Happy Birthday, P.J.

Yesterday, October 30th, was P.J. Butler's 8th birthday. For those of you who don't know, P.J. is like a child to us...it is really kind of sad how spoiled this dog is. Everyone said when Georgia Anne was born, P.J. would live the life of a dog, and not like a person (like he was accustomed). Well, everyone was wrong!! This 27 lb., fur-shedding, alien-looking pug dog is still the king of this house. I thought I'd share a little bit about P.J....he is a rather interesting character!

We joke and say P.J. is really a cat because he has used 8 of his 9 lives. I believe it started the day he was born, Halloween Eve. A black cat must have run in front of his mother as he was being born, because as you will see, he has had his share of bad luck. It all started when he was about 6 months old, he ran after my car at the radio station and was "blown off" of Hwy 229 by two vehicles. He had to have his knee and hip replaced. Then a few months later, he had two different surgeries, hernia and neutered. Then there was the time he jumped off a 12 foot deck because he had to go to the bathroom (yes, there were stairs, but he decided to sky-dive for the heck of it). He has fallen into the great Tallapoosa River and was swept downstream before he luckily made his way back to shore. He is allergic to the rabies vaccination, as well as the K-9 Advantix flea treatment, that apparently usually only affects cats. Then, the most famous story of all, the electrocution. This one I have to tell the entire story, since he is well known for "coming back from the light." One morning as I was getting ready in the bathroom, I heard a loud crash in the living room. The cat and him were chasing each other and they knocked the lamp off the table. At this point, mad, I went to see the damage, and that is when I smelled the worst smell I have ever smelled. I heard a thumping under the table, and there was P.J. hog-tied by the lamp cord which was also running through his mouth. Scared I would too get shocked, I pulled the cord from the wall. There lied little P.J. dead. He wasn't breathing, moving...anything. I frantically called Michael, crying, telling him what had happened. He was on the way home. I went back and at this point he was unconscious, but breathing very shallow and short breathes. I called the vet, and was told to get him there right away. As I scooped him up in a towel, and headed out the door, Michael came driving up. We rushed him to the vet, where they were waiting on us. We waited and after a few minutes, Dr. Davidson, came and told us it didn't look good for P.J. His mouth was burned and there was fluid in his lungs. She told us to come back after lunch and she'd let us know if he had made any progress. After lunch, we headed back expecting the worse. She was waiting, and said, "I have never seen anything like this. He is fine." She brought him to us and there he was, looking better than ever. Apparently, according to the vets, it was a text book example of some kind of rare instance where they snap out of their "sickness." We look back now and laugh, but it was an awful experience. Needless to say, he has since settled down. He is now deaf, and sleeps about 23 hours a day. When he is not sleeping, he is snorting, sniffing and searching for food. He is the best little dog and he lets the kids do anything to him. Which leads me to the next thing.....

P.J. Butler's Birthday Party

About a week ago, I told Georgia P.J. had a birthday coming up. For those of you that don't know, birthdays and especially birthday parties are very important to Georgia. She said very sadly when I told her P.J.'s birthday was approaching, "Poor, poor P.J. He has never had a birthday party. I think we need to have a party for him and invite Coach Dollar's pugs." Coach Dollar is Tallassee's head football coach, who has 5 pugs. Georgia and Coach Dollar struck up a friendship when he moved here last year, and she loves his dogs. I joking said, "OK" thinking she would soon forget. Silly me to think she might forget. The next day she asked so many times about calling Coach Dollar that I finally caved in. The invitation was extended, and Coach Dollar, his wife Kim, and two of his pugs, Ruby and Suki, accepted the invitation. We went to Wal-Mart and Georgia picked everything out for the party. Pink and white cupcakes, Superman plates, cheese curls, and Coke. We also had to make party favors for Suki and Ruby. Basil, Tori's pug, even made the trip from Birmingham to attend the party. A fun time was had by all and here are the pictures from the party.....

(I know a lot of you now think we are totally CRAZY...and we are!)

The party food, drinks, and favors...

Michael (holding P.J. and Basil) and Coach Dollar (holding Suki and Ruby)

Kim eating a cupcake as Ruby begs for another...

Suki about to enjoy her cupcake...

Suki.....

Ruby....

Jack and Coach Dollar....

Everyone who attended: Nana, Jack, P.J., Michael, Georgia Anne, Basil, Kim, Suki, Ruby and Coach Dollar.

My mom laughed and said she thought she had finally met someone who was crazier about their pugs that we were...The Dollars!! LOL Thanks to Rod and Kim for coming to P.J. Butler's 8th birthday! It meant so much to Georgia Anne. She was so proud of his party!