This Pug’s Life Totally Changed … When She Started Wearing Socks
She went from being fearful to confident.
Leia's drawer is stuffed with the kind of socks that make dreams comes true.
When she slips on a pair, she's Supergirl.
Or Spider Girl. Or, well, just something pink and smiley.
In fact, everything about this 14-year-old pug changes when she's in her socks. Her owner, Niki Geroni-Lajoie, suggests socks are like a switch ...
... that suddenly flicks on.
"She went from being fairly immobile and fearful to walk across the floor to trundling around with a lot of confidence just by putting on her socks," Geroni-Lajoie explains. "She helps put them on. She knows they help her."
While there's a flight of imagination in every pair of socks, Leia's need for them is grounded in reality. The floors of her Toronto, Canada, home can be tough to hold onto for an old pug.
"Last fall we ripped out our carpets in our condo and installed the wood flooring and found that she was slipping and sliding and not getting the hang of the floors at all," Geroni-Lajoie says. "I was worried she was going to sprain something, being so old and wobbly already."
"She will stand on the living room rug and bark for me or cry, trying to get around if the socks aren't on," Geroni-Lajoie adds. "She runs around and you can tell she's really happy and waggy."
If only Leia could have worn socks for every step of her road in life.
Two years ago, she was a senior pug looking to get any traction she could in life. Rescued from a shelter by Under My Wing Pug Rescue, Leia and her brother needed a real home.
Geroni-Lajoie adopted them both. Leia's brother has since died. But a couple more rescued siblings have helped Leia get her groove back.
"Leia is old so she sleeps a lot, but when she's awake she's very opinionated," Geroni-Lajoie says. "She's feisty and goofy and loves attention more than any other dog I've ever known. She'd give her kingdom for a head pat, that's for sure."
But, of course, nothing comes between Leia and her socks.
You can read more about Leia and her family on the Facebook page for Peachy Keen Pets.