Tag Archives: Animal Behavior

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Pug luck

Photo by Sneaky Elbow on Unsplash

Are pugs truly lucky? I thought so. I came across an older pug that needed a home. I was excited and couldn’t wait for the day when her kind and wonderful owners would deliver her to me. When she arrived, with quite a bit of equipment and belongings, I was surprised. She was a funny little creature with an energy that was sweet and loving. She was round and strong and moved with purpose. Her step was jaunty and happy. I almost laughed out loud when I saw her and had to restrain myself, because I didn’t want to offend anyone.

I soon found out why Marie Antoinette collected pugs and had at least three and most of her ladies in waiting followed her suit and carried pugs with them. Pugs may be the most loving breed of dog in existence. I’m sure that this can be debated, but this is what I found. Pugs make you the center of their life and watch you raptly as if you are the most wonderful thing they had ever seen in their life. They are the best companions, because they love what you love and wait anxiously for you to include them. They also have thick luxurious coats that were meant for sinking your fingers into. Their fur is like thick velvet and wonderful for sinking nervous hands into. As you pet them, their breath deepens, becomes rhythmic and sedating. Instant stress relief is received from petting a pug.

My pug was 10 when she arrived. She inserted herself quickly into the household routine and established her dominance. Her eyes were huge and bottomless and she followed me everywhere and stared at everything I did. She was the living definition of companionship. She quickly overcame her transition and became an integral part of our life. She was funny. Whirling and twirling when it was mealtime and running to the kitchen whenever I headed in that direction. She loved all food and I had to be careful not to overfeed her. She had transients episodes of thickening due to her tendency to eat, eat, eat.

In ancient china there was a legend that the wrinkles on the forhead of pug signified the triad. The number of energy-birth, life and death, the past present and future, and the trinity. Stroking the wrinkles on a pug’s forehead, would bring good luck and manifest abundance. So, everyday, time is set aside to spend time with the pug and have a love fest for the betterment of my world and everyone else.

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Pug McSnore

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I walked in the door and the little old pug was snoring on the carpet in the entryway. It was a very exposed place to be sleeping and seemed a bit odd. She was a loyal little girl and probably fell asleep waiting for me. Her snoring was somnolent and every time I listened for more than a minute, I became hypnotized and started to doze myself. She was in a deep sleep and I called her name. She didn’t stir. I bent over and said her name more loudly and still she didn’t move an eyelash. I nudged her and she snored on. Then she stopped breathing. I pushed her and her body moved like a soaked sock full of sand. The thought rushed to my mind that she maybe she had passed, but hadn’t she been breathing just a moment ago when I walked in the door? Suddenly her legs stretched and she inhaled a deep noisy breath and got to her feet. She looked at me and wagged her tail. I proposed to her, “C’mon, let’s get something to eat.” She was off like a rocket and shooting to the kitchen.

mcsnoreThat’s a pug.  They love food.  They love fun.  They most definitely must have descended from the Sybarites.  My sweet little pug even has my scheduled memorized so she knows when it’s the best time to head into the kitchen.   She knows the routine and as soon as she hears my footsteps she’s there to greet me with her huge soulful eyes and dog smile. She spins with joy and snorts to the heavens that it’s time to eat!  She’s expectant and watches my every move. Anticipating a small morsel of something, anything.  She believes in equal opportunity. No food is discriminated against.  She gets chubby quick, so I hold back.  It’s so fun to feed her, but when she gets too round, she can barely waddle.

Ms. Pug McSnore likes to cuddle too. She makes a warm companion,  with a thick coat that feels like velvet. Her little body is warm and comforting and she makes a great winter cozy.  She’s the antidote to insomnia.  Take her to bed and you will quickly find that her deep breathing would seduce any insomniac into the  shadowy land of Nod.  If only physicians could prescribe pug snores rather than sedatives.




Taking a pug out in public like having a living  social network follow you everywhere you go.  Constant exclamations of “Oh, she’s so cute!”, ” I love pugs!”, “She’s so funny!”, ” Can I take her picture for my girlfriend?” follow you as you move through the store, the groomer’s, the dog park and even the parking lot. People are happy when they see a pug and by the end of my errands, I’m smiling unconsciously and I’m happy too.   The world is happy because of this one little Ms. Pug McSnore.

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Mockingbird Miss You

Photo by jurien huggins on Unsplash

There was time that I was lying awake at night for several hours in the middle of the night. It was a real bonafide case of  insomnia, caused by many things, but once I understood the physiology of it, it didn’t bother me too much. I always feel calmer when I understand a process and why it’s happening. I committed myself to rolling with it and figuring it out. It was new foray into human psyche and physiology; a couple of my favorite subjects. I figured that if I got really tired anyway, I would eventually pass out from the fatigue and my body would sleep. So I decided to make the best of it. Sometimes I’d get up and clean. For some reason it really made me feel clear as if I had cleaned my own inner psyche. Most of the time this would result in a fall into the restful crevice that I craved. I would drop off, my obsessions worked away with a dust rag and mop.

Another favorite was listening to complete albums. When I was young, before the internet, this was a fun way to spend the afternoon. Once the internet arrived and civilization moved into high speed living, I seemed not to have those hours anymore. Hours to just lay back and passively receive the magic of taking in a musician’s journey. Lying awake for hours in the night was the perfect setting for intense musical appreciation. I could float along on a timeless wave of notes drifting over my staring eyes and weighing down my eyelids until they were too heavy and closed with sleep.

The one thing that I enjoyed the most about this time, was a bird that took up residence in a tree near my window. My new guest was a mockingbird and he literally sang the night away. He would start his song at about midnight and carry on till about 4 am.  At first I didn’t realize it was one bird. Mockingbirds imitate other birds and don’t repeat a song during the course of their concert. It was amazing to listen to the endless variety of birdsong. His voice was loud and strong; so strong that he kept my neighbors awake too. The mockingbird made being awake in the middle of the night fun. It was wonderful just to lay back and listen to the endless birdsong and contemplate the mysteries of the world. As the spring progressed, his skills became more adept. His song became louder and more precise as he matured. He seemed to be somewhat of an opera star, loud and proud. I pictured him with a puffed up breast, his beak raised to the sky as his song rose into the night air reaching for the stars. He was really demanding, but seemed to deserve the attention he worked so hard for. He was consistent. He showed up on time. He was talented. I felt lucky.

Photo by Linh Pham on Unsplash

It went on like this for at least a month. My neighbors wearily complained that they were losing sleep and they didn’t love this bird like I did. I got it. I know not everyone appreciates gifts; even when it comes for free and has been there all along. I knew that most people when awakened in the middle of the night were disturbed and not delighted; unless it was a lover. Then suddenly, one night, the air lay silent. The night had been  abandoned by birdsong. The music that had provided entertainment through the wakeful early morning hours when most of the world slept and dreamed was no more. I was disappointed and a little disoriented. I really wished that he would come back. My ears seemed to ring with the silence that had once been filled with music and entertainment. Now I would have to move on and let the insomnia roll once more and take it’s course.

The next year another young mockingbird appeared, but his song was not as confident and his range seemed decreased. He sounded smaller and he progressed with time, but not to the heights of his predecessor. The  year following that, there was no return at all. Pretty soon I forgot about the bird. I forgot I had insomnia and life fell into a normal routine again. But sometimes, out of the blue, just like the night he appeared in my tree, the memory of him returns and those wakeful hours we spent together.  Him, joyfully entertaining the neighborhood and me, enjoying a concert when I needed it the most.

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My Bees

Bees are truly amazing. They are supposed to be insects, but they seem to be far evolved from an average insect. They have an advanced animal kingdom form of communication that indicates they have intellect and cognition. They are choosy who their friends and enemies are and base this on a variety of factors. For their friends they will make delicious honey and for their enemies they will terrorize them, to keep them away from their colony.




I was so excited when I found I have a colony of bees living under my shed. One day I opened my back door and looked down my alley, to see a swarm of bees furiously buzzing and colliding. After sometime the chaotic activity diminished and only a small portion of the original swarm lazily flew around the same location. Later on as I was walking past my shed I noticed them flying in and out of the bottom of the shed. This continued on for days and then finally honeycomb could be seen peeking from beneath the wall. Unfortunately, it wasn’t any honey coomb I could harvest. First, I didn’t have a bee suit and second, I knew nothing about gathering wild honey. But it was amazing to think that there was actually a thriving bee colony in my own backyard.

I thought about the new colony and what it meant. People liked to walk by my shed which was situated on a pretty alley in the center of the historic district of town. Would the bees chase them or would some person, thinking they were helpful, remove the prized colony?




It worried me. I knew that that honey bee populations were rapidly diminishing due to loss of habitat and farming practices in the United States. I didn’t want to be responsible for losing even one more of these small precious workers. I treasure the sweet treat they produce that’s loaded with immunity boosting properties. I use bee byproducts myself to prevent colds and infection. Propolis was one of my favorites. Propolis is derived from the materials that a bee deposits to build and protect the hive. It contains proven antimicrobial properties. It always gave me a boost, especially if I was feeling fluish.

Another great attribute of bees is their venom. One time I actually stepped on one of the bees that had scurried under my back door during the night. At first, I didn’t feel anything except anger and wanting to pulverize the small aggressor. How dare he come in and attack his host for the night?  Then suddenly a deep throbbing pain shot up my calf from my foot.  The next feeling was an odd numbing sensation and then the arthritic pain to my knee disappeared. For a full day, my knee was pain free.  My anger quickly morphed into bliss and wonder and  the miracle of that  little sting. I researched the phenomenon and discovered bee venom therapy; known as Apitherapy. I found out it had been around for thousands of years. Patients must be clear of venom allergies first and then it can be used to treat painful medical conditions. It has been proven to be quite successful for the relief of pain. Mellatin and Adolapin are two factors found in venom. Mellatin decrease inflammation.  Adolapin decreases inflammation too; but also contains pain blockers. The bee venom also increases the circulation and decreases swelling. I felt wistful and wished that people could understand how amazing bees were and what important contributions they make to our world.

Pretty soon the bees were making nightly visits to my house. They would crawl under the back porch door during the night. They were attracted to the light I left burning at night that cast a warm golden glow. They would crawl under the door and fly to the light, some would make it as far as the inner rooms of the house. At first I was a little frightened. I had seen old abandoned homes where whole walls had become a giant beehive. I knew that there had been several honey farms located in this part of town at the turn of the century and maybe their ancestral instincts were guiding them to reclaim their territory. I learned to capture them without causing harm and send them on their way.





I really love bees. I love that they make honey and I love how they are yellow like sunshine and soft and fuzzy. I think their stinger is cool and amazing- the perfect weapon. I could easily become a throwback from the agrarian days of my city and participate in telling the bees; a ritual believed to bring good health and fortune. Families would ritually tell the bees of new babies being born, deaths in the family and other significant changes to the family. If the bees were kept in the know, they would stay and continue to make honey. But I knew I couldn’t let them start living in my house. So I learned how to block them. I found a way to block their entrance and they don’t come in anymore.

So, I had bees and I love that. I say had, because since I published this article, the bees were removed.  Occasionally, I’ll see one small lost bee hovering about, but the colony is definitely gone.  I’m glad they were here though and proud they chose my shed and  built a thriving colony. Luckily they were under the shed and not in it. I wish they had been capable of being domesticated and viable companionship like a cat or dog, but they are what they are and close companions they are not. So I enjoyed them from afar and helped them as much as I could.  Hopefully they were moved to a bee farm where they can fly through the sunlight on warm lazy days and be free to  make honey without being threatened.