and we are sharing even more stories of our wonderful fun trips.

Love,
Diana