Wordy Wednesday...A rant about Stuart Little...

Pug Mama here...First off, our apologies to Eduardo for taking yesterday off. I was all stressed out about this Stuart Little bloke. Now, in case you aren't on FaceBook and didn't see all this commotion about Stuart Little, let me explain. It started innocently enough on Saturday morning when I updated my FB status to something about looking forward to that day's pug meetup. Next thing I know, I get a chat message from SL asking me about the meetup and saying how they didn't have those where he lives (I think Leeds, England) and how he wishes they did. Then he asked me to let him know when I posted the pictures from the meetup so he could see them. I have chatted with quite a few pug people from all over the world and they have all been so nice and complementary about my pictures. So that night when I got my pictures uploaded, I wrote a note on SL's wall letting him know we had a great time and the pictures were posted. For some reason, he chose this picture of Harley to comment on...Now here is the series of comments made on this picture...

Vikki Smith wrote at 7:51pm on March 7th, 2009
Sir Harles being shy...

Stuart Little (Leeds) wrote at 7:55am on March 8th, 2009
i have to say alot of these so called pugs (meaning they are not full breed) are far to over weight,its not nice to see and the poor dogs don`t look happy..sorry

Vikki Smith wrote at 11:43am on March 8th, 2009
Stuart: most of these pugs ARE full breed, some of them are a bit overweight, but I can assure you they are very happy. A good number of these pugs are rescued pugs, 5 of our 7 are rescues, and they are living good lives now. They all have a great time socializing together at these meetups! Sorry you're not able to see that in these pictures...

Amy Aberg Mclelland (Birmingham, AL) wrote at 12:04pm on March 8th, 2009
I just LOVE black pugs! Mine is sitting in the sunbeam right now ... his favorite place (after sitting at my feet!)

Vikki Smith wrote at 12:05pm on March 8th, 2009
Our black pug, Jasmine, also loves sitting in the sunbeams! Unfortunately it doesn't look we're going to see any of those today :-(

Stuart Little (Leeds) wrote at 12:08pm on March 8th, 2009
sorry if my comment upset you, but i have seen pugs from alot of different country`s and they all look so diff from the english pug, no disrespect,its just a comment, i get good and bad on my pics, i learn not to take it to heart, i find people only say what the see..

Vikki Smith wrote at 12:14pm on March 8th, 2009
Well, just remember that a lot of these pugs came from bad situations. Two of ours were nothing but skin and bones when they came to us and they have thrived in our care. I get very upset thinking about how anyone could mistreat these little loves and we are making sure they have the best lives possible. And I know our friends take good care of their pugs as well. The only unhappiness our pugs feel is when I go to work...they can't stand being away from me!

Betty Pink (Montreal, QC) wrote at 12:17pm on March 8th, 2009
Hi Stuart,Just because a pug deviates from competitive standard does not mean he cannot be full breed. Personally, I have one who's 22 pounds of pure muscle on a very large but square frame, and two more whose legs are too short, for an overly long frame.On the other hand, I will agree that a lot of pugs wind up overweight; seems like little piglets have no "full" switch. But the guys in here certainly look happy, IMHO...

Glenda Mcfarlane (Regina, SK) wrote at 1:44pm on March 8th, 2009
Pugs are like people they are going to variate from the "norm" I say we just love them for who they are, and be they full bred or not to short or to tall, to chubby or to thin, they are our babies and they are here for us to love and cherish:))

Leah Hane Conyers (Phoenix, AZ) wrote at 2:30pm on March 8th, 2009
I think alot of pugs are over weight because of the owner..has nothing to do with the pug being a full pug or not.. the rescues sometimes come very thin.. or very fat.. depends on who was or wasn't feeding them. I have a 20 lb pug, that is like yours betty pink.. pure muscle.. she runs like the wind at the dog park.. people often comment that they have never seen a pug run like that.. it's all in how the owner takes care of them.. my newest rescue pug was a whopping 25 lbs.. she is now down to 23.. learning to " run " and looking better every day.. all in how they are cared for! just my opinion..

Glenda Mcfarlane (Regina, SK) wrote at 2:36pm on March 8th, 2009
My girl pug Shylo is 22 pds and my male pug Tucker is 19. Shylo actually eats less than Tucker but she is still bigger than him. When we take then to the dog park Shylo has no trouble keeping up with Tucker she is just a bigger pug than him. I agree that some pugs are overweight due to human neglegance, but again are they not like people some have a higher motabalism than others?? Just a question Im not really sure.

Rick Acord wrote at 4:23pm on March 8th, 2009
I've yet to meet a pug that I didn't love.

Glenda Mcfarlane (Regina, SK) wrote at 4:25pm on March 8th, 2009
Well said:))

Dennis Smith wrote at 4:44pm on March 8th, 2009
Pugs, like people, all come with their own individual set of genetic markers that give them their own set of personality and characteristic traits. Some are born to run and play while others would just assume be stuck to your lap all day long. Some are built with naturally muscular frames (like our dog Ernie "Moose") and others are built like a big ball of fluff (like our dog "Pippin"). Some are long and lean ("Eddie") and others are petite (like our little "Bernice" => Ernie's sister). Stuart, your definition of "Pug" seems narrow.Pug = Love

Karin Bailey Gilstrap (Mobile, AL) wrote at 5:15pm on March 8th, 2009
I love my babies no matter what they look like!

Kelly J. Jeffrey (Elon) wrote at 4:41pm on March 9th, 2009
I am confused/pissed as to why these comments were made on the photo of my baby Harles. He's 100% purebred pug, and completely at a healthy weight, per BOTH vets he's visited. Some of your moms should have taught you "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." These albums are supposed to be about appreciating each others' photos, not putting your 2 cents in and judging.

Kelly J. Jeffrey (Elon) wrote at 4:42pm on March 9th, 2009
And Stuart, you need to get a life- "So called pugs?" What kind of idiot elitist are you? Grow up.

Vikki Smith wrote at 4:51pm on March 9th, 2009
And one last thing, Stuart, you say you get good and bad comments on your pictures...well, yours is the first negative comment I have EVER received on my pictures. I would not post any pictures where I thought the pugs were being mistreated in any way and I was there and know for a fact that all of the pugs had a great time. And this was the first really nice weather we've had for the pugs to get some good exercise outside...Kelly: I think Harles looks great! He now has a wonderful loving home and he is being well taken care of!

Jennie Lewis Dove (Washington, DC) wrote at 10:12pm on March 9th, 2009
Pugs have the most delightful personality which is inherit to the breed. A dog can be pure bred or registered and not meet the stand for the breed. This doesn't mean the dog is not pure breed just not show quality. I show dogs and breed show quality Cairn Terriers. My pug though no show quality is a pure bred pug and has their awesome personalities. If you are not a handler and interested in showing it makes no difference that they don't meet the AKC standard. Your work to rescue is admirable and much needed. I don't believe anyone was trying to be insulting just maybe poor choice of wording. Bless you all for the love of your dogs !

Dennis Smith wroteat 10:39pm yesterday
Thank you Jennie. As for that other guy...I was raised to hold my tongue if I did not have anything nice to say. Too bad he was not blessed with parents that believed in that axiom.

I then tried to de-friend SL, but discovered that he had already de-friended ME! That annoyed me, so my dear, sweet hubby who was upset by the whole thing as well as trying to stick up for me, sent SL a message saying "I de-friend you before I friend you". I told him he shouldn't have done that, but it made him feel better. Well, then he got a response back:

I AN`T ASKED FOR YA FRIENDSHIP, IS THIS COS OF MY TRUE COMMENT I MADE ABOUT THE USA PUGS BEING CROSS BREEDS.. SEE MY PROFILE I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THINGS TO SAY??? YOUR PUGS OR SO CALLED PUGS ARE MIXED WITH WHAT EVER, WHEN YOU COME FROM A FAMILY THAT HAVE HAD PUGS FOR 20 YRS YOU KNOW WHAT A PUG LOOKS LIKE, YOU ALSO DONT BUY THE BULL SHIT OF THEY ARE RESCUE??? COS IF THEY WAS ANY VET WOULD PUT THEM TO SLEEP AT THAT SIZE OR ANIMAL RESCUE WOULD TAKE THEM AWAY ITS CRUEL AND ITS WRONG, AND YOUR WIFE STARTED THIS SHIT SO WHY YOU GOT YA SEN INVOILVED, IT IS NOT YOUR BUISNESS UNLESS YOU ARE INTO MIXING BREEDS AND THINK A STAFFY AND A PUG MAKE A GOOD BREED, THEN YOU ARE VERY WRONG....

I really don't know what made this illiterate idiot so mean. Like I said, I have talked (through FB) to many people around the world who have never had anything negative to say to me about anything, least of all my pugs. Why this guy would be so nasty it just beyond me.

I really hate conflict and tension. I have always tried my best to be nice to everyone and I don't understand people who would be mean to someone because of their own narrow-mindedness. This whole episode stressed me out, especially when Denny got that message back from SL yesterday. He was going to go off on the guy, but I convinced him to let it go, so he just posted a note about it and directed it to all his pug friends. We have received all sorts of wonderful responses from true pug people. But my favorite response has got to be Salinger's blog today! If you haven't already read it, please go there now and read it!

All right, enough of that. I really am glad to have such good pug (and non-pug) friends! Thank you all for your friendship! Now for some cute pictures of the Pug Posse enjoying yesterday's warm weather. It was cold again today :-bPug hugs and kisses!

Vikki and the Pug Posse