Check it out!  In my searches for cool pet carriers, I came across a bunch I really liked on Shop.com.  Until the end of the month, you can get discounts online by entering a coupon code in the order page:

$5 off an order of $50 or more:
Coupon Code: SHOP5

$10 off an order of $100 or more:
Coupon Code: SHOP10

$25 off an order of $250 or more:
Coupon Code: SHOP25

Check out their pet section: Pet Supplies at SHOP.COM>

This one isn’t nearly as stylish as the other pet carriers I found, but it is clearly built with the pet’s health in mind rather than fashion & really, that’s the most important criteria.  For less than $40, I’m not complaining!

Is that gorgeous or what?  It only goes up to size Medium which means 15 to 20 pounds or less.  I’ll have to throw the pug on the scale & see what kind of winter weight he’s rocking these days.

They have really come a long way with dog carriers.  My pug doesn’t like to be schlepped around much (far too wriggly for that!), but when we fly I feel much safer having him tucked under the seat in front of me where I can see him than under the plane in a  cargo hold.

This one might be too girlie for Piggy:

Dog toys come in all shapes & sizes these days & many of them seem more designed to please the owner than the dog himself. Some great ones have come out over the last few years, like the tennis ball chucker, but what makes that great is its simplicity. Dogs don’t need complicated toys. No matter how much money I spend on COOL NEW toys, my dog has his two stand-bys that will always take first place in the toy contest: dirty socks & tennis balls.

He can chew through the tennis balls fairly quickly, so I don’t mind spending a little extra to buy balls specifically for dogs if they’re made of tougher material & use dyes that aren’t going to be harmful after many many hours of salivating all over them. But I’ve bought several packs of these “tough” balls & found they only extended the life of the ball by a few hours at best. I’d rather buy more regular tennis balls, in that case & I’ll probably save money too.

The other long time favorite? Dirty socks. It doesn’t matter that I’ve set aside special socks just for my dog. It doesn’t matter that I’ve tied knots in old grey woolies or even stuck a tennis ball in the bottom of a few of them. The Ugly Pug needs to conquer ALL socks in our household. The tennis ball sock combo was popular for a while, but if he catches a whiff of my gym socks, he must have them. There’s no fighting it (well, I suppose a hamper would fight it quite nicely).

I used to try & save special socks from being chewed & shaken within an inch of their lives, but at this point the trade-off of happy pug or non-gummy wet socks is worth it. He gets so excited & pounces on the socks, smiling away. How can you say “no” to that face?