Fragile

I like to do Illustration Friday because the weekly topics often force me to think outside my usual comfortable box. However, this week's topic, "fragile," is perfect for my pug themed drawings. The only thing more fragile than a pug's plump sausagey body balanced on a set of dainty thin legs is a pug's sensitive emotional health. Don't you dare leave your pug alone too long or raise your voice even a smidgen! Can't you see the tears inside those big soulful eyes??

Vanity

Sunny and Rosy are getting ready for a night out on the town! Gotta make sure their hair is perfect and their tails are perfectly curled!

My sister and I used to love rolling the ears of our first pug, Cookie. If she was sleeping, they'd actually stay perfectly curled and we'd call her Martha Washington (I don't know why since I don't think she wore her hair curled like that). We used to do that all the time when we were little with our Pound Puppy stuffed animals and Cookie was our real live Pound Puppy! Man we were such weirdos.

Rosy's too finicky with her ears to do that now and Sunny's just don't hold a curl very well (I think they're too big and heavy). I should ask my sister if she does this with her current pug, Doughy.

Happy weekend everyone!

Pug Voices

My two pugs are very vocal but in different ways. Sunny's a loud yawner (the sound she makes is out of control and always makes me laugh!) and likes to howl when excited. Rosy is a growler and barker (too many dogs in tv commercials!). Both are noisy snorers (Rosy is super loud!) and frequent tooters. All of their sounds make me smile or laugh, unless it's super late or early and I'm trying to sleep!

What are some of your favorite and least favorite sounds your dog makes?

Furry Barnacles

I know I've said this before, but pugs really have no concept of personal space. And I love it! Pugs were bred as lap dogs but my two don't just stop there. They are all up in my face, sitting on my shoulders, resting on my feet, bumping their faces against my legs, tripping me everywhere I go. Rosy especially will follow me everywhere from room to room, and sometimes even when I just go across the same room.

If you like dogs that give you space and aren't needy, then a pug is not for you. But if you love the idea of having a little furry barnacle with you at all times, then a pug may very well be for you!

Twisted

Sometimes when the girls are play fighting it looks like they're playing an extreme and fast-paced game of Twister.

Prehistoric

This is a drawing for this week's Illustration Friday topic "prehistoric." I wanted to do this drawing for several reasons:

(1) I like to do Illustration Friday when I can and if I get a good idea for the weekly topic as it often pushes me to do something outside my usual.

(2) To point out that not only does Sunny have a juicy drumstick, but she's always flaunting it!

(3) To point out that Sunny and Rosy have no real survival instincts and are scared by the stupidest things but want to attack very dangerous things like cars, big dogs, wild creatures on TV. So if faced with a dinosaur, I think there's a very good chance they would bark at it instead of running away.

(4) I pretty much only draw pugs lately, so I wanted to see if I could draw a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are hard!

Refrain

The only food my pugs definitely won't eat is any kind of leafy green. Sometimes out of desperation they'll try to eat a dropped spinach leaf or stray bit of lettuce, but they always promptly spit it out.

Me and My Shadows

One of the reasons why I chose to adopt pugs is because they are the ultimate velcro dogs. My first pug, Cookie, used to walk so closely behind me her sweet lil flat face would smoosh against the back of my calves all the time. I thought Sunny was a velcro pug, but if she is then Rosy must be a gorilla glue pug!

Some people may not like having a dog that follows them from room to room, watches them pee and shower, constantly trips them, and lays on or next to them whenever they sit. But not me - I love it! You can never be lonely when you have a pug.

I love my lil shadows.

Yay, You're Home!!!!

One of the best things about having dogs is the welcome home you get after a long day at work.  It doesn't matter how bad things are, my two wriggly, ecstatic pugs always make me smile from the moment I slowly open the door and see their eager faces trying to push their way out!  (Unless they've left me a "surprise" to clean up when I get home - then that happiness quickly changes into grumpiness.)

Sunny likes to jump, give my face huge stinky kisses, and then she'll often run to go suck on her favorite toy (when she gets super excited she always needs her toy!).  Rosy likes to hop up on her two back legs all while maintaining a constant wriggle of her butt and helicopter tail.  Sometimes they act like they really just can't contain their joy and are about to burst into fireworks, balloons, and confetti.  I imagine their excitement is akin to a kid's first trip to Disneyland/Disneyworld, first bite of cake, or first peek at a filled Christmas stocking from Santa.  Except for my two pugs, this is the rush of emotions they get every single day and every single time I open the door (whether it's from coming home from work, or coming back after taking the trash out down the hallway).

Entangled

My two pugs are terrible on walks. They're constantly running around each other and then behind and around me so their leashes get nice and tangled. And if there's a lamp post in our path, you can be sure that they'll want to go in different directions around it. Sunny's also a fan of just planting her bottom when she doesn't want to move and Rosy loves to lunge towards things she loves/hates. Sigh.

But my walks with them are still some of my favorite moments of the day! (Except during Hurricane Sandy - that was no fun for any of us.)

P.S. The eyes are a bit wonky here because my pen decided to die on me and the nib disappeared into the pen. Time for new art supplies!

While I Was Sleeping 2

And then some mornings I wake up like this. Sometimes I end up in weird positions after a night of contortions around my sleepy pug lumps.

I don't know if you can tell but in this drawing I tried to show me as hot and sweating from getting trapped between two warm pugs with my comforter tucked in at my sides. During the summer I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night because I'm so hot from my pug barnacles. And the pillow on the left has become the pug pillow as I usually sleep on the right so notice the increased amount of pug fur.

Pug Totem

It's been a long time since I've done a drawing for Illustration Friday but as soon as I saw the topic "totem," I immediately wanted to do a pug version!

Hope everyone has a happy Friday the 13th and a great weekend!

Back To School

At this rate there won't be any books or papers left in the pug school!

Pug Penguin

I think a pug's "fluff" (aka fat) protects it well from cold weather. Much like a penguin! While pugs remind me of seals when they are sitting normally or laying down, they always remind me of penguins when they sit up on their back legs!

Lonely

Not to be a Debbie Downer on a Friday but this week's Illustration Friday topic is "Lonely" and so of course this drawing isn't going to be sunshine and roses.

My mind immediately jumped to shelter dogs and how sad, lonely, and confused they must feel sitting in their caged rooms. Modern dogs have mostly been bred to be companions to humans so it must be especially heartbreaking for them to be stuck in these cold rooms filled with strange dogs and with no affection. My sister rescued a pug from a high kill shelter once and I remember her telling me about how the pug sat facing one wall and leaning against another with her eyes closed, almost like she'd given up. That image has stuck with me since then. So for all of you who have rescued a pet, Sunny and I thank you!

Sheesh sorry I didn't mean to get all sad Sarah McLachlan SPCA commercial on you! I promise I have a happy drawing coming up later today!

Pug Carrier

On a lazy weekend Sunny and I like to relax and run some errands.  If I didn't worry about looking like a pug-crazed weirdo, I would totally walk around with Sunny strapped to me.  She's getting older and gets tired faster so I think she'd appreciate being carried around!  Plus she's a stubborn and persistent sniffer so this would really be the most efficient way for us to get around long stretches.  Maybe one day...

Lost

I don't know if it's because I'm a cold-hearted meanie, but I love it when I go to the kitchen or bathroom and Sunny loses track of where I am and starts searching for me. I never start this on purpose but as soon as I see her fast trot to the other rooms and peeking in I know what's up and I like to prolong it a bit more because she looks so darn cute searching for me! I have an island in my kitchen and we'll often go around it in circles. But she's pretty smart and I have to stay quick on my feet because she changes directions sometimes! I never do this more than a minute or two but because I know how desperately she searches for me when she thinks she's lost me, I always make sure she clearly sees me when I actually do leave the apartment. And a couple treats left in her bowl and in a treat ball help ease the separation anxiety!

No Room to Swing a Cat

Pug is testing the room size.  She wants to make sure she has enough room to swing a cat.  If she doesn't, then that would be bad news for that poor cat suspended in air, so let's hope she's in a spacious area.

Refresh

This is for this week's Illustration Friday theme "refresh." These pugs sure know the best way to stay cool and refreshed during this heat wave!

No Concept of Personal Space

Pugs have no concept of personal space. I can be sitting on the very edge of my couch and Sunny has to be smashed right into my side. I can't even move without her giving me stink eye for bothering her comfy pose. Forget about sneezing - that'll give me a good solid 30 second death glare. And of course...I love it. She's my velcro dog!