To My Dear Friend

Life has taught me many lessons.

A very important one: distance does not exist in our hearts.

We have family, we have friends.

Some live close to us, some accross the ocean.

Now I have you, my good friend Stubby.

A little bit further,

but just as close to me as my heart can be.

We met your parents once, on a very special day. 

I was able to sniff your wisdom; what a lucky pug, I must say. 

See you later, buddy!

Love,

Coco

Four years and two days ago...

... I was lying in my crate, trying to fall asleep despite the cold air that kept me trembling night and day. Be sweet and be cute, we were told by the pet store owner. As hard as I tried, people always noticed how much I was shaking hiding in the corner of my crate.



One by one my siblings left the store, and it was only three of us in the back cold room that day. My two brothers' crates were located right next to the door, at eye sight. Mine was all the way down on the floor, behind other crates and puppies.



Late afternoon, before the store was about to close, people came in asking for a pug. The owner said he had some. He showed them my siblings but they turned around and saw me. The woman started sneezing - that's how cold the room was.



The man said: I want him. The woman asked: Why is he shaking so bad? The pet store owner said: It is because it's cold in here. Let me take him out.


Out I went, to the front of the store, and started running in circles - pug style - around this people. He is the cutest one and I want him, the man said. The woman was speechless, laughing, hugging and kissing me.

Me? I was the happiest pug ever. Early December, I was only three months old, and I was already getting not one, but two Christmas presents - a mother and a father!

Another Boring Love Story

Let me share with you a short story and a long one.

Short Story:

Once upon a time, there was a girl. On a beautiful day of spring, while on vacation, she met a handsome guy. They became friends and soon they both fell in love. They spent a romantic summer and a few months later they got married on a dreamy ceremony, and they lived happily ever after.

- The End -

Long Story:

Once upon a time, there was a girl in her mid twenties who had to make a very important decision, for which she had to travel. A few years earlier, she had met a very nice guy in college. They were great friends, he became her boyfriend and soon after he moved to another country. She realized then, that she really cared for this guy, that they had always been there for each other, but at the same time she felt that something very important was missing in their relationship. She tried to explain her feelings, but he didn't seem to understand them. He was falling into depression again, now that he needed to be strong to begin his new life in the new country. A year later, they agreed to meet and talk about this in person. She flew certain that she would go back home in a month. He received her at the airport certain that she would spend the rest of her life with him.

She felt lost. She had known this man for years, and didn't understand why she couldn't make the "right" decision. Was it her persistent fear of marriage? The fear of making an irrevocable desicion? Or fear of leaving her family to move to another country? Why not try to make this relationship work? Two days later, she broke up with him. And he finally understood.

She planned to spend the rest of the month visiting friends and family, hoping that this feeling of pain and loneliness would go away. Then, someone knocked on the door. And she met love for the first time.

Love was all she had expected it to be, except for one thing or two. She was in love with a guy who was determined to never ever marry again; a guy who had two kids from his previous marriage and who was also determined to never ever have any more kids. One could be certain that she had met the wrong guy. Not really. He met the wrong girl!

Five years and five days ago from today, he picked her up from work around noon. She was wearing a brown dress, and he was dressed in black. They headed towards downtown, to the courthouse, to sign a few papers. After leaving the building, she wanted to have a few pictures of them taken. He was not in the mood, he was actually very uncomfortable and sad. She tried to understand and be patient, that was her role as his brand new wife; after all, their relationship had been a very difficult one, with all sorts of problems and complications; insecurities and doubtfulness. Once married, their problems only grew bigger. A boundary had to be set between the couple and the rest of the family - his family. She had faith and deep inside she knew they were meant to be together, so she really tried to make it work but it was almost impossible to make everyone happy - it got to a point where it was either her or his mother. Things got better when she moved out. She had time for herself, and this helped her grow up and mature, and at the same time they still saw each other almost everyday. After a few years of separation, and feeling that this was going nowhere, she felt that it was time to give up. He didn't let her do it. He won her heart again and asked for another opportunity, one where they could start again, this time doing things right. Once he set the boundary with his family, she was willing to stay in this country, to share and live a married life for real: eight years after they first met, and almost five years after they got married. And I would like to say that this is the end and that they lived happily ever after but the story would be incomplete, since he really wants to have a new baby. Or two.

- To Be Continued -

Sorry, I was hungry.

Good morning friends! (good night for the ones that live far, far away!)
I wanted to thank you all for the happy birthday and bloggiversary wishes, specially to my favorite pug girl in the whole world, my Pearly poo! She gave me the best birthday present ever, writing a very sweet post about me. I am not single, girls. My heart belongs to Pearl.

Now that we are back on our regular blogging schedule... what? Why were we not blogging as usual?

It was because one's supposed to get a week of vacation after one year of work, right? And by coincidence that was also mom's last week of class. She had to read and write a lot. So far, she has 3500 words for a novel she had started for her class. She never thought about starting a novel... let's see if she continues or not. She is famous for starting new things and not finishing them because she later finds new things to start. So far, blogging has been her more consistent activity. ONE YEAR! Wow, she deserves an award for that. But since this is MY blog, I am the one who gets the awards here.

One of my best buddies gave me this award a while ago. It looked so delicious, I ate it all. Thank you, Bajas! The cookies were so good, I was not able to share with anybody else!



Luckily, Harry gave me this award again! Harry wanted to know why I was named Coco.


This is what Coco means in spanish. Daddy chose "Coconut" because it was a good fit for me. We still don't understand why.

Now here are the rules to this award:"When accepting this award, you must blog about the food you have stolen when your humans were not watching. If you have never stolen any food, you must have been a really good pup! You can accept this yummy tray of cookies as your reward! Next add the logo of this award to your blog (optional), then nominate at least 5 other furry blogs and let them know by leaving a message on their blogs."

I have stolen quite a few things, but the one mom remembers the most was a whole peruvian chili pepper I took from the fridge once. I run away and ate it all. Mom was scared because it is very spicy, specially the veins and seeds. What she forgot, is that I am also part peruvian, so I can eat spicy food with no problems!



I also want to share a special accomplishment in my puggy adult life: My first Diploma.

I was a student Roxy's first class and I have learned so much I may misteriously gain a few pounds in the upcoming weeks, since daddy likes to eat everywhere but the dining table. Thank you Roxy!

Now before my friends forget what I look like, here is a picture of me doing what I like the most:

Love At First Sniff

Once upon a time, there was a social pug meetup in South Florida on a breezy day at the end of summer. What a wonderful opportunity it was to meet, share and have fun in the park.

There were black pugs,

there were fawn pugs,

and hungry pug girls with little luck.

There were superheroes,

there were old pals,

and also puppies.

And there was Petunia.

One sniff after, I was in love. And she was in love, too. Not Petunia, but my mother. She loved Petunia so much, that after a few hugs, smooches and kisses her clothes were embarrassingly dirty. Then, my mother suggested what I dreaded the most. I had no choice but to run away.

"I am a commitmentphobic," I finally said, standing by my father, "I am sure daddy will understand me better".

"Coco, there's nothing wrong with having a formal girlfriend and settling down," my mother said, "Don't you find Petunia adorable?"

"She is lovely, indeed", I admitted.

"Are you afraid her heart belongs to another puggy?," mom inquired, "you'll never know unless you ask her."

"I know it doesn't", I firmly said.

"Then, are you uncomfortable with the fact that other puggies like her so much?"

"No, mother. I do not fear other puggies competing with me for a girl's heart".

"Then, what is it, Coco?," my mother asked.

"I know her mother and Petunia knows you," I confessed. "I think that a relationship will complicate the existing friendship between us."

"Why would you feel that way?" she asked, concerned.

"You see, pug girls sniff that I am a single puggy," I answered.

"A handsome one who likes to go to fancy food joints,

and always has a table full of delicious treats"

"Do you have an idea of how many pug girls I can meet everyday?" I said. "I don't want to hurt Petunia's feelings... so I'd rather stay single!".

Getting Ready to Visit

Friends,

My heart is sick right now. My dear Pearly is having surgery and I can't rest here being all worried about her. I asked dad to prepare a dozen of hamburgers for her prompt recovery.

I am heading over there my cutie pie!

PS: Please keep Pearl and her mommy in your thoughts!

Texting Miss Pearl

Hello friends,
You will not believe what happened to me yesterday. I am very mad at my mother because she has no sense of privacy at all. Unbelievable.



She happened to had left her phone on the window sill, connected to the charger. When she came back to the bedroom she found the phone on the floor, screen opened, paw on keyboard.

"What are you doing, Coco?"



"Me? Nothing. And you?"

"Let me see the phone... who are you texting to?"



Totally rude. I can't wait to be four years old in September so that I can move out of my parents house.



(And I hope I pressed SEND on time. Did you get my message, Pearly?)

The Sweetest One

Hello Friends!
I have a lot of news and pictures, but since I wanted to write about Christmas in July first with all the proper links I couldn't use mom's phone during the weekend. Last week mom and dad got so frustrated with the internet connection at home that they disconnected everything. FOREVER. So now I am back to blogging from work only... with the little inconvenience that we have been having some problems when we post comments on other blogs. Three times we have gotten a hundred million windows open of the blog where we are trying to comment to at the time, and now mom is afraid of messing up her work's computer. What to do now? Mom is considering buying one of those cards that you connect to the laptop to get internet connection everywhere, if she finds one with a reasonable monthly payment.

Anyway, back to all the pictures and news that I have to share with you. Should I start with the new ones? Or the older ones? What about sharing the sweetest one first?


So, about a week ago, a friend of mine had gotten into a little trouble at home. What happened next is a big secret so please DO NOT share the information provided with your parents. I don't want any of my friends to get into any more trouble! That's why I am not disclosing their names. Anyway, my girlfriend asked me if I could rescue her from her home prison. I live very far away and it took a little long for me to be on my way, so another friend of ours rescued her but soon after she wanted to go back home because she missed her mom and dad.

That's when I stepped in, I had been waiting for so long to spend sometime with her! I picked her up and somehow got confused and headed east instead of west and then suddenly we ended up in the romantic city of Savannah, Georgia. What a nice coincidence! The weather was perfect for us pugs. I wanted to impress her wearing my shirt and tie but it was not necessary, we spent the day on a very casual stroll around town.







"Have you ever been here?", I asked her. She had not. I hadn't either, but mom, dad and the kids did drive around this city last spring and they liked it so much they want to go back to stay for a couple of days with me. (Please note that any trip planned to be made "with me", means that mom wants to take me but dad doesn't).





"Can we ride on an horse carriage? I am scared of horses but I may not be if I ride with you" She said.



"How much is it to ride on this carriage?", I asked the chauffeaur.

"Cute pugs pay nothing. I will get more clients with both of you riding with me!"

We rode in the back of the carriage, behind a group of people just in case the horse dared to scare my girlfriend. I didn't want any kind of trouble ruining this perfect sunny day.




We specially loved the buildings and the trees. Everything looks so old and charming, we decided to step down the carriage and walk for a little bit.










"Can we ride on a trolley now? My feetsies are a little tired of walking..." She said.

"Of course!", I said. We got some doggy ice cream at a local store right before joining a group of turists on a trolley.

Unfortunately, when the sun started to come down it was time for me to take her home. We didn't want her parents to get worried!

"What's the way for Oklahoma? To the left? Or the right?"

"Go through that brigde", a policeman told me.

And that was it. We were both sad to go on our separate ways. I will never forget the nice day I spent with my lovely girlfriend. Hopefully I will be able to sniff her again soon!