BONUS CUTENESS

When we were filming the Green Pug video, my human said I'd get something extrasuperspecial when we finished it.

Like one of those executive bonus thingys? I asked.
Something like that, she said.

I'd already gotten loads of Pirate's Booty and was starting to look a little bit tubey so I knew my bonus wasn't going to be edible. And if I couldn't eat my bonus, I wasn't all that interested. So when my human forgot to give me something, I didn't bother saying anything and forgot all about it too...

Until we woke up this morning and my human said she had a surprise for me. My bonus was coming today... and my bonus is Frank the Pug! Yup. I get to spend the whole weekend playing with Frank. Even Dutch is excited about it and he never gets excited about anything.

We've already been to the beach and have been playing non-stop since we got home. My human made us stop for a few minutes so she could take a picture (that's why we look kinda sad) but for the next 48 hours we're not going to do anything but play, and play, and play. And eat. And maybe nap.

SO MANY SELFS, SO LITTLE TIME

So, you may have noticed that a certain Flat someone hasn't been around much lately. Well, it's mostly because Green Pug hijacked what's left of my human's brain. But now that my Green self has done his part to save the planet, it's time for my Flat self to get back to work saving recycled dogs.

Phew. Having so many selfs sure can be a lot of work!

Anyway. When we went to the Post Office this morning to send out some more Flat Puglets, I noticed a sign with Flat Ellen and a bunch of dogs on it (a nice post office man let us borrow it for today's picture). Turns out the USPS is trying to raise awareness about recycled pets too!

The new stamps go on sale tomorrow (April 30th) and cost the same as a regular one. The stamps don't raise money for the cause (like the breast cancer ones do), but hope to raise awareness by spreading the word about shelter pets in need. Just like Flat Puglet!

I'll get to the part about Ellen and what she's doing to help later, but for now - next time you buy stamps, ask for the ones that promote adopting a shelter animal. It's a supereasy way to say you care about pets in need and who knows, maybe the stamp YOU buy will make a difference.

* * * FLATTIE NEWS (sort of) * * *

If you've sent us a story about your visit with Flat Puglet and are wondering when on earth the world's going to get to see it... my human is working on getting caught up. Daily Flattie updates will start up again on Monday and you'll get an email from my human saying what day your visit will be added to flatpuglet.com.

Now. If you HAVE a Flattie and haven't sent us anything yet... uhm. Yeah. We need to work on that too. Right now about 35 Flatties from the first batch are totally MIA. We won't name names - you know who you are :) Flat Puglet doesn't have an expiration date or anything, but we want to keep the project alive so please send us something soon!

MY FIRST (AND LAST) PUG SATURDAY

Now that the Green Pug media frenzy is over, and Dutch got his time in the spotlight, we've got some catching up to do...

So, my girl Bellatrix's human had the supergenius idea to start a Pug Saturday group. The last few Pug Sunday's got rained out so I was superexcited to head to the Easy Bay for some serious pug fun (plus Dutch).

When we got to the dog park, Bellatrix, my man Spencer and a very cool pug named Phantom were already getting puggy. It was really warm, so we all played in the shade under a picnic table. Except for Dutch. He just hung out with his rubber chicken and barked at us for being pugs.

Dutch's barking was pretty annoying, but it created a diversion and that gave me the opportunity to snack. On wood chips. I know I'm not allowed to eat wood chips, just like know I'm not allowed to eat rocks. But there are some things a pug just can't help. And eating is one of them. So even though my human kept making me spit the wood chips out, I kept sneaking them in. No big deal, right?

Right. Until about midnight. When my stomach started hurting. And I mean hurting. I tried to pretend everything was ok, but my insides were were full of wood chips and anything but OK. So I paced. And I puked. And cried. And paced some more. And puked again. But the pain didn't go away. This went on for a few hours.

One trip to the vet and a dose of mineral oil later, and I guess the wood chips started moving because the pain went away. I won't go into all the gory details about what the mineral oil did to my butt - let's just say I could have used one of those Rear Gear doggie butthole covers to hide the oil spill.

I also won't say too much about the ginormous woodchip that finally came out of me on Monday afternoon. Except that it was huge. Like, the size of my foot. But square-ish. And made of wood. Yeah. And Dutch thought I had a case of Famousitis!?!

My human says we can't go back to the woodchip park until I can learn how to "abstain" from eating things I'm not supposed to. I really had fun and want to go to the next Pug Satuday, but I'm not sure I want to learn how *not* to eat stuff. Unless maybe I get lots of cookies for doing it.

DUTCH GETS HIS 15 SECONDS

Hey everybody, I'm baaaack! And, no, I did not come down with a 'serious case of famousitis'. Whatever that is. Truth is, I really did eat one too many wood chips at the park on Saturday. And it left me feeling really poopy.

But I'll tell you all about that and post some pictures of the Pug Saturday gang tomorrow. Because today's post is all about Dutch, the coolest non-pug brother a pug could ever have. I had no idea he was so upset about Green Pug and my 15 seconds of fame. I mean, we all know how much he hates cameras, right??

Well, check out this interview we did this morning for NBC. Most of it is just the Green Pug video (my gimpy brained, TV-shy human is VERY happy about that!) but stick around til the end to see Dutch demand his time in the spotlight.

click to WATCH THE VIDEO

FAMOUSITIS

Hey everybody, Dutch here. Puglet asked me to fill in for him today. Said something about not feeling well. Something about eating one too many wood chips at the park on Saturday? Not sure.

If you ask me, I think he's coming down with a serious case of Famousitis. This Green Pug stuff is totally going to his head. All I keep hearing is Green Pug this, Green Pug that.

Someone said Green Pug makes Al Gore obsolete!
Someone said Green Pug should win an Oscar!
Someone said Green Pug is smarter than most people!

Uhm, if I recall correctly there were FOUR dogs in our Earth Day video. What about the Green Dalmatian? Or Green Labradors?? I might not have pranced around Home Depot with a CFL in my mouth, but I helped save the planet too. Do you know what a huge difference it would make if everyone followed *my* example and switched to reusable bags??

Oh well. I guess as long as people enjoy and learn from the Green Pug video, it doesn't really matter if they noticed me or not. Even if I did rehearse that reusable tote bag scene for an entire week.

Being Green might take a little practice, but it really is easy. Take it from me, turning off a light switch is nothing compared to holding a tote bag and wagging your tail at the same time.

ECO-HANGOVER

Well, the Green Pug video spread like swine flu yesterday. Not like the sniffles, not like a head cold. I'm talking full on H1N1-style virus.

"Green Pug" was all over the internet for Earth Day, in places I never thought a pug would be (like The Huffington Post and Daily Beast). I got to share the internet spotlight with Obama and some dude named Picasso and almost 50,000 people have watched me prove how easy it is to be Green.

I hope Green Pug inspired lots of able-thumbed humans to be at least a little bit Greener.

But now that the excitement of Green Pug is over, I'm feeling a little... blah. Yesterday I was making a difference. Saving the world. And today? I'm just a pug. One eco-dude described the feeling as an Earth Day Hangover. Google says a hangover is a letdown after a period of excitement so I guess the eco-dude knows his stuff.

On Monday, I'll go back to writing about cowpies and Jenny and all things humans do that confuses me. I'll get back to work on my New Year's revolutions and helping Flat Puglet complete his mission. I don't know if my 15 seconds of fame made a difference in the world or not. But my human always says it's always better to do something than nothing at all.

See you Monday!

PS> my human's making a totally embarrassing blooper video of Green Pug. Stay tuned...

POOP HAPPENS

It's almost Earth Day and I've been trying to come up with something to blog about that's even cooler than my Green video.

I was going to write about poop bags. Until I did some fact-checking with my man Stubby and he says there really isn't any way to make poop green. I mean, like, environmentally friendly Green. The poop isn't really the problem (though it can spread germs and worms and stuff). The problem is the way poop gets contained. Y'know, the bags.

My human used to think it was a good idea to use plastic bags from the grocery store to scoop our poop. Re-use, right? Good for the environment, right? Noooo. Not when you combine poop & regular plastic bags!

Poop + Plastic Bag = Poop Tomb

You heard me - a poop tomb. It takes like a gazillion years for a plastic bag to decompose in landfills. Stick some poop in a plastic bag and you preserve it for eternity. Eeeew!! Now, there isn't a 100% perfectly green solution to the Poop Tomb. But there are two greener options: Bio Bags & Mutt Mitts.

BioBags are certifiably biodegradable and aren't as evil to make as regular plastic bags. It gets kinda complicated, but biodegradable might not be the greatest thing to be if you're a poop bag headed for the landfill. Bio-degradable stuff needs air to do its thing and landfills aren't very airy. That's where Mutt Mitts come in. Mutt Mitts don't need air to break down - just warmth and sunlight.

We use Mutt Mitts at our house and based on an average of 2.5 poops a day (x) me and Dutch, we're keeping 1825 poop tombs out of landfills each year by using them. These bags might not be 100% green, but until someone builds a better poop bag, they're waaaay better than the regular evil plastic ones.

At least I think they are?

PATIENCE

Well, you were totally right about being patient when it comes to love. And thank someone I only had to wait a week to find this out.

Jenny The Pug tweeeeeted! She tweeeeeted! And not just any old tweet, a special private tweet. To me-e-eee! Can you say woo-hoo? Well, I can.

WOO HOO!

I hope it's not bad to tweet and tell, but she pretty much said she loves me. Just kidding (sigh). She said she's been super busy (just like you said) but thinks my Green video is cool and I'm a star. She also said doing a video with me would be fun. And something about jumping off a treadmill? Not sure what that's about.

Anyway. She ended her tweet with two little words that made me feel like Jello: kisses, Jenny.

Kisses? KISSES.

Jello.

Sigh.

My human says me & Jenny could be the biggest couple since Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks. I'll have to ask Google what that's all about, but I'm already working on a few ideas for our movie's plot. Any suggestions?

* * *

FLATTIE'S BACK!!

My flat self took a little break when the Green video hijacked my human's brain, but he's baaaacck. In today's visit he meets a very pretty pugette and is introduced to the flattest computer on the planet.

You can read about it here on flatpuglet.com

WHIPPED CREAM DAY

Last week, a pug named Penny in Las Vegas went to sleep. She wasn't old and it happened suddenly. Maybe a brain tumor? Nobody knows.

I didn't know Penny, but she was loved by so many. When I heard the love others had for her, I felt like she was my friend too. My man Stubby says Penny was a very sexy puggy who liked to watch cartoons (Sponge Bob!), listen to Michael Jackson at pooptime, and eat whipped cream. She really loved whipped cream.

Penny loved whipped cream so much, Winston declared yesterday 'Whipped Cream Day' in her honor. We NEVER eat whipped cream at my house, but Fate must have known we would need some because my human bought a can last week for the filming of the Earth Day video.

Winston - you are one special pug for honoring Penny with Whipped Cream Day. I hope I never go to sleep, but if I do, I hope someone has a day for me too. It can be Cheetos. Pirate Booty. Cow pies. Doesn't matter, as long as it makes everyone think of me and smile. Dutch was afraid of the whipped cream can so he'd prefer my honorary day doesn't involve anything in a scary can.

FOOD CHALLENGE WINNER!

You would think a dog who eats rocks would eat just about anything. But we all have our limits and I guess mine are a little surprising. It all started when my human tried to discourage my begging by giving me things she thought I wouldn't like. Wasabi Peas, double salt licorice, broccoli, oranges. Then it became kind of a joke/game because I more or less liked everything she gave me.

But every now and then, she'd sneak in something extrasuper gross. Like.... jicama! Or.... Crab-with-a-K.

EEEEW!

I really like oranges and even Marmite, but no way am I eating that Krab stuff. And jicama? It's just too weird.

So congratulations, Lola in Lafayette! You're the lucky winner of my food challenge! For guessing the perfectly right guess, you get to pick from: a Yak Chew, a mini-Henrietta (perfect size for pugs) or your very own Flat Puglet!


PS
My human says if she didn't know me and had to guess, she would have said oranges and kiwi - to all who guessed those :)

TOP SECRET REVEALED!

You know how I said my blog posts have been kinda lame lately because of a top secret special project I've been working on with Stubby? Well, the project is over.

O-V-E-R!

And because you are all THE best friends a pug could ever have, you get to see it before anyone else on the whole entire planet. Like, an entire week earlier because the video is for Earth Day.

I know not everyone is into the whole "Green" thing, but hopefully my video will change your mind. Or at least make you think. Or laugh. Or cry. Or whatever.

I just really hope you like it because this will be the last video we do for awhile. My human's brain needs a break and I probably have AT LEAST a few pounds to lose from all the eco-friendly things I learned to do. Dutch even learned something new AND cooperated for the camera, so keep an eye out for his cameo.

Anyway. Here it is. Enjoy and pass it on :)

I'll be back a little later with some Flattie news!!




The link to it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKoLBSK8SSE

ENTER PUGLET'S FOOD CHALLENGE!!

A few weeks ago, my bud Stubby did a post about conscious vs. unconscious food. Not like alive vs. dead food, but more like earth-friendly vs earth-hurting stuff. He challenged us to dig through our refrigerators and rate our food stuffs on a four-paw scale of "consciousness".

Personally, the only thing I care about when it comes to food is whether or not I can eat it. But my human got waaay into checking out labels for scary ingredients and stuff. I stuck around during the experiment, just in case she needed to "dispose" of anything. While I was waiting, I decided to conduct my own kitchen survey: foods I will eat vs. foods I will not.

PUGLET'S FOOD CHALLENGE!!

Below is a list of 10 totally random foods I found in our kitchen. I will happily eat 8 of the 10 items on the list. The other two will NEVER get past these lips!!! Can you guess which ones I refuse to eat? One correct guesser will win a prize sooo secret, I don't even know what it is yet. I promise it will be cool though, so start guessing!

1. Marmite
2. Crab-with-a-K ("Krab" imitation crab meat)
3. Double salt licorice
4. Kiwi fruit
5. Jicama
6. Broccoli
7. Asparagus
8. Navel Orange
9. Rice Chex
10. Carrots

Enter your guess before midnight on Thursday. One lucky winner - picked at random from correct guesses - will be announced on Friday's blog.

I HAVE A QUESTION

So, I have a question for everyone. I guess I have a bunch of questions, but they are all about the same thing: love.

Have you ever been in love? If yes, how did you know it was love you were feeling? I mean, how did you know you weren't just hungry or something??

I thought I knew what love was. I thought I felt it for Jenny the Pug the moment I saw her. It didn't matter that we never sniffed butts, something inside me screamed she's the one!! But I'm starting to think things between me and Jenny aren't going to work out. She lives so far away and I haven't heard a peep (or a Tweet) from her for like an eternity. Dutch keeps saying she's just not that into me.

I think I love Jenny, but when I hear about Bellatrix & Spencer having dates, and see pictures of Stubby and Josie looking like the most perfect couple on earth, feel a little bit... lonely. I don't think that's what love is supposed to feel like.

Or is it?

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!
Flattie has taken a few days off but will be back tomorrow...

SEMI-RIDICULOUS CUTENESS

I've been working hard on a top secret project so I haven't had much to blog about lately. I was going to do another 'ridiculous cuteness' post to make up for it, but last week our Pug Sunday got rained out. Then yesterday the East Bay Pug Sunday got rained out too.

It didn't rain on Saturday though, so our weekly cow hike didn't get canceled. I know cows aren't as cute as pugs (I mean, what is??) but the baby cows make my human AWwww. So here's some semi-ridiculous cuteness from Cow Saturday.



PS: The project will be over in a few days & then it won't be top secret anymore. You all will be the first to see it!

FLAT ELLEN

So, I took your advice and checked out Ellen Degeneres' website. I checked others too, but Ellen's was the only one with a Flat Ellen.

Yup. Ellen has a flat self too! Does that sound like a sign to you, or what?? Her mission was also a New Year's revolution and is a little different than mine (something about achieving world domination?) but I still think fate must be behind this meeting of the Flatties!

Now I just have to think of something for Flat Puglet and Flat Ellen to do together here in San Francisco. Their picture will be posted on Ellen's Facebook page, so it has to be totally cool. Today's picture was taken near my house in one of my favorite places, but it's not very exciting to anyone but me. You all have done such superclever things with Flat Puglet. Any suggestions??

(If you have a Flattie and aren't sure what to do with him, you can make your own Flat Ellen to keep him company! Download Ellen's flat self here)

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today the flat me goes to college. Ball State in Indiana, to be exact. He has a great time hanging out with two pugs named Brutus & Miley, does a stupid flat pet trick and goes to real college classes.

You can read about it here on flatpuglet.com

MYSTERIOUS PLASTIC

Some of you might know my friend Stubby. If you don't, you'll just have to believe me when I say he's the wisest pug I know. And also the greenest. Not green-green, but Green. Y'know, like environmental.

Well, me and Stubby have been working together to make my next video (technical term: collaboration) and got to talking about plastic on my local beaches. Stubby lives in Illinois and has never seen California or its beach plastic - see what I mean about wise??

Anyway. Stubby told me about these local artist people who collect plastic from a beach near San Francisco and make stuff out of it. I love artists because they can turn bits of nothing into something special, but I go to the beach all the time and never see much plastic. I don't think even the best artist can create something special from nothing, so yesterday we went in search of this mysterious plastic.

Holy cowpies did we find some plastic!!

Turns out, when you walk down by the water (like we normally do) all you find is rocks, shells and sand dollars. But if you walk up on the dry sand where the high tide washes stuff up, it's a totally different story. There are candy wrappers and soda bottles and plastic bottle caps - a gazillion bottle caps in every size, shape and color.

We also found (among MANY other things):

- loads of nylon rope
- easter egg halves
- half a toothbrush
- a comb
- an empty lipstick thingy
- straws
- a tiny blue bear
- and the giant-est tire I've ever seen.

It didn't take long to fill Dutch's backpack and a large carry bag with a whole mess of plastic junk. All from just one tiny piece of beach about the size of our apartment. It made me very, very sad.

I'm not the Greenest or wisest pug, so I'm not sure where all this plastic junk comes from. But I do know it doesn't belong in our oceans or on our beaches. I can't save the world's recycled dogs AND the whole entire planet all by myself, so if there's anything you can do to help stop the plastic - please do it!

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today my flat self continues to spread the word. He hangs out with Wilma, Brigitte & Sluggo on the other coast and is introduced to an ancient dead dude, giant old bones and a GINORMOUS tick. He also gets to be a mystery reader (very cool!).

You can read about it here on flatpuglet.com

TUBE-LESS

So, I've been doing a lot of learning lately. Between the supermodel video and that one I made for Jenny, I must have learned about a million new things. Picking flowers, buying cookies, and hailing taxis might look easy - but behind every great pug actor is a big bag of Cheetos. And behind every bag of Cheetos is a whole bunch of tubey-ness!

My harness is fitting a little tighter than usual, so I was seriously worried about passing the 25lb test when we took a surprise trip to PetSmart yesterday. Luckily my human forgot to put my harness on, so I squeaked in at 24.5 lbs wearing just a collar.

Phew!

Less than 25 lbs = I'm allowed to get a treat. But my human said I'd gained a little weight, so it had to be a healthy one. I didn't exactly know what "healthy" meant so she told me just to look for the words "low fat". Toobles are low fat, but that's not why I picked them out.

I kinda thought Toobles was just a funny way to spell Tubeless. Y'know, like marketing-speak for 'eat these and be less tubular'. My human laughed at this theory, but since Toobles are low fat we got to take them home anyway.

I'm not 100% sure what part of what animal a Tooble comes from, and my human is pretty horrified by them, but me and brother Dutch think they're mighty tasty. Stick a giant carrot in the middle and you've got the healthiest, low fattiest, tubey-less snack on earth.

BANANA PUG (the sequel)

Remember back at Halloween when my human dressed me up in a silly costume that was supposed to make me look like a banana (but didn't)? I thought she was kinda crazy for thinking I could ever look like a piece of fruit, but turns out she's not the only one who thinks a pug can be a banana.

Because yesterday I got an Easter package in the mail from my cousin Sophie. Did she send Peeps? Eggs? A stuffed thing? Nope. She sent me this:


Sophie said it reminded her of me. She also said the pugs come dressed up like other things too. Like cowboys. And punk rockers. Or pea pods. They're called 'Pugnacious Pugs' figurines and my human thinks they are all "crazy adorable".


I just hope she doesn't get any 'crazy adorable' ideas about dressing me up to look like a peapod!!

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today the flat me visits Phoebe & Zoey. They introduce him to a pug that ate one too many rocks and take him back to the aquarium where he learns how to watch seafood (and meets lots of fishes)!

You can read about it here at flatpuglet.com

SPRING CLEANING

Yay! Our stupid broken internet is back!

Sorry I'm so late today, but I hope everyone had a great Easter! Mine was, well.... a little less than great. Since I helped myself to those Peeps last Friday and am not allowed to eat chocolate bunnies, I didn't have any Easter treats to snack on. And Pug Sunday got rained out so there was no pug fun to be had either. So when my human said we were going to do something, and I quote, "Reeeally FUN!" I got pretty excited.

And then she brought out the evil vacuum cleaner. What's fun about a vacuum cleaner? Nothing. Turns out she was being something called 'sarcastic' about doing something fun. We wouldn't be having any fun at all.

Two words: spring cleaning.

When my human gathered up a whole bunch of stuff to clean with - dusters and spray bottles and mops and stuff - I got the feeling that spring cleaning was the complete opposite of fun. And when I got in trouble for using duster as a chew toy, it became totally obvious: spring cleaning is definitely not a fun thing.

And there definitely didn't appear to be any cookies involved, so I followed Dutch when he ran and hid from the vacuum. We both fell asleep to the sound of vacuuming and my human ranting about dog hair...

Uhm, does that sound like a Happy Easter to you??

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today my flat self is in The Evergreen State (that's Washington!) visiting Sequoia & Petunias grandpeople. He went to work and wore a cool hat, learned about bowling and ate lots of good food.

You can read about it here on flatpuglet.com

HAPPY EASTER PEEPS!

It's almost time for another special-day: Easter!

I got really excited when Google said Easter is about eating bunnies and baskets full of candy... but then my human totally rained on my Easter parade. She said there'd be NO bunny eating for me because the kind of bunnies that get eaten on Easter are made of chocolate. And chocolate is really bad for dogs. It can even kill us.

Wah.

I asked Google if there are any non-chocolate Easter-candy options. Turns out there's a pretty long list of things you can eat on Easter, but Jelly Beans and Peeps are the most popular.

I had no idea what a Jelly Bean or a Peep is, but figured if they're on a list of things to eat, I should eat them. My human must have felt kinda bad about putting the quash on bunny eating, because when I asked asked if we could celebrate Easter with Jelly Beans and Peeps, she actually said yes. At least to the Peeps part (apparently Jelly Beans are too much like pebbles and she doesn't want to encourage my rock addiction).

So, yesterday she brought home some Peeps. And I totally recognize these sticky little chickies from last Easter! These chicks are tasty, but they definitely don't taste anything like a nugget. They're definitely more fun to chew on though. And their goo sticks to your snout for future tasting.

I still don't know exactly what a Peep is. But I do know it isn't made of chocolate and tastes pretty good. So if your people say you're not allowed to celebrate Easter because of the evil chocolate bunnies, tell them you want an Easter Peep instead!

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today my flat self heads to Arizona with our spotted friend, Miley The Destroyer. He makes lots of friends at a dog show, tries to donate blood, has a near death experience and seeks shelter in a ginormous cactus!

Read about it here on flatpuglet.com

STILL PITYING THE FOOLS!!!

Exactly one year ago today I started The Daily Puglet.

In my very first post I promised to make you smile. And laugh. And weep with joy. AND go AWww. I was a little worried that day when my human taped a mohawk to my head, dressed me in gold and called me "Mr P", but the past year has totally been worth those few minutes of humiliation.

Thanks to The Daily Puglet, I now have amazing friends from all over everywhere. And even though most of us have never sniffed butts, I love spending time each day with all of you. I am a kinder, wiser, happier pug because of it.

I haven't been dressed up like a TV character from the 80's since last year's debut of Mr P (thank God) but I still PITY THE FOOL who doesn't read the Daily Puglet!

* * *

FLATTIE NEWS!

Today my flat self visits Austin, TX - home of fruit bats and the famous Ms. Douglas Bean. Flat Puglet was very excited to meet Ms. Bean, who is on his/her own mission to help recycled pugs.

You can read about it here on flatpuglet.com. And be sure to check out Ms. Douglas Bean's website, dragqueenpug.com!