Merrylog

It is a relief to be able to give the pug some playtime outlets, though we still have to be very careful indeed. We have to sit with her while she plays to ensure she doesn’t hurt herself, and have to limit playtime to this one toy which is incredibly soft and won’t hurt her little eyeball. As you can see, Merry’s not particularly thrilled about it either. It holds her attention for a few minutes but then she’s rolling on her side looking for belly rubs.

Luckily, we’re only too happy to provide that.

As I mentioned, the princess was SO excited the night of her birthday that she played in ways she hasn’t in months. A perfect example is digging at the ball, which she only does when she’s REALLY excited – we hadn’t seen her do this in ages. She’s SO comical when she does this.

Merry loved playing fetch this year on the beach for her birthday – she got even more excited than usual. It was incredibly sweet. Her Dad, “sister” and I all had a great time watching her run around and get sand everywhere. And I do mean everywhere! There are so many more photos from her birthday that I want to share, but it will have to wait as Merry’s grandparents are coming in for a visit today and are here for the weekend. Next week, more Merry on the beach goodness to enjoy. :)

Believe it or not, we celebrated Merry’s 10th birthday last night. It stuns me to realize how quickly ten years have passed, and how much she has come to mean to all of us. Her “Dad”, her “sister” and I helped her to celebrate in high style – first a picnic in the park (where for once the pug was allowed to sit on my lap and be fed many bits of chicken, apple and watermelon from everyone at the table – a beggar’s dream!), followed by fetch on the beach, and then home for “cake” (a bit of banana bread with yogurt on top). To say she had fun is an understatement! I have many more photos to share but they’re taking forever to get off my camera so, for now, I’ll have to limit the post to one pic. I’ll post a followup in a day or two with more photos of her special birthday celebration. ;)

How the pug loves her fetch. Even now, nearly 10 years after she first learned how to fetch and play, she gets excited when the ball comes out. The big difference – other than the blindness of course – is her stamina is much less. After 10 or 15 minutes of play (at most), she loses interest and goes to lay down. But while the play is on, she’s as cute, excited and youthful as she was in the first couple of years. And I love the expressions she makes! :)

The princess in full attack mode ready to pounce on the ball. Too funny. One of the reasons we love her, really.  She’s been so cuddly and excited to play since we brought her home from her visit with Grandma and Grandpa – and yes, that’s partly my guilt talking. There has been a lot of play, like this session above – and she’s slept up in bed with us, stapled to Hubby’s leg, at least twice this week. :)

She is so cute when she howls in the middle of playtime – even cuter when her ears fly up like that. Merry, silly pug, you’re such fun to play with. :)

I know there haven’t been a lot of play photos lately, but I will assure you that the puglet sill loves her ball, and still loves fetch. She doesn’t have quite the same stamina/attention span as she used to, often wandering off within 20 minutes or so, but she still does get excited, as you can see. :)

Trying a new, larger image format – hopefully it will work in the blog template! I thought everyone might enjoy a new, larger Merry now that we’re permanently in our new home at www.merrylog.com.

The princess and I surely don’t get as much playtime as we used to – but we still make time for each other. She has a grand old time playing fetch while I blow dry my hair every morning (the sound of a hair dryer still sends her into a ball-playing tizzy – thanks, Mom, for teaching her that) and while I cook dinner. We still trek out to the park, too, and have a good old fashioned romp in the grass, as in the photo above, whenever we get the chance.

Here are a couple more from Merry’s birthday play date in the park. As you can see, a great time was had by all!