"Pugs are the pets of nobility, snobs, and old maids."

I guess I'm all of the above. *_~


I haven't written in a few days, in part due to hectic work schedules, but in other part due to some exciting news.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have the honor of introducing to you...Bixby.



Now, in my sordid fantasies, Bixby was a cream-colored female French bulldog. Well, Frenchies run anywhere from $1500 to $3000. I just don't have that money. And even if I did, I should probably be spending it on, y'know, an APARTMENT and not puppies.

Enter a breeder my mom located who was selling pug pups for EXTREMELY affordable prices. Now, it's always been Michael who wanted a pug. He and my mom have been looking at pug puppies for a couple of weeks now, and I was just "meh" about it. Even though it's been almost a year since I lost Sassy, that wound STILL hurts and I wasn't quite ready to get a new puppy.

The thing is, Bix was ready for me.

Everything lined up really quickly and smoothly and it felt like one of those things where the stars just aligned at the right time and everything fell together perfectly. My mom went and saw Bix's litter, and right away, out of the five puppies there, he walked right up, made eye contact, and sat IN HER PURSE. He's like, "Yeah, I'm ready to go home with you now." She didn't bring him home that night, but she did come home and ask if I wanted to go see him. I said no.

I know, right?

I just...I didn't feel ready. I felt like there would be too many comparisons to Sassy and he wasn't, after all, female, blonde, or French (now I sound like a frat douche, lol). I really had my heart set on another female. Stupidly. My mom gave me 15 minutes to decide, because she had told the breeder she'd be by Tuesday morning to pick him up. She's like, "You can either say yes and we'll go or say no and I'll call and tell them to sell him." So I thought.

And I figured, you know what. I've been secretly wishing for a new puppy since Christmas. Even if he IS a boy, here's the deal. That differentiates him enough from Sassy to the point where I wouldn't CONSTANTLY be comparing the two of them. That's not fair to him, and it's not fair to me either, because as much as I want her back, it's never gonna happen. I can search the world twice over and I would never get another dog with Sassy's exact personality. And then I decided...that's okay. I loved Sassy, and all her snotty little moments, but I was (and am) ready to move forward and establish a new relationship with someone else. I will still miss her. I probably always will. And if provoked, I could cry for her at any minute. But it won't do any good to cry, because she's not coming back. I had sixteen really good years with her, and if I could repeat the experience, I would.

And if I could have a NEW experience, I decided I was ready.

So I said yes.

And the minute we walked in, Bix looked up at me with these eyes that look JUST like Sassy's, and I held him and he kissed me and it was love at first sight. And it FELT right.

A very wise and dear friend of mine told me something when Sassy died that I haven't forgotten, and means SO much to me in light of recent events. He told me that Sassy loved me, even in her little moods, and I took really good care of her throughout her whole life, wheelchair included. And he said that if she had the chance, she'd do it all over again with me. And if she knew some other dog had the same chance, she'd want him to take it.

And I believe that.

So here's to Bixby, the Wonder Pug, who will hopefully share many happy years with me.




"So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!"
-Dr. Suess