Huggie is the subject of my animated desk calendar.  His mother, Bonnie, is featured at the top of this blog.  That picture was taken when she was 9 mos. old. 

Hug was born on Veteran’s day so I almost named him GI Joe.  He has a sister and they would cuddle up together but when I approached their bed, their little heads would pop up.  They were so alert, cute and sweet, that I’d call them Huggie Face and Kissie Bear.  Hence, Huggie and Kissie. 

I have found that many people give a name to their pet and then the name evolves.  Huggie has been here for 14 years so he has quite a collection of names: Hug, Huggie, Hugabugga, Hug Bug, Huckabucka, The Bug,  etc.  He knows all his names and seems to forgive me for them.  He’s quite affectionate with me.  He rubs his head on my chest and washes my face with his kisses.  He has the best kisses!  Not too wet, soft and sweet. 

He is cantankerous with my other dogs and he can be with people.  He gets protective of me.  I think it’s more a case of “I belong to him and so you need to stay away”. He loves children.  I don’t know if he really likes children or if he has figured out that they are a constant source of food.   After all, children snack frequently and they can be counted on to drop crumbs if not whole snacks! 

Hug had quite a show career.  He finished his championship quite quickly.  He was shown by me and his co-owner.  Before we knew it, Huggie was winning the breed and getting pulled out in the group and then placing in the group!  You may have seen group judging if you watched Westminster on TV.  The high point of his career was when he won the toy group and when he won the breed at a specialty show.  Huggie was nationally ranked #4 Papillon in breed points in 1995, I believe.  Huggie did not love showing, he could be quite perverse.  We would stand outside the ring and he would wag his tail and bait beautifully.  We’d go into the ring, I would call his name, and he would look the other way.  Hug won, no more shows for him.

He is also the sire of several champions.  They were all quite pretty in my opinion.  You could count on pretty heads and beautiful straight silky coats from him.  Below is a picture of one of his daughters, Rosie.   Rosie is a family favorite and she is more like Bonnie, Hug’s mother, in temperament.  She is a lovely example of a Huggie daughter. 

I love him best for his loyal loving nature.  He has always followed me around the house and when I am busy, he lays down and watches everything I do.  If there is such a thing as reincarnation and Hug returns as a human, he will be born knowing how to do countless mundane household tasks such as loading the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen. 

The Bug is moving more slowly these days and he sleeps deeply now, but he is My Bug and I love him more than ever.