Nine years ago this past week I had to distinct displeasure of taking my Mom's Yorkshire Terrier, Aggie, to the vet to be put to sleep. Aggie was almost 20 years old (seriously!) and was not doing very well at all. Actually, I held on to her longer than I should have... hindsight tells me I should have let her go at least a year before but, Aggie was my last earthly connection to my Mom. It was a connection I was very reluctant to sever as anyone who has ever lost their mom will understand. The vet injected Aggie and, as I held her, she slipped away.... I was devastated. I was alone. My dad couldn't bear to go with me, so I was on my own. The vet let me stay with her little body for as long as I needed to. He understood what had happened, I'm sure. I didn't just lose my dog.... I said goodbye to what remained of my Mom after her death in 1989. It was a tough drive home.....

Now, at the time, I was working as a manager at a bookstore and one of my employees had a plan. He also happened to be my boyfriend and he knew what an emotional wreck I was going to be. He decided that he was going to get me a puppy for Christmas. My friends tried to talk him out of it. After all, I still had another dog at home and they doubted my Dad would allow another one since we live in a condo. They were right about the dad part... but my Dad also learned long ago not to argue with my Mom.... or me. If I inherited one thing from my Mom, it was her stubborn Irish-ness! Besides, the dog at home was another old Yorkie named Billy. He started off as my Mom's dog, but since became my Dad's constant companion after Mom passed. Fine by me... he was a craba** anyway!

Aggie was my dog, she was now gone and I really needed something to love... my boyfriend understood this about me.

He started to toss the idea around me that I should get a puppy. I had a million excuses why I couldn't... money, my Dad, yadda yadda.... So, we started having "hypothetical" discussions about what kind of dog I'd like, if I were to buy one. My first choice was a Bulldog... but I knew our condo rules wouldn't allow a dog over 25 pounds. I didn't think about a second choice because what was the point anyway? Todd, my boyfriend, suggested a Pug... he thought it kinda looked like a bulldog, smooshy face and all. I had no clue what a Pug was... even after seeing "Men in Black" several times. Talk about DUH!

So, with all kinds of books at my disposal, I started to research the world of the Pug... and I fell in love! But, I figured it was futile. A new dog was just not in the cards for me at that time. I decided to put it out of my mind. A few weeks later and we're at Christmas Eve. I'm taking Todd to my house to celebrate and we've both got really big boxes of stuff for each other. He opens his, I start opening mine.... saving the biggest box for last... and making Todd twitch in the process! At his urging, I put the smaller stuff away and pulled out the big box... I opened it... and inside..... was a stuffed dog. Okay..... I look at him and he's got the goofiest grin on his face. I still don't get it. Excitedly he explains that he's going to buy me a Pug, but I have to pick it out. He felt that was important... I had to find the dog meant for me and only I could do that. Next day I begin my search by looking for breeders, asking local vets if they know of anyone with a litter of Pugs... the newspaper... I scour all sources and come up empty. I decide to look for another breed since Pugs seemed to be scarce in my area. Then, as a last ditch effort, I picked up a newspaper on my way to work one morning... a newspaper I never read before.... and there it is, an ad for Pug puppies that would be ready to go by January 9th. Faster than the speed of light I was on the phone making arrangements to see the puppies on New Year's Eve day. Todd was scheduled to work, so I was to go by myself and he would give me money for a deposit, just in case I found my dream Pug.

Directions in hand, I headed out for a far away from me suburb way south of Kankakee, IL, named Watseka. We had just had tons of snow and I was heading out for farm country.... which does not get plowed apparently and I drive a two seater convertible. Not a great car in the snow. I got lost three times, had to keep calling the nice lady for new directions... she was very patient with me. Eventually, I slid (literally!) into her driveway. She had a litter of 8 puppies, 2 of which were claimed, 2 of which were runts that weren't going anywhere for some time, leaving 4 for me to look at. She brought the four out, put them on the floor where they totally ignored me and went in the opposite direction... all except one. This little guy eyeballed me intently as I knelt on the carpeted floor.... then he headed right for me, climbed up on my knees, grabbed hold of my sweater for traction (badly snagging it, but who cares?!) and hoisted himself up onto my lap where he promptly fell asleep. I was sold.

He slept on my lap for three hours. I think the poor lady thought I'd never leave! Actually, she was amazed. She had never witnessed a puppy pick it's new mom quite like this guy had. Clearly, it was meant to be. I gave her the deposit and drove home on a cloud.

A little over a week later, Todd and I went to pick him up. Upon seeing how tiny he was, Todd was not as impressed as I was. My puppy (he had not been named, yet) came over to Todd and sat in front of him. Now, Todd was over 6 feet tall and the puppy looked up and up and up..... till he toppled over. Todd was sold. That night, my baby came home.

His name came about two weeks later. I just could not find the right name for him. At the time, I was a big Xena fan (still am) and one Saturday I was watching a character called Joxer on the show. Now, Joxer was the comic relief... a warrior wannabe with a heart of gold. The best friend you could have... and very goofy. As I watched, my puppy was wrestling with a pink horsey on the floor that was easily twice his size. I looked at the TV, and Joxer was trying to do battle with some foe.... then it hit me.... JOXER!!!! It was perfect. My boy had a name. Todd wanted me to name him after the god of war, but..... he's a little Pug! I didn't think so.....

JediPug came some time after when Todd bought me a lightsaber... we were playing with Joxer and he was very excited about the lightsaber, so Todd called him a "Jedi Pug." Joxer was almost one year old at the time, so... JediPug1 was born.

Now you know how my best friend and I came to be. Joxer is my baby in just about every way a dog can be. I never had kids, so he's my "son." I'd be lost without him and I can hardly believe that 9 years have gone by. I look at his graying whiskers and try not to think about life after Joxer.... I know someday, far, far away from now, I'll have to make another trip to the vet..... but, I will always be thankful to God Almighty for bringing Joxer into my life. Todd always said it was God who planted the seed in his mind, and I believe him. God bless you, too, Todd... wherever your life has taken you....


HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY JOXER!!!!! YOUR MAMA LOVES YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO