Five Years Later - Remembering Greta

On this day five years ago 

our Greta left us for the Rainbow Bridge.

A few days earlier she had eaten a poisonous mushroom 

and the toxins were just too much for her little body

At 2 1/2 years old, 

she was gone and my heart was shattered 

 

Greta was my inspiration for starting this blog

and I want to remember her today by sharing this tribute originally posted Sept 2014.

Greta Pug Munchskin - Truly One of a Kind

Greta Pug Munchskin

02/22/2012 - 09/09/2014

Stan and I have been loved by pugs for more than 20 years. 

Of course they all have been different 

with different personalities and quirks 

but there had never been a pug quite like Greta.

A personality so much larger than her little body. 

Everyone who met Greta loved her, 

she was so full of fun and naughtiness.

What ?    Naughty?   Me?

Greta did everything with an intensity hard to match, 

whether it was having fun, eating, obsessing over her ball,

and of course her love for us.

As a puppy, almost everything with Greta was a challenge. Sometimes I would get so frustrated but I was determined to meet the challenge. Imagine a little 6 lb pug puppy so full of fight, I could hardly get a collar on her to go to puppy class. Finally the day came when she would stand excitedly for me to put her halter or collar on. 

She did not want to be held! OH NO! 
So it became a daily ritual for me to pick her up and hold her till she quit struggling. 

And after time it turned into our daily ritual 

for me to pick her up and hold her like a baby 

and we gave each other love and kisses, every day.

To describe her as naughty would be an understatement. 

 Always into something I could not let her out of my sight.

Modifications were made throughout the house and yard

 just for Greta. 

Sections of x-pen blocked room corners so she couldn't take the rocks out of the plant pots. Stan made panels to block her from getting behind the couches.

 Fences were put up around flower beds
 to keep her from stripping branches off the bushes 

and eating the bark and the decorations.

She was way too smart. When still potty training we would leave up the x-pen panels to block her from the living room. It did not take her long to figure out - a little push here with her nose and a pull there with her teeth and she could move it out of her way. So a more permanent gate was mounted on the wall.

I would give her a chew bone in the morning to keep her busy so I could get ready for work, and again in the late evening to help her (and me) relax before bed and it was still her routine, giving me her "time for my bone, Mom" look.

We started training classes when she was just 4 months old 

She loved learning new things and going to class.

 I wanted her to do well but most of all 

I wanted her to have fun. 

I never could get her to sit straight at my side, 

she would always rock back on her little pug butt 

so she could look up at me.

 Her recalls were pawsome!
 I would call her and she would run to me 

as fast as she could.

 At our last show the judge said 

"hard to beat a recall like that!" 

At home she always ran to her crate 

when we would be leaving for work or shopping, 
but if I was around she wanted nothing to separate us. 

That even included riding in the car. 

She would have none of riding in her crate in the back seat, crying and ripping up the crate pads. 

Finally she was happy to ride in the front with her harness hooked to the seat belt where she could be by my side

As much as she loved me, she also loved her Dad.

 I found it funny that she would lay near me on the couch 

but would not snuggle, 
but she was always willing to be on her Dad's lap

 to "help" him take a nap. 


But when we went to bed at night 

it was usually my side she was glued to 
or she would be on the pillow above my head 

Some of my favorite memories are of her
running so fast through the big yard she would almost fly.

 She ran with such joy and abandon

On the day she got sick, 
she was having a wonderful time playing with friends
Murphy & Stanley

 and I am so thankful that we have these last pictures of her

running - smiling with ears flying

What precious memories to have

So we are trying to adjust to life without Greta,
whose energy and passion for life
 filled every aspect of our lives


I can sleep in on the weekends if I want to now, I don't get smothered with kisses at 6 am telling me I need to get up and feed her breakfast. At some point the hair pulling to wake me up stopped, but I could not tell you when.

I don't have to sneak dishes into the dishwasher anymore to keep Greta from climbing in with the dishes and riding the basket right into the dishwasher.

 Greta is no longer pulling at the couch cushion -  

her way of telling me,

 get off the computer Mom and play with me!. 

The velcro underneath made it sound like she was ripping the cushion to shreds and she knew I would come running.  

I don't have to worry about disturbing the little pug wrapped around my feet while I am getting ready in the morning

And I am no longer late for work 

because after 10 minutes outside

Greta has yet to find that perfect spot to pee

You would think that life would be easier now
but all of this was so much easier than losing her
and I would do it all over ten times and more
for Greta

Going through all the pictures,
 I came across one that was taken last summer
and I envision a scene just like this one day

Greta by my side as we walk together 
to greet the rest of the PugRanch Kids waiting at the Bridge



My Dear Sweet Naughty Greta
there will never be another quite like you
I still can't believe your gone

I love you Baby

Mom

We are the PugRanch Kids

Mabel & Hilda