Finally! An Adventure.

Texas Summers are Pug melting which means Summer Hibernation. Finally, the winds stared howling this past weekend. I couldn't wait to get outside, close my eyes, stick my nose into the wind & catch all the different smells that were in the cold front.

After gobbling down my breakfast, it was time to enjoy the low humidity & cool temps. Adventure destination, Mills Pond.

I was excited to see the water and thought about going swimming, but after watching Shark Week & seeing the murking water, there was no way I was going for a swim & be sharkbait. (Maybe that's why my friend Noodle detests the water so much, he could be afraid of sharks too.) Instead, watching a Great Egret fishing for its breakfast was fine by me.


Across the pond, was a pier with humans fishing. I didn't see anyone catching any fish, guess that's why it's called "fishing" instead of "catching".

Half way around the pond, I stopped to enjoy the cool morning sunshine & watch the Muscovy ducks. Now that the weather is finally starting to get cooler in the mornings, Mom said we have to get ready for something special... Ready for what? What does she have up her sleeve now? The only thing I can figure out is more outside adventures and walking. Hmmm....

When we were crossing over the wooden bridge, there was a noise. At first it was kinda of a quiet noise, so I thought it might be the trees moving in the morning breeze. Adventuring on, I heard it again, this time, a little louder, it couldn't be the breeze in the trees... It sounded like it was coming from underneath the bridge. My guess, it was a troll, but I didn't stick around to find out.

Searching for the Dino, Monkey & Snipes are fun adventures, count me out on the search for a troll.

Wordless Wednesday

Vacation Company

Oh my goodness, where do I begin.... Last week I had a surprise... Vacation Company, my Arnie & Gracie. Apparently this has been in the works for a while, but it was an awesome surprise. They arrived past my bedtime, I was trying to stay up to see what all Mom's excitement was about & who walks thru my door?!... My Arnie, Gracie and their parents! I couldn't believe my brown eyes. Forget being sleepy, it to activate my after burners and start a game of chase.

Arnie and Gracie were here on vacation while their parents went on vacation. Whoo Hoo! They stayed here a whole week!

The next morning Arnie was up to his tricks. He believes my toys do NOT need to be in the toy basket. This picture is just a fragment of the toys he has strategically arranged around the living room. Hehee, snort. Arnie was so proud of his work... He would look at the toys, look at my Mom, wag his tail, butt wiggle, then she would just smile and laugh.

One morning, we got up really early before the pug melting weather set it. Mom loaded us up (me in my sherpa, Arnie & Gracie in my Noz2Noz, all buckled in). Destination - Dog Park. As we were driving over, Mom named us the Three Pugateers. We ran around & I showed them the dog walk I discovered on previous trips to the park.

That afternoon, Mom was hungry for her Grandma's home made chicken & dumplings recipe. Gracie was a great sous chef. Hopefully she will be like Duke in the bean tv commercial & not give away the family secret.

The next morning we were going to the dog park again, but it had poured rain the evening before, some areas even still had flash flooding the next morning. So we stayed home, slept in the human bed & were bed pugs.

Once we got up, gobbled down breakfast (we should be in a food eating contest, we would win paws down.) We headed to the backyard to catch a few rays of sunshine.




The week was going by to fast & the weather has to hot for adventures. Gracie was lounging & Mom caught her expression of what she thought about the hot weather. We hibernated some but played a lot of games of chase.

At the end of the week, I was glad to see their parents again, but I knew this would mean part of the Pugateers would be going home (No, it was to soon for them to leave). Gracie wanted a longer vacation, she even whined & howled when they were getting ready to leave. I reassured her that our parents were already planning another adventure.

After they left, I looked around the house for besties, no where to be found. I was sad and realized my batteries were running low after going full strength all week. Time for a long nap.

My New Camera

The weather is broken again, summer hibernation began a few weeks ago. Woke up at the crack of dawn before the temperatures reached Pug melting degrees. Gobbled down breakfast in my unladylike style, it was time to head out to my favorite Austin destination, The Garden.

The Garden is so peaceful in the mornings, birds singing, squirrels barking, the sound of the water cascading down the waterfall, what a way to start the morning.

Then all the peacefulness changed in the blink on an eye. Mom spotted a snake in the koi pond & thought she was going to crawl up the closest tree, then we would have to head home so she could change her pants. I'm surprised she even got this shot. (Thank goodness no one was around, her reaction was so embarrassing.)

Finally after Mom calmed down we continued on exploring the Garden. As I posed by the blacksmith shop, I noticed something different... the Canon was not making it's normal noise & wasn't breaking for a treat when the shutter closed. Then I realized, Mom has a new Camera. No wait...! I got a new Canon Camera. This camera is awesome! Little did I know, with the help of Arnie & Gracie's Mom, and Rupert's Mom advise, I have a new member of our family.

Side note: Come to find out it was an ordeal to get the new camera, long story short, Mom knew what she wanted, called local (buying local is the first choice), talked with Ron at Precision Camera, he was very nice & great customer service. The camera body was in stock & quoted a price, he would hold the camera at that price & Mom would pick it up the next day. Mom was so excited! When she gets to the store, dealing with Ron, it was a typical bait & switch. Now the camera is $79 more than quoted price. Mom reminded him of their conversation, he would not honor what he quoted, Mom was mad! Not the way to do business. Their loss & Mom won't be back. Thanks to Rupert's Mom recommendations, Mom found a better source for my new Canon that had awesome customer service and a cheaper price. Thank you my friends for giving great advice!

Now back to the rest of the Garden adventure.... This unique flowering plant is Pride of Barbados and is also called Mexican Bird of Paradise.

Timing it just right, to see the hot pink water lily in bloom enjoying the morning light. Then I remembered, what about the dinosaur?! I haven't seen it since Aunt Christy was here, wonder if I can find it on my own?

Tried the camouflage of the ferns to disguise all my cuteness.

Still no luck, but I had the feeling the dino was close. Maybe next time Arnie & Gracie can help on the search.

As we were leaving the Garden, Mom stopped in her tracks. So glad it wasn't another snake! This time she was whispering and told me we had to be very, very quiet. Years of going to the Garden, this is the first time of a rabbit sighting.

But wait, there is till one more surprise left... Hmm my only clue, Mom has been cleaning the house. Could it be company's coming to visit?

The Urban Water Garden

Flash back Friday...

Catching up on my last adventure with my Arnie & Gracie in Fort Worth....

I'm an urban girl & a country girl at the same time. Adventuring with Arnie & Gracie, destination downtown Fort Worth, we were urban pugs for the day.

The sign was so apropos! Could it be a dream? No, it was another real, in the fur adventure with The Agility wonders Gracie & sigh, Arnie.

After agility running with Gracie in the morning, we headed to downtown. Destination Forth Worth Water Gardens that were built in 1974.

The active Pool was so impressive, with the noise of the cascading water, it blocked out the noise of the hustle & bustle of the city. You may have to squint but look closely in the middle of the picture to find Gracie. She was not a happy camper in the the Active pool, cooling terraced knoll but don't tell, she was braver than my Mom. Someone wimped out and only took me down two levels.

Then it was time to visit the Cypress lined, quiet meditation pool. Did you know the Cypress had knees?.... I had no idea trees had knees. The sound of the water cascading down the walls was so relaxing. Just wish there would have been a hammock between the trees to take a nap.


Where's Gracie?

The Three Pugateers. We can take on anything, especially when it comes to adventuring together. Priceless moment.

One of my favorite things about Brandy, was that I got to use my bionic abilities to run & run. Now I have Gracie & Arnie's sister, Snap to run with, bionic knees & after burners activated. Hehee, snort.

Mom keeps hinting at an upcoming surprises. I know of one that she hasn't posted yet, hopefully she will post it Sunday. The other, I only get is a smile & Mom says I will be surprised.

Happy 4th of July!

Wow, I can't believe Short Tails of Suki is two year old today! Celebrating Freedom was my very first post. Being something new and never blogged before, it was a must to include my best friend, (aka, my bestie), Brandy. My first post only had one comment, guess who it was from? The one and only Puglet!

This picture makes me smile & sad at the same time. Mom's eyes leak, but she smiles at the same time too. Just last July, I lost my bestie to the stupid "C" word. Brandy had bad, bad heart cancer (Hemangiosarcoma).

What makes us smile is that she is no longer in pain and frolicking in heaven with my friend Payton teaching her to swim, just like she taught me. One day, we will all meet again. Brandy & I had awesome adventures that are priceless & will always have a special place in our hearts.

Enough with the leaking eyes, time to put my big girl panties on and celebrate the 4th of July! Puggies, don't melt in the heat, humans stay safe, buckle up when traveling.

To all the military men, women and military doggies, as well as their supporting families, Mom & I send a very sincere THANK YOU for all you do!

Happy 4th of July!

Dream Come True

Oh my goodness, where do I begin. I wanted to tell you sooner about my super-duper adventure, but Mom was under the weather last week. So finally, she's feeling better.

Mom had our bags packed & we loaded up the 4-runner and headed North on a road trip to Arnie & Gracie's house! I knew it was going to be a fantastic weekend. Mom kept telling me there was going to be a surprise.

I've been charging up my bionic abilities in my summer hibernation process & had no idea what idea the surprise could be. Turns out to be an Official Agility arena with Official Agility equipment! Whoo Hoo!!!! A dream come true.

To start the day, Gracie & I headed off to agility. We had the arena all to ourselves. Get this... Since this was my first time on an A-Frame (not to be confused with a dog walk, like I was previously), Aunt Laurie was giving Mom the details about the A-Frame, before the humans could blink, I was up and over all by myself. You should have seen the look on their faces, priceless. I showed them, my "big girl panties" were on, with no wedgies, & I can do anything with all my cuteness.

Even the seesaw. (First time for the seesaw). It was kinda of scaring, but with the help of Mom & Aunt Laurie, no problem, just need more practice on this one.


Then is was time for my favorites... running over the jumps & turning on the after burners in the tunnel.

Gracie's turn... to show me how an experienced agility pug runs the whole course. What an awesome little pug! At the end of the video, you can here my whining, I couldn't wait to run the course again. Gracie rocked to course & I watched her run & made mental notes on what to do next time.

And this was just the beginning of our day. What an awesome start of the fun weekend adventure.

The Linebacker

Oh my goodness, I couldn't wait to go to the dog park. This park adventure was to meet my new friend Chester, my nickname for him, 'The Linebacker". Chester is a real sweetie-pie (I'm sure he wouldn't want to be called that in public, hehee, snort). For those that of you like me that have had the pleasure of meeting Puglet, Chester is about the same size but has a broader chest.

I showed Chester how to go on the agility dog walk, but he had no interest what so ever. (Thanks Mom, this shot makes my paws look like snow shoes.). Something else was on his mind...

In a stealth move, Chester stepped in as my body guard from the big brown boxer that was checking out my pink water bowl. You can't see me in the boxer picture, but Chester is standing between me and the big dog, keeping an eagle eye on Big Brownie.

Then when the little terrier dogs in the park started getting rowdy with each other, Chester would come stand in front of me with his broad chest stuck out. His strong stature was enough to tell them, "don't you even think about it!" (Darn, Mom didn't get any pictures of this).

The morning went by to fast. It was time to head home before the pug melting temperatures would set in. Time to hibernate. It was so much fun to meet Chester in the fur, looking forward to seeing him again.

New Dog Park & Gracie

Last weekend, I discovered a new dog park, that's close to my home. The park was really nice, separate areas for little dogs and big dogs. Plus there were shade trees and not one, but two A frames.

But wait, what's an A frame? Mom explained it was a piece of agility equipment, that was enough explanation for me. Before Mom could blink, I was running up and down the A frame all by myself. Wish Arnie & Gracie could have been there to see me, they would be so proud.

After running around, it was time to go home before the melting temperatures set in. On our way out, I discovered a pomegranate tree. When their ripe, wonder if its safe for a puggie to have small taste test of the fruit.

The next morning was cool enough we headed to the dog park again, this time to spend time with Gracie.

Meet my mini-pin rescue friend Gracie. Her parents are my Aunt T and Camp Director (my best friend, Brandy's parents). This adventure was fun and sad at the same time. Spending time with Aunt T & CD is always fun, but I really miss my bestie. But I know in my heart we will see each other again one day.

Thankfully Gracie was adopted Aunt T & CD and away from her horrible previous life. Gracie has a wonderful life now! Gracie, along with the others from the puppy mill were on the local news when they were rescued from their wretched, neglected environment. Thank goodness they were rescued by local officials.

I brought one of my tater toys to share with Gracie, but she wanted to play fetch with the tennis ball she found. Look at her.... she can put the tennis ball in her mouth!

Then it was time to run! Activated my bionic knees, bat ears and engaged the boosters.

With bionic powers all warmed up, it was time for a game of chase. This is the first time Gracie had played chase with a bionic friend. I showed her what it was all about... Sorry Gracie, you are fast, but not bionic fast. Hehee, snort.

I'm looking forward to the next adventure at the dog park and seeing Gracie again.

Now that I have two friends named Gracie, I need to come up with nick-names for them... What do you think?:

Gracie the Pug = Gracie P
Gracie the Mini-Pin = Gracie MP