Bruschi's letter to Santa- 2006

This evening, while re-organizing some files on my laptop, I came across Bruschi's letter to Santa that he/I wrote in 2006, his first Christmas. It had our friends and family in absolute laughter, and I thought I should post it on this blog.



It reminds me of just how, um, lets just a say "eventful" puppyhood was for us.



The 2007 letter is just as good, but that will come later this month.





Dear Santa,

I want pizzles. That is all I want for Christmas. I don’t want bandanas, or red socks, or pens that I can chew, or purses, shoes, coats, gloves, glasses, leashes, tissues, rugs, toe nail clippers, or ear washes. Just pizzles. This crazy lady who makes me do tricks told me that if I want something, I have to be good and ask some Santa for it.

I know, I have not been a good boy this year, but I am cute. And, cuteness should count for something. After all, the mischief that I caused gave the crazy man and lady LOTS to tell their friends about, and the stories are entertaining. I hear they get lots of mileage out of that diamond-earring-in-the-digestive-track story. Not my fault that it ended up in my mouth when I was cleaning the crazy lady’s ears. Those ears needed a cleaning! No one appreciated it when I learned to jump over the curiously shaped wall that kept me out of upstairs. They just didn’t understand how much I wanted to get into doggie paradise. I know people think that all those holes in the ground that I dug so carefully are a bad thing, but this will save those people time when they want to plant flowers. And, I guess you could say I really wasn’t supposed to uproot those hydrangea saplings. It just looked like fun at the time.

Oh, and there are some good things that I have done this year. Like, on Thanksgiving, I watched the “gobble gobble” to make sure no one would steal it. I also have alarm clock duties. Every morning, I gotta howl and whine to wake up those sleepyheads. No snooze button on me!! And, every night, before retiring to my box, I give lots of kisses. I also help the big man take naps. He does not snore when I sleep on him. Oh, one other thing, when the crazy lady needs to be entertained, I help with that. I let her play “roll the Puggle” around on the floor. She’s trying to train me not to steal food or possessions—I hear “good boy” a lot, so I guess I am making progress.

So, pizzles all for me. I really like them. And, they keep me out of trouble. In fact, I am willing to barter an evening of schenanigans for one pizzle. You can get them on the Internet… they are called PIZZLES. I hear they are made from bull weenies, but taste goooood to me!

Love, Bruschi (love you even more if you get me pizzles)

P.S.- We’ve never met before, so when you come down the chimney, look for the cute puppy with wrinkles and floppy ears. See picture below.

P.S.P.S. I look sad I this picture because I have no pizzles.









Bruschi at 8 or 9 months old. He was pretty tubby then, until we got him on a better diet.

Today, Brian and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Three years and one day ago today, we both first learned of the Puggle. Now, Bruschi is camped out on my lap, while Kodi is sleeping in sync on Brian's.

I always intended to have a dog, and Brian proudly proclaimed that "Learch men are dog people." The bigger question for us was which breed. I love Labs and Beagles. Brian wanted a Pug. We both have deep feelings for Corgi's but were intimidated by shedding. Undecided, Brian staved off my relentless demands for a puppy-- promising we would revisit after the honeymoon.

The day before we got married, we were in separate states, both watching the Today Show featuring Puggles. Like many Americans, we fell in love, and our next phone call wasn't about floral mishaps, missing pianists, disappearing aisle runners, or bad manicures... it was how we just saw the cutest dog that would be the perfect addition to our lives. The Puggle was to be our wedding gift.

I thought of this today when I got an email from the rescue we volunteer with, letting volunteers know that a hound mama and her 7 little four week old pups were found alone in the woods of Virginia.

Three years ago, we didn't consider a rescue pup, largely, because we didn't have the faintest idea that such a thing as rescue puppies existed. We thought that only older dogs were abandoned, and we really wanted a puppy. In our minds-- who on earth abandons a mama dog with little ones? Well, three years later, we learned this happens as frequently as Bruschi steals food off our plate.

If you couldn't tell by now, we love our breeder-bred designer dog from nose to tail, and have no regrets about how we came to have him in our lives. We just didn't know what we do now about rescue. And perhaps, it was Bruschi who brought us to be exposed to others with rescue dogs.

Brian and I still say things like "what human abandons a dog?," but now we know just how much of a reality it is. And, having seen some of those pups grow, we know just how special a rescue puppy is, just how much joy they bring, and just how wonderful a life they can lead.

I did pause for more than a minute to think about bringing the litter home to foster, as an anniversary present for Brian, but then figured I'd save Husband of the Year material until our five year :)

Reason #3 Why I love Puggles: Unity

Anyone who gives presentations to groups of people knows that capturing the audience's attention, getting their mind off what happened in their day before they walked through the conference room door, and creating interest and excitement in the topic is crucial to success-- and so much of that is determined in the initial moments of the presentation. We all look for that collective "chill" of the group, so that their brains are positioned to accept the information we are about to share.

Well, I have a secret weapon in the conference room. And it is.... wait for it...... The Puggle.

I happened to realize this untapped power of the Puggle recently, in a serendipitious way, during a presentation where the attendees all walked in, very, very stressed, and anxiety-ridden. What had wound their nerves back at their desk had not been forgotten, and any anxiety over our topic was staring them in the face.

Within a minute of entering the room, what also was staring them in the face was my computer wall-paper image of Bruschi (shown above) projected onto a large screen. A simple glance at that perfectly cute little wrinkly forehead elicited a collective "awwwww" across the room. Tensions were released, and conversation quickly turned from "did you get that email" to "oh, what kind of dog is that?" "How old is he?" "Did you take that photo?" "My goodness that is the perfect photo."

I now had the attention, and interest of everyone in the room, from the CEO who had to make decisions to the intern taking notes. I was ready to move forward. The picture of the Puggle did in less than 10 seconds what no average human could do in 20 minutes, if at all.

Was Bruschi really was the catalyst for what ended up being a ridiculously successful meeting. I do believe that his image provided the group with a "brain break" of sorts, along with creating a common ground-- everyone in the room was able to agree on something-- that this dog was cute. The dog created a sense or sort of unity of opinion among those around the table that was lacking at the start.

A while ago, I started working images and references to my dogs into presentations, either as clip-art, or to illustrate a point, or simply as an ice-breaker. More recently, I set my wallpaper to this image of Bruschi that I took one morning. He was sitting in a sun spot, I was running late for work, searching for my favorite Charles David shoe. The shoe could not be found, but the camera was sitting on the ironing board. It made me smile in the morning when I booted up, even more than my previous image of Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Oceans 11.

What was so great about the wallpaper doing the work for me, vs. a slide in the presentation, is that I had the room's attention before that first slide ever appeared. They now were excited about the deck, and approaching the material with true interest-- because they had the opportunity to forget the baggage that followed them in to the meeting.

I could talk tons about the emotional and psychological effects that all pets have on humans, the endorphines that their images can stimulate, and studies that show simply petting a dog can lower blood pressure (and conversely, how a puggle stealing a sandwich can make it rise to new heights)... but....

...That's a 'wuff' for now!

(former wallpaper)

Reason #2: Expressions

Reason #2 Why I Love Puggles: Their Expressions

All dogs express emotion, but I have to say I believe Puggles have among the most expression-rich faces of all dogs. The wrinkly face, the defined eye-brows, the wide-topped ears, and the cute little round-snout nose are true enablers when a dog tries to show happiness, frustration, mischief, sadness, remorse, fatigue, and excitement....and then there's the tail!

The Puggle's display of expression is just one other tool they have in their box of tricks for wiggling their way into human hearts.

Why I Love Puggles...

There has to be an endless (or at least an enourmously high) number of reasons that I love Puggles... besides the basic fact that they are dogs, and they are cute. And I can't write them all in one day, much less one night-- but over the next month, check back regularly for the latest on "Why I Love Puggles."

Reason #1 Why I Love Puggles: The Snuggle Factor.

Puggles are snugglers. They don't just want to be near you, they want to be next to you, or on top of you, or somehow sandwiched between you. It is well known and documented that dogs do not like nor need hugs-- some will tolerate hugs from humans because they know we feed them. But Puggles tell you they want to snuggle, and will not be ignored.

Reflections on Bruschi's Puppyhood

(Image: Bruschi at 8 wks and one day old)

I love Bruschi. I honestly and truly love the dog, and wouldn't change anything about him if given the chance... but boy, was he a bad puppy!! Cute as can be, but so, so bad! I say this as I am sandwiched between Pinky, a little 8 week old hound/retriever mix that I am co-fostering on my left leg, and Bruschi, my two year old Puggle who just ate a whole stick of butter, wrapper and all, on my right.

Brian and I got Bruschi at 8 weeks old to the day... picking him up at Dulles Airport (IAD) at midnight, coming in from South Dakota...and our lives have not been the same since. We knew the puppyraising task ahead of us was no small endeavor, would require lots of time, and lots of new types of thinking. We read books, blogs, magazines, internet articles--anything we found. But no book prepared us for what we experienced (although many times we searched for the section on "what to do when your dog just won't release his grip on your purse)."

Bruschi excelled at house breaking, getting down the routine fairly quickly. He also excelled at whining, puppy piranhas (excessive mouthing) and eating possessions, including diamond earrings, hair brushes, cell phone ear pieces, shoes, purses, gum, credit cards, palm pilot cases, and anything else that his nose found. He was a thief, and proudly trounced around the house with our possessions in jaws, showing off his latest prize find. Oh, and did I mention the whining?


Having not had a puppy prior to Bruschi, I didn't know any different. I thought this is just the way it was with the younguns... until I started fostering. The first two foster pups, who will forever have a huge place in my heart as Beetle and Casey, were near-angelic compared to my memory of puppyhood. These little coonhound/lab mixes didn't like the crate at all and howled fiercely once in it, but were perfect gentlemen otherwise. Minimal whining, no stealing, no chewing, no mouthing, no tugging on the leash-- in short, star pupils. And, my latest little foster, who was part of a litter of nine birthed at the training center where I apprentice-- she's just a little peach! She's got some stress and anxiety to get over, but is rivaling Kodi for the "little princess" title right now.

Bruschi was, and continues to be a challenge, but it is just so rewarding to look at him and think about how far he has come, and how much closer to obedient he is with each day. He forces me to think differently about how I communicate, how I measure success, and how I determine what is important in life.


Neither Brian nor I ever thought of giving up on Bruschi, no matter how many time-outs he wracked up in an hour... but we do see people regularly who do give up on their pup, perhaps before really taking a good look at themselves and saying "what can i do to better communicate with my dog." It is both hard and humbling to say "I can not control my puppy, please help," and then being able to listen and implement new methods... but so, so rewarding for an owner and a dog.

The element of unpredictability in what type of puppy yours will be is perhaps both the biggest fear and the greatest excitement. I constantly remind myself to view each new puppy and dog as an individual--there is no one-size-fits-all method for raising a puppy (even though there are some sure-fire ways to train a dog). More shy dogs need different types of stimuli to bring them out of their shell-- more assertive dogs need a certain level and intensity of training. I've also learned that a puppy's love and affection is enough to compensate for all that a human is required to do to maintain that dog.

(Image: Bruschi at 8 weeks and 1 day old)

(Image: Bruschi at 2 yrs and 1 month old)

"I've Finally Grown In To My Ears!!"

Happy Birthday Bruschi... well, happy birthday + 1 week. Bruschi turned 2 on February 22 (last Friday), and of course, celebrated properly with a full day at "camp," lots of fun treats, and gifts to tear apart.

Brian and I celebrated surviving nearly two years of puppiness. The first photo of Bruschi was taken only hours after he was born, and he was just a teeny tiny brown wiggly loaf. We were in love, of course, immediately, and anxiously awaited every photo the breeder sent. And, when we picked him up at the airport 8 weeks later, we melted at the sight of his itty bitty snout. At 4 pounds, 7 ounces, Bruschi was all ears and nose.

The little guy came out of the cage nose to the ground, sniffing away, each ear nearly twice the size of his head. While he has finally grown in to his ears, he has not stopped sniffing.

With that nose, Bruschi is an eating machine!!! He can sniff out the littlest crumb under the biggest blanket, and we have yet to find a food he'd refuse.

We've become quite creative in Bruschi food, to keep his skin allergies and weight under control, and to reward him appropriately for good behavior. To celebrate that, March is "My Goodness, is that a Treat?" month. Check back at the blog throughout March to read about fun, healthy, easy treats for humans and dogs!!

That's a wuff for now!

-Colleen

What's This Puggle Stop?

Some of you may have taken note at the copyright on the bottom of the Learch's 2007 holiday card "Copyright 2007 Puggles 'n Prose, a division of The Puggle Stop." And, some of you may have thought "wow, i didn't know there was a puggle greeting card company that made customizable holiday cards..." Well, there isn't (but great business idea).

The Puggle Stop is a website I intend to create in 2008. On it will be all sorts of dog (maybe even cat) related information, photos, and maybe someday even products. Puggles 'n Prose is the newsletter/blog/print/written word division of The Puggle Stop (hence, 'prose').

The "official" Puggle Stop logo is a photo of Bruschi, my 22 month old puggle. This photo was taken when he was just a little pup (about 5 months old). He's a lot bigger now, weighing in at a healthy 27 pounds of fun and mischief.