Jake the Mountain Pug

Dogs are often put in the position of changing their home, their family, and their lifestyle one or more times during the course of their lives, usually through no fault of their own. So it is with my mother's pug, Jake. His first home was nothing to write home about and he was much better off when he was dumped at the shelter and moved on to live with my mother. Jake liked everyone, but he was always happiest when my mother came through the door. When he saw her he would run and grab his favorite toy, a stuffed hedgehog named Harry, to share his joy. 

Dogs are amazingly adaptable, however, and Jake has now made another transition -- living the life of a mountain pug with my sister in Montana. 

Jake took to my sister right away, which should surprise no one. I've often thought that dogs can discern family groups among humans, probably based on scent, I would assume. Whatever it was, he took to Paula and she and her husband adopted him. He follows her around the house whenever she's at home, and transfers his attention to her husband when she is gone. They are both retired now and have a beautiful new house although it will probably be buried in snow from now until next June. As you can see from these pictures they've just had their second snow of the season. But they are also prior pug owners and they have the necessary snow removal equipment (snow blower and a tractor) to make winter life convenient even for a short legged pug. 

Jake was never one to spend a lot of time outdoors, although he did always enjoy a short walk around the block and later, around the pond, where my mother lived. He has a thick layer of fat to keep him warm on his brief but necessary excursions outside. I expect he'll be getting more exercise living in Montana and that will be good for him. He's an only dog right now, although they do have a new roomba that doesn't seem to bother him too much. 

Jake has a bed in every room, and here his is sharing one with his toy hedgehog, Harry.