Pug life.

Two years in to this rescue stuff and I figured it was time to start writing all of this down. I've had my personal blog for a few years now, and even though I don't post that much on it, I figured I owed it to people not to let rescue take that over as well. So far, all of my other social media outlets have been taken over by this lifestyle choice that seems to have surfaced in my life. Twitter has all but been abandoned. Instagram and Facebook are now full of pictures and stories of pugs, those needing a savior, those who have been saved and the random funny meme that may or may not be animal related. This will focus on the day to day. My thoughts, my experiences and for lack if a better phrase, my soapbox for shouting at the moon. Jay's Memoirs, if you will.  I should have been doing this from the beginning;  yeah, it happens. So I figure now is just as good of a time as any. Two years in.  Then I can just bounce back to things and stories of the past, and work them in to this story, my story, as I see fit.
Lise, a very good friend of mine and blogger, once told me that for her, she's done better with short and to the point blogs. It works for her. Sadly for you, I don't think I could ever be short and to the point on anything.  It's amazing that I survived on twitter as long as I did with that pesky 140 character limit they have. I mean really...  Who can make their point in 140 characters?!  Surely not me-  I'm long winded.  Always have been.  I should probably scrap the blogging idea now and go straight for a memoir in more of a book format. Who knows, maybe someday.

I'm 36 years old.  Shocking, I know.  I feel closer to 80 and act closer to 18 with the mentality and humor of a 12 year old.  I feel like my life this far has been pretty amazing; changing every single day. The person I am is not the person I was, or who I thought I'd be 10 years ago.  Grew up in a small town, moved off to Memphis not long after graduation, moved back home, moved back to Memphis and on to Destin Florida.    I've been a radio disc jockey, a banker, ran restaurants and was a personal assistant to an actress for years-  None of that prepared me for rescue.  It wasn't planned, thought about, or even looked in to.  It just happened.  And boy did it happen!  It hits you like a ton of bricks and changes every aspect of your life. Some for good, some not so good but all of it leaving you with a sense of a higher good; like your life has meaning finally. Through the good and the bad, the ups and downs I can say, I wouldn't change it for the world.  I've made friends, lost friends, made enemies and ticked off my fair share of people. I've laughed and cried and I've held on to long for the lives that the world has tossed away-  and everything I do now is for them.  Pugs, pigs, horses and any other creature that the world has forgotten about or realized that life was more important without them.  I am not superman:  and yet the world loves to put me on a level to make it seem like I am.  I'm no different than anyone else. I'm just full of compassion. That's the only way I can describe this. I've heard it all-  why pugs?  Why not starving children or the elderly, Alzheimer's or cancer?  Why pugs?  Well, I think there's a pretty logical answer there. Ever heard that saying, we can't save them all?  Or, it takes a village?  These apply here.  If I truly sat down and searched my heart, I'd find amazing compassion for each one of these causes. And knowing me, I'd try my damnedest to save them all. Truth is, it DOES take a village. We can't do it alone and we can't save them all, even though we want to. I hope that others out there share in my battles. I hope that there's people out there fighting for the elderly, feeding a starving child and comforting an abused wife. Those are our teammates. All standing together trying to do a small part to make this world a better place. Trying to make a difference. Trying to lead by example and all in all, be less of an asshole. This is my platform.  I am a rescuer.  I try to take these babies and breathe new life into them.  To show them love and compassion, get them the medical care they need, provide them a home, food, a warm bed and teach them that it's gonna be ok. I see it all. The best and worst of humanity; and I don't do it alone. Actually, I couldn't do a third of what I do if Jeremy wasn't right beside me. His heart is pure gold. He loves these animals just like they were family- and he doesn't have to.  Like me, Jeremy was raised differently. We are from the south-  where a dog lives out back, maybe in a kennel, you feed it once a day and make sure they have fresh water.  Kinda sounds like prison, doesn't it?  My mom is an animal lover and I know that's where I got this. Her compassion for everything is unmatched. In fact, I'm pretty sure  that my mom is the only person in my family who doesn't think I've completely lost my mind in becoming a rescuer.  She loves it.  And I love her!
Jeremy has quit working a 9-5 job to stay home full time with the animals.  From the time he gets up till the time he goes to sleep, it's feeding dogs, feeding horses, changing out  fresh water, cleaning up poop, reprinting a baseboard that Charlie has chewed up... Again...   Taking them outside, bringing them inside, running this one to the vet for a runny nose, this one for a runny butt, and still finding the time to get down in the floor with them and throw a ball across the room or just holding one that's wondering why his family tossed him away.  They all wonder that. Hell, we wonder that.  Not all of them come from bad situations. We see it all. The families who are forced to surrender-  trust me, watching an elderly woman say goodbye to her best friend of 13 years, kicking and screaming as she's being put into a home is NOT my idea of a good time. You'd be surprised how often we see other rescuers casting judgement just because it's easier-  whatever. We aren't here to judge. Only to help.  Only to pick up the pieces we can and look ahead to tomorrow.  To comfort when we can, and go the extra mile to see the whole picture and be as supportive as we can be, or, in a bad situation, get the animal as far away as quickly as possible for the sake of the animal.

Our lives are much different today than they were yesterday.  I think they are better.

I'll be writing this straight from the heart. Just how I feel and how I speak.  I'll use bad language on occasion.  It's not to offend, or to upset, it's just who I am.  I don't use it regularly.  If you're a grammar nazi, let me apologize now.  There will be plenty of opportunities for you to correct me. I write just as I speak. With passion and broken sentences.  It's just who I am.  I'm glad you've found it interesting enough this far-  there's plenty more to come.  My thoughts and my life. This life, this PUG life.  Pug rescue life.  Add in the Jay twist and you have it-  50 shades of spayed.

~Jay