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...what a Dog day Afternoon it was. Despite rain, worldwide tragedies
and fear of fleas, diehard Minneapolis dogs covered at Loring
Park one Sunday in September to meet and greet other dogs, partake
in special festivities, and commiserate over how silly and fanatical
their human servants can act at times. |
Whilst Sofia was thrilled and excited as she stood at the gate
(top), she truly did not know what the day had in store for her.
Such as, the Tennis Ball Hall. Now, while we humans think the
idea of an entire court full of flying balls (and watch your heads,
lasses and blokes, a woman in a blue cat suit got nailed from
the automatic ball thrower rather ungracefully) and wayward dogs
seems like a lot of fun, it is rather intimidating for the smallest
dog in the lot. |
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We really did give it our all, but one final gang of large dogs
came pummeling in our direction, forcing a quick Sofi-scoop and
inducing a series of terrified shivers in the little lass.
And with that, following Sofi's relative disinterest in such fabulous
festivities as the Dead Fish Pond (plastic, no worries), the Shoe
Chew Review, the Boneyard and the Plush Toy Coliseum, we decoded
to embark on the major point for the day's pilgrimage, Sofia's
Bark Mitzvah. |
A rather spotty stranger tried to be encouraging, as did Sofia's
lady-in-waiting, as she tossed far too many tennis balls out,
only to be trampled by golden retrievers and german shepherds
each time as Sofia tugged on the leash like a passenger on the
Titanic.
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The spread was divine, the service was lovely, though Sofia was
concerned as to whether the biscuits were kosher. Since she didn't
like them anyway, it ended up being largely irrelevant.
But with the proper reverence and calm (I don't know who slipped
the pug valium, because I swear she is never this calm with strangers,
ever), Sofia partook in a lovely Hebrew blessing. |
Baruch attah Adonai
Elohenu Melech Ha'olam.
Sh'asa ha'celev ha'ze Sofia ci chaver
hecki tov v'reya l'ben adam ha'ze.
Sh'yehiye lcha mazon sh'atta ohev b'camut godola.
Sh'telech b'shalom, michutz l'sacana.
V'sh'tamid timtso derech ha'bayita. Ameyn. |
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All the reverence didn't seem to help much with socializing, however.
Mind you, Sofia is picky. She seems to have an affinity for small,
fluffy white dogs like her pal Herclues downstairs, and for any
dog who simply patently ignores her. She also does seem to want
to see other pugs, but she's very persnickety about them.
Here is the first other pug of the day, getting the all-important
butt-sniffing test.
...which he clearly failed, based on the look of distaste on Sofi's
mug. |
However, this pug, one very hilarious Mister Pugglesworth, fared
far better, as he did mainly ignore her. That given, Sr. Pugglesworth
and Sra. Sofia have a pending social engagement in the near future.
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| Bella, this tres magnifique little French Bulldog puppy was a
big hit with the owners, who thought she'd be a big hit with Sofia,
but Sofi clearly felt upstaged and wasn't real excited about wee
Bella in the least. In fact, she was downright impolite. |
Nor did she seem particularly excited by the dog fashion show.
However, given it was raining, and the dogs all looked terribly
grumpy and peevish, all of us were wet AND the fashion show seemed
to go well beyond the point of canine-loving lunacy, Sofi wasn't
very far off the mark. We weren't real excited about it either.
Truth be told, it was a bit disturbing.
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Not quite as disturbing as this particular piece of surrealistic
artwork, however, constructed out of Alpo. |
| And so, following the wishes of la Pugipessa (which coincidentally
happened to mesh with the wishes of her two humans), we bundled
up and headed home, waving good-bye to the crowds (elbow, elbow,
wrist, wrist, wrist) who were mesmerized by Sofia, as well as
her fine fashion sense. But a pug cannot always please the masses.
Now and then, she must tend to her own needs, set her fans aside,
and go back to her castle, and tend to her loyal throng of squeeky
toys. |
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