An Ode to my Pug

Before we had a baby, this was our baby. In some ways she still is, but like most family pets, she often plays second fiddle to A.

Darcy was born on October 10th, 2004. That would make her 42 in people years. She was a surprise Christmas gift from my parents. Arriving on Christmas Eve at their newly purchased home, we began the grand tour. My parents saved my guest room until the end, and when they opened the door, there was this tiny porcelain pug sitting in a dog cage.

OK, so it wasn't porcelain, but she sat so still, that at first I thought she was fake. Then she began whining, and I realized that she was a real, wriggling, snuffling fur ball. I was so shocked that I began to cry, and could barely see her through all my tears.

Pugs hold a very special place in my heart. Before my parents had me, they bought their own little pug named Simon. I grew up right next to Simon, probably thinking all the while that he was my brother. There are countless pictures of me on the floor next to him, with his big pink tongue licking my face.

After Simon died, we got our next pug, Maggie. Maggie was truly "my" dog. She was a bit of a crazy pug (normally they are quite lazy and docile), and spent most of her days on the edge of the living room armchair barking at passerbys. She also liked to chase cars, which led to her inevitable death at the age of 4. She broke loose from her leash and ran into the street and was killed instantly. We were so devastated that we couldn't bring ourselves to buy another pug - we instead got a Jack Russell a little while later (who is still alive and kickin' at age 16!)

After Maggie died, I swore I would one day have another pug. Unfortunately, they became very "trendy" and the price for a purebred skyrocketed. If it hadn't been for my parents generosity, I'm not sure I'd ever have been able to afford one!

Darcy was there at our wedding, and sat by the bed while I delivered A. She has been with us on many road trips, up north to cottages and even camping. She still makes us laugh with all of her puggy antics, and we are fearful for the day when she is too old to run around chasing her tail.

Happy Birthday little pug...here is Weeping Tile (Sarah Harmer) with "Dogs and Thunder"

a rifle sits behind her sleeping ear
an echo on the cold wall closest neighbor couldn't hear
we dug a hole in the fall
so now its a frozen burial
and she's gone
just before the new year

well i'm gonna build a cross for the spot between the trees
and stick it in firm so it won't sway in their breeze
well you and i have trouble making up our half-assed minds
but she'd seen 16 years of our kind
and what's it like when your memories start to freeze

oh and i wonder what it is about dogs and thunder
what they hear coming over the fields
backhouse shelter warm nights in the summer
shaking the ground that you lie under
well i know you're not here but at least you don't feel it anymore

and i came to see you on the day that it happened
you said hey sorry sar but i gotta go
and i was trying to read some sorta reaction
it's something you just can't show
so i guess it's time i go

across the snowy barnyard just past the driving shed
a shadow of me in the moon well i was in a movie in my head
this pile of dirt on the ground
will sink when nobody is around
and winter covers everything but everything's not dead

oh and i wonder what it is about dogs and thunder
what they hear coming over the fields
backhouse shelter warm nights in the summer
shaking the ground that you lie under
well i know you're not here but at least you don't feel it anymore
well i know you're not here but at least you don't feel it anymore
well i know you're not here but at least you don't feel it anymore