The Coziest Puppy

One morning in summer, my sister and I looked out the window into our backyard as we always did. We saw the same sight we had seen each morning of the summer: grass and some birds bathing in the small birdbath. It was always a quiet scene.

But this day was different.

Today in our backyard there was the cutest pug dog running excitedly in circles! We blinked the sleep out of our eyes. Surely it couldn’t be. But there he was, kicking up the grass while the birds looked on quizzically.

“Mom, Dad, do we have a dog?!” we called from the window, before bounding down to meet the newest member of our family, a rescue named Pugsley who found his way to our home and stayed. A new love was born as we all became enamored of the funny, spunky, silly, warm, open, devoted and faithful pug personality. When our neighbors who owned a pug couldn’t keep theirs, a cute puppy named Buddy, we happily enlarged our family to have 2 loveable pugs, who kept us in stitches at their antics, and the way they wore their hearts on their sleeves. We had never gone looking for a dog, but it seems they managed to find us.

I like to think our pugs have not only changed our lives, but made us better people too. More in the present. More aware of the importance of family time. More open to love as pugs do, with their whole heart. There are few sights more cozy than a pug getting ready to cuddle or nap, and that was the genesis of this sweet little tale, a bedtime story for pugs and kiddos alike. I loved Buddy’s routine of getting his little stuffy, dragging it into his dog bed, and, after pets and cuddles, drifting off to dreamland. What did he dream of? I wondered. The story came to me as a poem with the cadence of a lullaby, and one I hope will calm you down after a long day, or help the little ones in your life drift off to dreamland. 

When it came to illustration, few artists draw cute animals with more heart than Natalia Gubanova, who also illustrated The Storied Forest’s “Sheba the Alley Cat,“ “Pinkie and Polo,“ and “The Pearl Caper” mysteries. Natalia drew Buddy as cozy as could be, and kept the story sweet, but not saccharine, with just the right amount of sweetness.

And of course, I want to thank both of our pugs, and especially the real Buddy, for being such an inspiration. ❤️

I hope you get cozy and enjoy “Bedtime for Buddy”!

Love,
Lauren