Well, that's actually a bit of a debate around here. Not the happy part - we KNOW he's happy right now. But Richard seems to think Samson is getting a bit chubby. I just keep remembering how his ribs were sticking out when we first got him and I think he looks soooo good now!

As much as the little fella loves to eat, I've HAD to cut back on the amount I'm feeding him or else he really would be a porker in no time. He's still taking pills daily and I put those in cheese. I just can't take the cheese away from him - he loves it so much it just wouldn't be fair.

Meanwhile, he is getting so much stronger and his stamina is improving. We took him to Dr Hendrix on Saturday for a check-up. I'm thrilled to say his chest x-ray showed major improvement. His lungs aren't clear and may never be due to his heart problem and swallowing difficulty, but they are so much better than before. I was also very happy to see that he was quite perky during the visit and remained so the rest of the day. Before when we would take him he would come back absolutely worn out and sleep the rest of the day. But Saturday he was running around like a loon just like all the other furkids!

In fact, we really have to watch the guy. He's figured out how to get outside using the doggie door by himself. And he loves to go outside!

He just loves to be outside in the sunshine. He's perfectly content just to go outside and hang out in the yard or on the patio.

We worry about him because he still wobbles a bit when walking. He still has that crab-like walk and sometimes he ends up stumbling around in a circle before he makes it to his intended target. So we have to keep an eye on the little guy. Usually though, he only goes out when the other kids are out there too.

Because of the balance/gait issue, he has a very commanding stance:

He has to spread out his legs to maintain balance. Even doing this isn't always enough so sometimes he has to lean up against something:

But he gets around like a champ and seems to be a really happy guy. As his energy level has increased he has really taken an interest in toys. It's a bit much for him to chase a ball or tug on anything, but he really loves having a soft toy to chew on.

All in all I'd say he has settled in nicely and is doing very well. We're absolutely thrilled with his progress. I hope he's as happy as he seems!

We love you Samson!!

Posted by Robbi at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ladies, you may want to re-think giving that special man in your life any new power tools for Christmas. Let my story be a cautionary tale:

Once upon a time Robbi had a lovely chenille sofa. She had bought it not too long before she met Richard & moved to England. So, the sofa stayed at a friend's house in FL until the Richard & Robbi moved to TX. Then the sofa (along with all of Robbi's other furniture) came to live with them in TX. Not too long after their arrival, the sofa was deemed unworthy of the living room as it collected copious amounts of fur and still (despite a professional cleaning) smelled of a couple of Labradors who lived in FL. So, the sofa was moved to Richard's office where Phoebe perched on it's back to look out the front windows every day.

Richard's dislike of the sofa grew into an ugly hatred. Robbi knew of his discontent, but was unaware of the magnitude of his disdain. Then one day Robbi came home to this:

Poor Charlie is very confused:

So be forewarned, ladies - when your husband starts telling you how much he hates that armoire or kitchen table, perhaps it's a good time to hide the saw!

Posted by Robbi at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a very quiet, relaxing Thanksgiving here at Denny Towers. No visitors or large gatherings, just Richard and myself with our little pug pack.

The kids did get a small taste of the turkey, though not nearly as much as they would have like. Nonetheless, it appears that they received enough to help coax them into the post-turkey nap that so many of us fall prey to...

Our sofa turned into a Pug Pile with everybody snuggled up together. Thankfully everybody gets on well enough that nobody seemed to mind the close quarters:

Phoebe especially seemed to really enjoy snuggling with everyone.

In fact, she's turning into quite a softie! She's even taken to letting Daddy cuddle her:

Is there anything cuter than a sleeping puggie????

  Maybe we should feed them turkey EVERY night.....

Posted by Robbi at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh sure, it looks innocent enough. But don't let it fool you for a minute. It is pure evil that must be destroyed!

What else could be the explanation for an adorable angel like this:

and a sweet cuddly boy like this:

becoming locked in a vicious battle such as this?

Even Phebes was drawn in on the attack. Thankfully Denny is much more sensible and only watched from the sidelines.

Alas, the giraffe survived this round but our brave warriors will return to fight another day. Victory shall be theirs!!

Posted by Robbi at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We have a nice wide pavement around our pool.  Plenty of room for three or four pugs to make their way around.  Denny though seems to think he needs to walk right near the edge!

For some strange reason he NEVER wants to walk on the concrete.  He just likes to flaunt with danger!

He has of course fallen in on several occasions! (A good swimmer he is!)

Richard

Posted by Richard at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is Winston.  He is our current foster Pug from PugHearts, the rescue we help to run.

Winston is going to have a meet and greet at the weekend, and I am dreading it actually going well - because I will have to give the little guy up!    He is like a older and smaller version of Denny. Cute guy!

This was taken a couple of days ago when he had been sleeping at my feet.  He had only just woken up!  He looks so sleepy!

Here he is about half an hour later sunning himself by the pool.  I love the way he sits.  It's all about comfort!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Always nice to see them cuddled up together!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today our little Charlie Bear turns 2 years old! It is so hard to believe, he still acts like such a puppy. We love his fearless, adventurous spirit and hope that never diminishes.

We made a special trip to PetsMart yesterday to pick up some goodies for the little guy. It didn’t feel right to just leave them in a bag, so we wrapped them up in anticipation of his big day.

Charles wasn’t exactly sure what to think when he was allowed up on the big table to see them this morning. But he had to have known something was up.

We let him have a good sniff and paw before helping him open everything. He did quite well: a stuffed cow that says “moo”, a rubber kangaroo that squeaks, a bag of compressed rawhide bones, a bag of Newman’s Own chicken treats and a shiny new Kong!

Of course Charles is ever the gentleman and was willing to share his chicken treats with his siblings. However, the Kong (once filled with peanut butter) was off limits to everyone but him! He is such a good little boy and we are so happy to be able to celebrate this special day with him. WE LOVE YOU CHARLIE BEAR!!!

-Mummy and Daddy

Posted by Richard at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We here at Denny Towers are very excited and pleased to announce the addition of Jacob to our little family!  This fella has had quite a journey to get here, and though we don’t know his full story we are sure that this is going to be the best time of his life!

Jacob has come to us through the PugHearts of Houston and Homeward Bound of OK joint adoption program. As many of you know, PugHearts of Houston (specifically Cindy and Carolyn) recently made a trip up to Oklahoma to pick up some puggies from the Homeward Bound Rescue which had been inundated. One foster Mom actually had 21 fosters in her house!!  So, PugHearts offered to go pick some up for adoption in the Houston area. We are happy to report that upon arrival with 9 HWB rescues (and 2 more pugs picked up along the route), half of the HWB rescues had forever homes waiting – Jacob included.

We actually saw Jacob on the Petfinder adoption site several months ago. I’m not sure what it is about him, but his photo spoke to us. I wanted him, but as he was in a rescue in OK and we were in TX (already involved with a rescue) it didn’t seem feasible. So I would occasionally look at his photo and think “if you were closer little guy, you’d be ours!” but we never pursued it. Then a couple of weeks ago we heard about HWB’s deluge of rescues. All of us at PugHearts agreed that it would be great if we could do something to help and Cindy offered to make the trek. Our next move was to try and figure out which dogs we would be picking up. I honestly hadn’t even put 2 + 2 together at the time and did not realize Jacob was with them until I looked at their website to try and figure out which dogs would be making the trip. Then I saw him. It seemed like fate when I saw his beautiful face staring at me from their webpage.

I thought I had done a pretty decent job of keeping my obsession for Jacob a secret, but apparently I was wrong. Both Cindy and Richard commented that this was our chance to bring Jacob home to Seabrook.  It took very little convincing on their parts and soon we were planning for Jacob’s arrival. Richard was actually the first to see him, as he picked him up from the vet’s office upon the puggie-bus’ arrival back in Houston. As he brought him into the house, I lost my breath for a moment. He is so beautiful!! And that sweet grey face tells us that he has lived quite a life. He came in, met the crew and then set about discovering his new home. He settled in quickly and that first night he had even made friends with Charlie. 

He is so wonderful and we are so delighted to have him with us. Poor little guy rarely gets a break when I am around him as I cannot keep my hands off of him! I just can’t keep from cuddling him and kissing his sweet face. Last night he made us so happy, as he discovered his first toy with us! He had been watching Phoebe play and finally at one point he just walked over and picked up the ball when it landed near him. He then walked around and found a comfy spot to lay down with it.

It was so precious that Richard had to grab the camera and record the moment. Times like this make me so happy that Richard is so handy with a camera. These are memories that we truly want to preserve forever. Thank you Jacob for bringing such joy into our lives. We promise we will do everything we can to give you the life that you deserve!

Posted by Richard at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well we’ve had a bit of a scare here at Denny Towers. We received a phone call the other day from Denny’s vet. He was calling to give us the results of the biopsy from the growth that was removed from Denny’s ear last week. It turns out that the growth was indeed a mast cell tumor. Thankfully the pathology report revealed that it was only Stage I and that the margins of the skin sample were clean – showing that the mast cell was removed completely. The Vet advised us that there would be no need for any further treatment since it was all removed, but that we should keep an eye on Denny for any new growths. He was quick to state that had we not noticed it and insisted that it be removed, it would have easily progressed to a more serious stage.

Obviously we were a bit taken aback. We were not expecting those results. Honestly when Richard pointed it out to me I thought it was just a harmless skin tag. It was only a tiny, irregular-shaped growth inside his ear and I did not think that it looked like a mast cell.  I honestly did not think the results would come back positive. Thank goodness we saw it and had it taken care of so early. I guess this awareness is a gift from Lilly. If she had not come into our lives to show us the importance of checking for mast cell tumors, we may not have paid any attention to Denny’s ear. We may not have done anything until it was in an advanced state. I shudder to think of the consequences.

This makes us more vigilant in our pledge to make sure that we check our guys out routinely. We are going to do skin checks on them every month when we give them their Heartguard and flea treatment. We sincerely hope that everyone reading this will make a point to do routine checks on their babies. And even if you find something that you think is inconsequential and “probably nothing” – please, follow up with your vet. These guys are relying on us to help keep them healthy.

Robbi

Posted by Richard at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been a rather emotional couple of weeks here at Denny Towers. (Yes, we are still looking for a new name – any suggestions would be appreciated!) A couple of weeks ago we picked up a foster for PugHearts named Boudreaux. He’s the cutest little guy & he quickly stole our hearts. He’s about the same size as Charlie and close in age, so the two of them hit it off immediately. And of course Phebes is always happy to have someone else to play with.

While Denny didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of another youngster running around, he was actually pretty tolerant of all the youthful exuberance. Regardless of how they felt, Richard & I quickly fell for him. He just seemed so starved for affection that we couldn’t help ourselves. Given his age, temperament and unabashed cuteness, we KNEW he wouldn’t be a foster for long. Sure enough, last weekend we took him to meet a family who seemed perfect for him. They had another female pug about his age and within minutes the two of them were romping around exploring together. The family was fantastic and Richard & I had to admit that it was the perfect home for him.

As we said our goodbyes to Boudreaux and left the house I asked Richard “Am I going to cry every time we adopt out a foster?” At least there were tears of joy too, as we know he has found his perfect forever home. Congratulations, Boudreaux, you made it!!

On Monday Cindy asked me if we were ready for another foster. I said “Well, we have an open spot.” She said she was going to have us take Lilly. We had been told that Lilly had some sort of masses “all over her body.” Cindy sent us photos – we were a bit shocked to say the least. I have never seen anything like this.

I picked her up on Tuesday after work. The first thing I noted was how beautiful she is. She has a gorgeous black mask and these piercing eyes.

The second thing I noted was how lively she is. This girl is a bundle of energy! She was running and twirling on the lead as I took her to my car. Of course she wasn’t content to sit in the back seat and ended up as my co-pilot. I kept stroking her telling her how beautiful she was and she would just melt down into the seat staring at me. It was if she hadn’t been told that in a very long time, if ever. I was most impressed with how she acted towards our guys when we arrived home.

She came through the door and paused to let everyone get a good sniff. Then she held her head high and proceeded to make her inspection of our house. She checked everyone else out and determined that we met with her approval. She then jumped up on the sofa ready for her belly rubbins! She was not intimidated at all by any of us. She earned the immediate respect of all of our guys and she was accepted on the spot. There have been no issues with jealousy or dominance between any of them. It is as though she belongs here.

We knew that she was going to have some health challenges. She came with prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids. We were told the results of the biopsies would be back in a few days. The first night with us, she barely slept. She was so excited to be on the bed with everyone she couldn’t stay still. When she finally did sleep, it was on my pillow draped over my head. The following night she seemed to settle in a bit better and slept fairly well.

Unfortunately she got a bit sick during a bad thunderstorm, but we put that down to nervousness. On Friday she had started coughing and had another episode of being sick to her stomach. I called Cindy to ask if a chest x-ray had been done on her. Her symptoms kind of reminded us of Alfie’s early symptoms with Congestive Heart Failure and we wanted to know if that had been checked. I was not prepared for the news I was about to hear. No, the chest x-ray had not been done but the results of the biopsy had come back. It was mast cell carcinoma. Cancer. I was in shock. I had to hang up quickly and then proceeded to cry, holding Lilly who had been sitting next to me on the sofa.

Richard joined us and I told him the news. After letting the news sink in he said “Well we’re not going to give up on her. We do not give up on Pugs.” I agreed and we talked about what needed to be done next. As the immediate problem seemed to be with coughing, we made plans to have her chest x-rayed on Saturday. The Vet had said he wouldn’t be there to read the films, but he would leave us a prescription for an antihistamine since she could be suffering from an upper respiratory infection as she is on heavy doses of steroids. He said he would read the x-ray on Monday.

We drove her to Sugarland on Saturday morning and had her x-ray done as well as some blood work. Dr. Hendrix left word that he will call the pathologist on Monday to discuss her results. We will then get her an appointment at the oncologist’s office as soon as we can. We have no idea of the extent of the fight we have ahead of us. Poor little Lilly doesn’t even seem to realize that she’s sick. Right now we are just savoring the time we have with her while she feels so good.

As I type this she is sleeping at my feet under my desk. In a way, I’m glad she doesn’t understand what is happening. I surely don’t know how I would explain it to her anyway.

Robbi

Posted by Richard at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Seeing the ones you love, content and rested.

Robbi, Denny, Charlie and Munchkin.  Sonning, England.
Taken December 6th 2005 (See it on Flickr)

Just had to share this classic old shot I found in my archives!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I now have a craving for good old fashioned British Fish’n’Chips!  Why?

Because Robbi just sent me a Daily Mail article with this picture!

COD & CHIPS with SALT’N’VINEGAR!!! YUM!!

She knows how much I miss them!  And I know she developed a taste for them too!  You just cannot beat a good serving of Fish’n’Chips!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As Robbi mentioned in the last post, we have not got the boat yet – and it’s not just because of the bad weather. Unfortunately the dealer we were getting the Sea Ray from started to move the goalposts and we opted to cancel the order as opposed to getting something we really did not want. As it happens though, this turned out to be a good move on our part – as we put a little extra thought into deciding what we should do next.

Our initial purchase of the Sea Ray was based on getting a boat that would fit in the garage, which was very limiting when it came to length. In fact we only had about 20 foot to play with and this meant we were restricted to getting a boat that was about 18ft maximum and a trailer length of 20 foot with a swing away tongue. As most boaters will know, that does not leave you much choice, especially when you want a boat with more than the usual 135hp engine. Anyway, the Sea Ray actually had a 190hp engine, but it turned out that in the end they could not provide it in the color we wanted, nor with the extras we wanted. Needless to say – we cancelled. Luckily Texas is a state where deposits are 100% refundable by law. So no loss on our part.

Anyway, in the search for a new boat – we actually decided to do away with the idea of keeping the boat in the garage and opted for storing it at a local storage facility in Seabrook – this gives us much more scope for power and length of the boat. We have looked at SO MANY boats in the past weeks including Sea Ray, Chaparral, VIP and Tahoe. All of them are very nice and have great features – but they all had one thing in common. You have to buy the extras to get the specification you want. Myself and Robbi hate that, and it was only when I stumbled across a review of a Yamaha Jet-Boat that we actually found something that not only suited our needs, but it exceeded them! So we have opted for, ordered and are now awaiting delivery on the 21st July, a Yamaha SX210 Jet Boat. This puppy has 2 engines, 220hp, seating for 9, all the extras you would ever need and is more than perfect for a shallow lake launching.

Yamaha SX210 Jet Boat

We will of course have plenty of photos when it arrives– the kids all have life-jackets and harnesses ready for when we take her out!

We are still working on a name, but at the moment the favorite is “Alfie’s Wings”.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alas, no boat for the 4th of July, but as the day was a bit of a wash-out that was just fine with us. It will be another week or two before we have our boat. And no, no name has been decided on yet. But I'll let Richard fill you in on the details of what has been decided regarding the boat….

Meanwhile, our hyper little crew has been getting used to having both mommy and daddy go to work each day. Poor little things had become spoiled with having human companionship all day. Denny had become accustomed to that when we lived in England and I stayed at home. Charlie has never known anything else. I was with him when he was a puppy and since we've moved here Richard has been home for at least some of the time each day. It is my understanding that in Phoebe's former life she was left home alone in an apartment every day. At least she has companionship now.

Actually, our kids have it pretty good. I work fairly close by and can come home at lunch to check on everyone. Plus I have capability of occasionally working from home, so some days they have me around all day anyway. And on the days that they are alone we have the Seabrook PugCam set up so we can check on them. We've also been assured that once Richard has acclimated to his new job he will have the capability of working from home occasionally as well.

I guess it's more a case of me feeling guilty than the furkids actually being neglected. I know it is a necessity and most people do this every day. I suppose we've all been spoiled. And changes will be taking place within the next few months which may mean that the kids won't be left alone every day after all. But in the meantime we are all adjusting to this new routine. It's really quite strange when I stop to think about all the changes we've had in the past 12 months. This time last year we were still in England, packing and planning for our trip over here. We didn't even know Phoebe existed. How strange to imagine not having her as part of our family. Isn't it funny how quickly these little furry creatures find their way into your heart and leave their mark on you?

Robbi

Posted by Richard at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s really weird to be back at work.  My first Monday morning commute was in a very hard thunderstorm that seemed to keep with me the whole 35 miles to the office.

Being from the UK I am of course used to a good downpour, but these storms are something that even a hardened commuter from the UK would have a little trouble with.   The last time I saw rain come down that hard was when I was in Florida a couple of years ago.   I expected to get to my destination and find all the paint removed from the car!  Well at least I will not have to wash it for another week.

Being back in an office environment is a bit of a shock too, I have spent the last year basically enjoying myself and bumming around doing what I liked.  Now I have a schedule and a routine again I feel somewhat caged.   But I am sure I will get back in the swing.

Oh well, back to the learning curve – I have lots of documentation to read to get up to speed with the rest of the team here at the office.  Wish me luck!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's been ages since we've posted - so much has happened. We are still active fosters for PugHearts of Houston. Just a couple of days ago, our sweet foster Maggie went to her forever home. While we are very excited for her, this has made it feel a bit sad around here. Maggie joined us in early April, shortly after we lost Alfie. I'm sure many of you have seen her on our webcam curling up next to one of our furkids.

Maggie came from an abusive home and was shaking in fear the first night we brought her home. Over time she began to relax and show trust in us. We tried to show her what the life of a pug is supposed to be like and she opened up to us. We are proud to say she blossomed into a loving, playful pug with a slightly mischievous side. Though we were tempted to keep her for ourselves, we had an applicant that was a perfect match for her.

We took her few nights ago for the face-to-face greeting and we are pleased to say it was indeed a perfect match! Both Maggie and her new mommy knew it was meant to be. While she happily romped around her new surroundings, we quietly left. Our work was done. Maggie is home.

Meanwhile, we have our babies to cuddle. Sometimes I forget that Phoebe hasn't been with us that long. She blends so seamlessly with the boys. And while she's still the playful, cheeky girl that we fell in love with, she also has started to show her softer side. She cuddles up next to us at night and gives kisses when she deems us worthy. She's also learned to appreciate a good belly rubbin! She and Charlie are best of mates, stealing toys from each and taunting the other one as they tear through the house.

I still sometimes stare at Charlie - not understanding how he can stay so cute and puppy-like despite the fact that he is nearly 2 years old. Richard talks about what he will look like when he is old and grey - something that I cannot envision. Denny looks more distinguished every day. He is getting a bit more grey on his chin, but if you look at him while he naps with his head tucked down he still looks like a young boy too. He celebrates his 5th birthday today, a fact that I find hard to believe.

Where does the time go?

Robbi

Posted by Richard at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The little furball is 5 years old today!

Denny. Another year. More adventures!

We have a special dinner for the little guy tonight and then he gets to open some presents!

Love him!

Posted by Richard at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

A lot of you already know this, but for those that do not I have some news.

I have succumb to the draw of being an IT Geek and gone back to work!  Although the Photography and Real Estate Imaging was fun – it just did not give me the buzz that I really get when fixing IT issues.  

We will be installing some extra webcams in the house for watching the dogs, and Robbi will now be working from home the majority of the time.

Might even get some regular updates to the blog done too!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, as you have no doubt seen, we have a new banner.  Ok, it’s taken me a long while to get my bum in gear, but it’s done.

We always wanted Alfie on the banner, even when the little guy was with us – but having fun and enjoying ourselves always seemed to be the priority. And as for Phoebe! Well I am ashamed.   Anyway – as you can see they have both got their spaces in the banner.  Alfie, even though he is watching from the Bridge will always have a place.   As you can see he was, and is, always watching!

Alfie.  Always watching!

Anyway.  It’s done.    And I think it’s about time we started updating this site.  Don’t you think?

Richard

Posted by Richard at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been a lazy good for nothing webmaster of late.  I finally logged in to the adminstration panel of Denny and Charlie’s site today and found 10+ comments from you kind people!   All of these comments were on hold due to my procrastination and lack of wanting to deal with the situation we had been dealt! 

Sorry if your comments have been left “hanging” for over a month!

You are all now authorized commenters – so it WILL NOT happen again.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Its been a while since our last post, and I think you all know the reason why.  It took some time to heal from the loss of Alfie.  He’s still here, with us every day – but a large amount of the pain has been replaced with good memories and the knowledge that Alfie started something good.

Anyway, on April the 11th it was my birthday – so we all headed down to Alfies favorite place – Surfside Beach in Galveston.  Here are some photos from that day.   As you can see, Phoebe had a wonderful time!  It was her first experience of water from what we can tell.  It took some time to get her in the sea, but once she saw Denny and Charlie in there she was quick to join in the fun.

Phoebe checking out the Gulf of Mexico for the first time!

Nothing new for Denny!

Your supposed to shake when you come out of the water!

Nice warm water!

Showing Phoebe how it’s done.

Getting in the swing!

Chase me!

Look at me!

Tastes salty!

Play!?

Mmmm, not sure.

Go Charlie!

Fearless!

Who? Me!?

Water in the ears!

Posted by Richard at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My face is red with tear burns, my heart is pounding and I am feeling like it was only yesterday the little guy was in my arms.  

Today I spend my time going through thousands of photographs and trying to find suitable music to create a tribute to the Pug that started it all.   I never thought it would be so hard to do – but each and everytime I do this I realise it is an uphill challenge.

He was worth it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1575745332018794841

Feel free to pass on the link to anyone, any forum, any blog.   Let’s get the word out about Alfie and the legacy this little guy left behind.

Richard & Robbi

Posted by Richard at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It’s been a week today since we lost our dear Alfie.   It’s been a week of uncontrollable tears, good memories coupled with laughter, bad memories coupled with grief but above all a week of trying to deal with a space on the sofa or under my desk that no longer is filled by Alfie.

We truly appreciate all the heart felt comments both here on the site and from friends and family in the form of calls, letters and cards.  It really has gone a long way in assisting us with the healing process. 

We knew that today would be a hard day to deal with, and both myself and Robbi have both dealt with it in different ways.  I headed out into Houston to tout for business, and Robbi spent her usual day in the office, but ultimately we both failed miserably at keeping our minds off the subject of Alfie.  It seems we both had the same sad realization today – it would have been 6 months to the day that we actually took Alfie into Denny and Charlie towers as a rescue Pug.

This evening we tried hard to hold back the tears, but it was not to be – we sat on the sofa when Robbi returned from work only to reminisce about our sweet boy who no longer is around to demand our attention with his bark.   We have a photo of him on the fireplace, overlooking the living room, where we can see him and talk to him.  The photo was taken the day after he arrived which was on the 6th October 2006 – precisely six months from today.

Tonight is going to be a night of emotions and memories that will hopefully help us heal. 

God bless you Alfie, we know you are with us.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Its been a while since I updated Denny and Charlie and Alfies site, but I do have an excuse this time.  www.PugHearts.com is that excuse.  Nuff said!

Anyway, this evening I will be getting on a British Airways flight to the United Kingdom!  Yes, I am heading back to my birth home for 10 days for a little business and a bit of pleasure.   I will be back on the 9^th of March and Robbi of course will be staying here in Texas with the Boys and Pheobe (more later on Pheobe).   Its going to be hard leaving them behind as we have not been out of each others site for over a year now… funny how you take people and pets for granted!

Anyway, while I am away the PugNic 2007 will be in full swing and I do hope many of you get the chance to make your way over there.  We need all the help we can get right now!  If you cannot attend, then please try and make a donation to the cause – we are 503(c) registered so you know that ALL your donation goes to the rescue.

Make a point in the future to make sure that any rescues you do donate to are in fact NON-PROFIT and 503(c) registered charities.  You will be amazed at how many actually take out a percentage for what they call “running costs”.   If in doubt, email them and ask them how the funds you donate are used.   PugHearts is different… everything we have so far has been donated by the team.  The website, the hosting, the domain name registrations, the business cards, all stationary, the software…. in fact the only thing we spend money on is the DOGS!  We even got a donation from Shell for fuel cards to enable us to make those long trips!

We are THE HOUSTON PUG RESCUE, so if you live in Houston then please go to www.PugHearts.com and show your support with a donation or even an offer to help!  It all counts.

Anyway, I need to make sure that I have packed all that I need and get myself something to eat.

Wish me luck!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As you can see, I have updated the BANNER to reflect the fact that Alfie (and Munchkin) are indeed full time members of this family.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple of days ago I took Alfie for a little drive over to the Challenger Memorial Park. 

This was a special trip for Alfie. Special because it was to meet up with Cindy of DFW Pug Rescue, the person who brought Alfie home from the pound and reared him back to health before we took over as his forever home.

Alfie (in his Mischief Maker T-Shirt) & Cindy

It was a little emotional for Cindy, as she obviously had (has) a special bond with Alfie (formally known as Charlie Brown).  They sat for a while soaking up the winter sun and Alfie seemed so content to be cuddled and kissed.

We are taking Alfie, along with Denny and Charlie, over to Cindy’s place in a couple of weeks to say hi to the rest of the gang and take some photos.   Of course I will be posting the final shots here!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I really miss a good old fashioned Yorkshire Sunday lunch! – As made by my mum!

Sunday Lunch, Yorkshire Style!

You just cannot beat a good bit of roast chicken with roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, garden peas, swede and carrot mash and a nice big Yorkshire Pudding with a nice smothering of chicken and onion gravy!

Yum!

At 8am Texas time, my mum and dad were settling down to this very meal in the UK (2pm).

Jealous!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Thats the problems with the good things in life, they all too often come to an end so soon.   Yesterday, after over 3 weeks visiting us from England, we took my parents to Bush International Airport for their flight home.

We had such a great time while they were here, not a single harsh word was said, not a single bad day and it was so very hard seeing them leave yesterday.  You don’t realize how much you miss your family until you have to let them go again.

We have lots of photos of our adventures, but I thought I would just take the time to show you a few that I took of my folks – happy and enjoying themselves.   The photos of the places we visited can wait for now.

Galveston Docks

Galveston Docks

Sam Houston Boat Tour – Port of Houston

Thoughts of leaving…

Last night before we headed out for dinner. Robbi of course bored of my humor! ;-)

British Airways Flight BA2024 to London Gatwick

Denny, Charlie and Alfie look a little lost today.  Denny was sat in front of my folks bedroom this morning waiting for them to come out.  I had to pick the little guy up and show him that they had gone.  He looked so sad.  After opening the door to their room he had a quick look around and a sniff before sitting on his bed in the corner.  He misses them too.  Charlie keeps running up the stairs to see if they are out of bed yet, I think he is a little confused.  And as for Alfie, he got so used to my mum pampering him every morning that he spent over half an hour this morning wandering around the living room and kitchen looking for her.

They will be back boys, they will be back.

Robbi and I are a little lost too.  We all miss them.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

You know when they say that owners of dogs end up looking like their animals?

Well, I think that also is true when you spend a little too much time with Alfie.

Alfie and Mum – Made for each other!

Posted by Richard at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Happy New Year to you all!  Thanks for all the comments and good thoughts and emails over the past year – it was an adventure for all of us.   We have a good feeling about 2007 and we will be wanting to share it with our many friends who we have met through this site.

We decided to take the boys and my folks down to the Gulf of Mexico today, specifically Surfside which is just south of Galveston – it was a wonderfully sunny day and I think everybody enjoyed it!

Charlie and Denny

Denny knows better.   Sea water does not taste good! Charlie on the other hand thinks different.

Alfie

Alfie has not been too well over the past couple of weeks and we have the little guy on antibiotics and heart medicine at the moment.  It seems like the trip to the sea really made a difference in him though – he loves to walk up and down the beach!

Dad, Charlie, Alfie and Mum

“Biscuits you have? Yum!”

Charlie always on the scrounge for something to eat!  Alfie as always, patiently waiting.

Charlie

Charlie as always loves the water – as soon as we let him out of the truck he was off and chasing the surf!

Charlie & Denny

A Curious little Pug is our Charlie, he decided that he wanted to have a little dig in the sand for something – Denny of course had to supervise.

Alfie and my Mum!

My mum has really fallen for Alfie, I think it will be a struggle for her on Thursday when the say goodbye to head back to the UK.  And I am sure Alfie is also going to be wondering where his new life-long friend has gone.  Not to worry Alf, they will be back in 2007 to pamper you some more.    We intend to take some portrait shots this week as souvenirs – my mum can then have a photo of her and her furry pal on her desk at work.

We have more photos to come.   I just need to start work on them!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 06:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Robbi spent most of the weekend painting my parents room for their visit at Xmas (yes, I am creative -but not with a paint pot and brushes!) and I have been putting my photoshop skills to use and have come up with the designs for my new ventures business cards.

I must have done about 10 or so variations before coming up with this….

CARD DESIGN (FRONT AND BACK)

The lighthouse is one of my favorite shots that I took down in Kemah a few weeks ago.  I think it may well become the “corporate image” for RIROC IMAGING

No turning back now, I have submitted them to the printer and they will be here in 3–5 days!

The website is next on the list and I really need to start writing some copy down and working on some pricing structures.   Must admit that I have a really good feeling about all this, at last I really do get the chance to do something I really enjoy!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My posting to the blog has been erratic of late to say the least, and today my thoughts have been all over the place.  So what better place to let it all out than here...

Moving to Texas was not just a change of country for me and the boys, it was also a change of lifestyle and a change of career.   In the UK I was a very successful IT contractor who was never without work knocking at my door.  Giving up life in the UK also meant giving up that comfort.  But I suppose I was also in a lucky position to have that sort of flexibility in my life.

Its been 5 months now since I did any "paid" work in IT, but I have kept my hand in and I still maintain my skills in Microsoft and other products - but I have also been honing my Photography Skills and increasing my understanding with a view to a career change.  It's been difficult making the choice - as I know I can basically walk into a similar IT career in the USA without much difficulty.  But I want out. 

With that in mind I have decided to make a career in Photography - specifically Real Estate.  There are so many options for doing things "different" to the mainstream Real Estate Point and Click mob that I think it would be crazy of me to pass up a chance to do something I really enjoy - taking photos.  And the fact that I can combine my IT skills to provide something unique and different to my clients just makes the whole idea so much more appealing for me.

RiRo Consultants is born, so all I have to do now is get the website finished, wait for the business cards to come from the printers and get out there and sell myself. I see a fun time ahead of me!

Wish me luck.... Please?  It's scary too!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As promised....a little late maybe....here is a quickly knocked together video of the boys trip to see FlatNosePups this past weekend.

The file is 6 Megabytes in size, so if your on a slow connection please be patient while it downloads and buffers.

Unfortunatley there are delays in uploads now for Google Video... but as soon as my video is approved and available I will post the link for all you MAC and non Windows Media people.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sorry, no video at the moment.   I have been feeling not too well over the past day or so and really not liking sitting in front of a computer.  I think I may have caught the bug from Kara over the weekend as I now have a bad throat and the shakes (not alcohol induced!)

 Hopefully I will get something uploaded today.

Sorry..

Richard

Posted by Richard at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When we moved to Texas we had to start afresh with all new appliances and gadgets (apart from my computers of course) – and we opted for a cheap little vacuum cleaner as we have all wood floors and tile in the bottom half of the house and berber carpet upstairs… so a good old fashioned “Hoover” style unit worked great for us. Anyway, the addition of Alfie has also brought a lot of extra fur into the house and he sheds, a lot!

Anyway, last week we decided to jump in and get ourselves a Dyson DC15 Animal (the one that they recommend for pet fur).  It came yesterday afternoon and as we were taking Charlie to his training classes I only managed to get 5 minutes with the unit after assembly – but that five minutes doing about 4 steps on the staircase got me worried…. the canister on the Dyson was filling fast with a mixture of fawn and black Pug hair!   Were we really that unclean?  No time to tell, as Petsmart Beginner Classes were calling.

This morning I was not feeling too great, I had a rough night and really did not feel like messing with cleaning – but the only thing on my mind was the though that the house was dirty… I could not get it out of my head.   So, I popped a couple of Ibruprofen and 3 cups of coffee and set about cleaning the house from top to bottom.

3 hours later and 1 average bin-liner full of fur I can now conclude that we DID live in a dirty, smelly, furry, disgusting and totally unclean house.

But not any more!  We might be living of Ramen Noodles and drinking Dollar General Coke for a month of two, but thanks Mr Dyson…. I knew there was a reason I had a DC04 in the UK!

Richard

Posted by Richard at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

By now most of you have already seen our newest addition to the family, little Alfie. I thought we should explain a bit more about how he came to be a member of our family.

I wanted to start by letting everyone know how much thought went into the decision to adopt a rescue pug. Richard & I have been talking about doing this for about a year and a half. We had decided before we left England that we would definitely be adopting once we were settled in Texas. We had spent countless hours looking at all the rescue website when we were still in England and it broke our hearts to read the stories of all these beautiful little puggies.

Since arriving in Texas, every time we have gone to Petco or Petsmart and seen the doggies up for adoption, Richard has whispered "If there's a pug in here we're going home with it." So about 2 weeks ago I was looking at the DFW website and I saw a beautiful senior pug whose face showed such character that I felt compelled to do something. It must have been fate because at that moment Richard called upstairs and asked what I was doing. I told him I was looking at rescue pugs and I saw someone I wanted him to look at. We both looked at his profile and had the same feeling - that he needed us. We talked about it and decided not to do anything rash - we'd sleep on it and talk about it the next day. We discussed it more the following day and weighed all the pros and cons. I kept checking the site, selfishly hoping that he'd still be there waiting for us. Finally, we agreed that we'd fallen in love with him and had to submit our application.

Thankfully, everything fell into place. Both Richard and myself had several conversations with Cindy and Amy at DFW Houston about making sure this was a good fit for all of us. They let us know a little bit more about Alfie's story. Though we will never know the full extent of what all he has been through, it was clear that this little fella has had a rough time of it.

Handsome Boy!

When Alfie was found wandering the streets with the pads of his feet raw. His teeth were rotten and clogged with bits of fur from his chewing on his feet. He was emaciated. His eyes were cloudy and his vision poor. He had a large hernia. Thanks to the wonderful people at DFW, he has had his bad teeth pulled (8 of them) and his good ones cleaned up. He was neutered, but due to his large hernia it doesn't look like it at a glance. The doctor says it would be too painful and invasive to fix the hernia, so he'll just look like he's still an eligible bachelor to the ladies' eyes. He's been receiving drops for his eyes and I'm happy to report they are mostly clear. He does have some vision loss, but it's amazing how good his sight is when it involves treats!

It was also suspected that Alfie was near totally deaf, but he's not as deaf as he had led us all to believe. As our friend Kim describes it, he seems to have some "selective hearing" going on.  Yesterday we noticed him barking after a neighbor's dog started barking, plus he's chimed in on Denny barking at the TV a couple of times. Of course he doesn't respond to his name, but as he's only had it for 2 days that isn't surprising.

Snuggles.  Just snuggles.

What is surprising (at least to me) is how I can honestly say I love the little guy. I wasn't sure how strongly I would feel for him or how long it would take to happen, and honestly I'm not sure when it did happen. All I know is that the little guy's happiness is incredibly important to me, and I'm so thrilled to see him acting genuinely content. To feel him lying up against me on the couch, softly snoring, is one of the greatest feelings I've ever known. I want him to know that he is safe and will never know what it's like to be unloved again. He is home, and we love him!

Robbi

Posted by Richard at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Alfie is going just great.  Today we had a really lazy day in the house, just watching TV and reading the Sunday paper.  Alfie joined in with a snuggle on the sofa with Robbi.

Cuddles, just cuddles.  Thats all Alfie wants right now.

Still unsure about the camera, but he is getting used to me pointing the big lense at him.

Watching TV and keeping a check on the Sunday adverts in the paper.

Richard

Posted by Richard at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)