Elmo

Elmo was our first pug….actually Elmo was our first dog. My daughter, Sally, and I purchased Elmo from a family in Larkspur, California, and often referred to him as our “she-she dog from Marin County.” My first mental snapshot of Elmo was his small 4 pound body resting on my daughter as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge on our way home to San Jose.

Within minutes we were madly in love with this little bundle. He made us smile at least once a day, even when he had an accident on oriental rugs and nice wool coats.

Sharing 15 years on our time line with Elmo was so enriching. He knew all of our secrets and held them in confidence. The first time I went to a Pug Party with Northern California Rescue most of my friends and family thought I was nuts, but I went anyway and enjoyed meeting pugs and people of all shapes and sizes.
I had no idea what rescue work was all about until I moved to Tucson, Arizona and took in my first two rescue dogs who were “fished out” of a puppy mill in Wilcox, AZ. Elmo’s reaction to all of the rescue dogs I have had over the past few years could be best described as “peaceful co-existence.” I want to give Elmo most of the credit for gently introducing me to rescue work.

In May of 2008 I was asked to foster Gerogie, an overweight pug from Pima Animal Control with a huge cyst on his underside. Over the summer months I was involved in rehabilitating George. I believe he was put into my life for a reason now.

On Oct. 24, 2008 Elmo had some type of seizure from which he never fully recovered. On Oct. 29, 2008, he was gently released from his tired, weary body. His favorite food was turkey and before I brought him to the vet on Oct. 29, I finally allowed him to eat to his stomachs content because in traditional pug fashion, he never lost his appetite. On our way out the door Elmo glanced over to the last know location of the turkey so I stopped and gave him some more.

One day after the loss of Elmo I called APARN and adopted George. George has helped me heal each time I look at him and acknowledge that he has taken Elmo’s place in my heart and showed up just in time.