Moe - A Pug on the Move   02/02/10

Moe is proud to be from Michigan - that's Detroit, Michigan to be exact. Otherwise known as "Moe - town." Moe was planning to spend all his days enjoying the Rock City, but his owners launched him into an adventure he could never have imagined when they left him in the hands of the Michigan Pug Rescue (aka "MPR"). After a few months with his foster family and pug foster brother, Chang, Moe was ready to be adopted. This is when my husband and I come into the picture: a couple Northwestern grad students ecstatically awaiting the arrival of the first dog either of us has ever owned. After months of planning and making sure we were ready for the responsibility, we found Moe online and immediately knew he was ours. Luckily the Michigan Pug Rescue also agreed that we would be the right home for Moe. As soon as we heard the news we jumped in the car and excitedly drove the 300 miles from Chicago to Detroit ... little did we know how our lives would change!
We walked in the door of Larry & Kathy's home (the great people who run MPR) and saw the room was packed with happy, playful pugs. We wondered to ourselves, "which one would be joining our family?" Then Larry said, "here's Moe," and, just like that, Moe became a part of our lives forever. Having never owned a dog before, we were definitely a little nervous about how we would stack up as dog parents. It certainly didn't help our jitters when Moe's foster parents informed us that he wasn't the best car rider. Poor little Moe cried all the way to Chicago, but after 5 hours he had successfully made the move to the Land of Lincoln.
It took a little time for Moe to teach us how to take care of him. As his note from his foster Mom said, "I like to be good, but sometimes I don't listen to you, just be patient, I do listen eventually!" The first week, Moe didn't listen too well. We didn't have a backyard and would spend hours getting Moe to go potty on the leash (tough to get used too if you are accustomed to your freedom in that department!). After multiple days of 2 hour potty sessions, in the middle of finals week no less, I was in tears thinking we might have to return Moe. Luckily someone was looking out for us because as soon as we returned home our rescue outreach person, Susan, gave me a call. She knew exactly what to say to assure me that Moe would be able to adjust and become a part of our family, it was just going to take some time. Thanks Susan to your inspirational phone call!
Our routines and Moe's routines eventually did get in sync and Moe became a fast favorite of our friends. Moe even provided advertising for MPR! Our friends Lindy and Duane were planning to get a dog, and considering a pug as an option. Moe must have sensed an opportunity because as soon as they came over, Moe climbed up on the couch behind Duane and strategically rested his chin right on Duane's shoulder. Needless to say, Moe closed the deal that night for a pug. Lindy and Duane also decided to adopt from MPR and brought home cutey-pie Hamilton. You have to hand it to Moe for securing himself a pug friend and playmate! (makes you wonder if pugs are smarter than we think) We all lived happily in our apartment until graduation. Moe even grew to love car rides (especially since they normally involved a visit to Hamilton's house). Then Moe bid farewell to the beaches of Lake Michigan and made the move with us to Seattle.
Now we're in Seattle for good and Moe seems happy to be settled here in the Emerald City. He likes a lot of things about living here: the eco-friendliness (he is a "recycled dog" after all), the great hiking (no hills, please), the dog-friendly companies (Amazon is dog heaven), and even the dog friendly bars (but not on a school night). He is not a fan of the rain, but Moe has seen enough cities to know that no place is perfect.
If you asked him, I think Moe would probably say that his favorite thing in the world is meeting new people. Moe can hang with anyone and hasn't met a dog, person, or even cat (!) that he doesn't like. Moe even enjoys going to the vet. It doesn't make a difference if they poke and prod him, he just loves the socializing. Moe definitely is not a perfect dog. He is stubborn, he cannot fetch and he has a yappy bark that he breaks out when he's trying to boss around big dogs. But, he is a great cuddler, a constant comedian and we could not imagine our lives without him.

Olive