Vicki and Company

This dog loves people and particularly people who do not like dogs. She will find those who do not like her and attempt to charm her way into their hearts. Her attempts fail because some people do not appreciate the efforts she makes. She'll nap for a few minutes then will have a burst of energy and run around to those most frightened by her.

We know her breath stinks and try to give her doggie breath mints. The stinky breath is persistent. Time to get a toothbrush and some yummy toothpaste.

She also had her rabies shot at the animal control centre which is located near Hong Kong Dog Rescue. We went to visit her old stomping grounds and she was ready to just go back in with the other dogs. It was heartbreaking to me that she would think she'd have to go back. One of the employees there enthusiastically came out to greet Vicki and Vicki loved it.

She was also a hit at the pet shop where I proudly showed her picture and the girl immediately recognized her from HKDR website! Our Vicki is a bit of a Hong Kong celebrity.

Vicki Has a Bath

One thing about pugs, as with most dogs, she's stinky. We gave her a bath last night and she was really great. We put down her pink rubber mat to ensure her paws didn't slip in the tub and pulled out her very own fluffy pink towel. She loves the shower and of course the scrubs with shampoo. As she got out of the shower she bumped her head on the vanity. She is not the most graceful dog. Earlier in the day on one of her walks she was sniffing around a fire hydrant, heard a noise and blingo! She hit her head on the hydrant. She was stunned for a brief moment but quickly recovered. She is quite intelligent but not that graceful.

Vicki's Namesake

Any similarities? We like to think of Vicki as our beloved. She may not be thin and beautiful but in her own way she's our glam girl.

It's Not Just Us

There's something about Vicki that draws attention and she loves it! Took her to the vet's for her booster shot. People generally love her. The staff makes a big fuss. Even other dog owners look at her with wide-eyed wonder. When they weighed her she was 14.5 kilos. Maybe, maybe the skipped meals and 4 or 5 walks a day are doing some good. Some people are blunt, "Whoa, she's fat!". Other people are more diplomatic, "Oh, she must be a sweet one to have so many treats." Our standard reply is that she is a rescued dog and we are working on getting her healthy.

Vicki and Augustus can stay in one room without barks and hisses now especially when attention for both of them from us is involved. Augustus has been really great throughout this transition. We have to keep his food off the floor but he doesn't mind. Having Vicki around keeps him on his paws. We can hope that one day they'll be friends.

Power Snoozes Goooood!

If there's one thing our girl loves to do aside from eating it would be sleeping. She takes these little 3-5 minute naps (well, longer than that sometimes too). Yes, even while sleeping we are still aware of her larger-than-our-home-like presence.

We are headed to the vet's office today for a booster shot. This will be a different vet from the traumatic ER weekend visit. Let's see how she fares.

So Happy Together

Hard to believe it was just a week ago that Queen-sized Vicki joined our household. Already we have gone through a lot with her. This weekend began with the trauma of an emergency trip to the vet for her bleeding nail but ended Sunday evening relaxing and listening to Vicki's loud as a human snores.

Although Augustus and Vicki are not BFs yet they do, for the most part, tolerate each other now. She still barks sometimes but usually I can figure out what she's attempting to communicate.

She's a great watchdog and always alerts us when there's someone outside. Vicki barked as I clicked the leash on for her walk yesterday and lo and behold there was a person sitting on the stairs near the elevator. Her senses are very keen.

We end up talking to people a bit more while others scurry off in terror. I think Vicki is anything but scary while some people I guess are altogether afraid of dogs.

Here's to another exciting week of getting acquainted with Vicki though Augustus probably doesn't think thats' so exciting.

Vicki the 15.1 KG Sized Pug!

We had Vicki to the vet's office yesterday and she weighs a whopping 15.1 kgs or just over 33 lbs. Of course, the vet whipped out the product they sell which is a high fibre, low fat woodchip. She will not go for that, come on, after five years of mauwing on caviar who would go for hamburger? Yes, I would probably eat beef or pork if you starved me for a week too. Instead of caviar, we are trying to reach a compromise that we can all live with, and canned food is it. I know kibble is great. It is super convenient. It is wonderful. We had our previous dog on kibble (even the diet kind) and she loved it. This dog will not eat it and this transition needs to be as smooth as possible. One day we hope to mix the kibble and wet food together but for today she eats wet food.

I'm sorry I traumatized Vicki by trying to cut her nail. I do feel terrible about putting her through the whole ordeal. I will not cut her nails again ~ end of that story. "People make mistakes but dogs have accidents."