Featured Pugs

09/19/10

Diamond and Roxy came into rescue as owner surrenders in the middle of August  2010. They are a bonded pair but their owners lost their home and unfortunately could not afford to keep them. They had not been to the vet in a while but seemed to be healthy and happy girls.

What fun these two are to foster! I call them the comedy tag team! They play together, boss each other around, love each other up with kisses and sometimes it almost seems as if they are talking to each other! Truly a beautiful thing to see!

They were brought to the vet on 09/11/10 for their pre-surgery check up and blood work. Roxy made out pretty good. Thankfully her blood work and physical exam came back normal. Diamond was not as lucky. Her blood work shows that she is heartworm positive. This is a very serious condition and the treatment is not only costly but can be fatal. In addition, she has a mammary tumor that will be removed when she is spayed. The poor thing also has extremely rotten teeth and will most likely loose several.

Treatment for heartworm is a horrible thing for a dog to go through. They will inject her with an arsenic compound to kill the worms. This is a 2 day process. As you can imagine this is going to be very hard on her system and can also be extremely painful. She will have to kept calm and quiet for 60 days. The arsenic breaks up the worms and if she is active,  causing her heart rate to go up, it could cause her to throw a clot resulting in death. I went through this with another foster years ago and it was awful. They are very sick during treatment and cough a lot as the worms are dying and breaking up in their system.

The really heartbreaking thing about all of this is that we already had a wonderful family who wanted to adopt them both! Now poor Diamond has been put on medical hold and is forced to be separated from her loving Roxy. It just doesn't seem fair at all...

Both girls are scheduled to be spayed on 09/21/10. Beforehand Diamond will have xrays taken of her heart to make sure that there is no damage or enlargement, and that she is strong enough to withstand the procedure. Then in addition to being spayed, she will also have her tumor removed and the dental done on that day.

After surgery, both girls will be brought back here to their foster home in Royal Oak where they will rest and recover together. After recovery they will be transported to another foster home in Belmont, MI. >From here Roxy will meet her new family and Diamond will start her heartworm treatment.

We are all very saddened by this situation. Please keep these two sweet and beautiful girls in your thoughts and prayers. Any donation that you can make toward Diamond's care is greatly appreciated.

Please check back for updates.

 POST SURGERY UPDATE: 09/21/10

Poor little babies…. Diamond is really feeling rough.  She only has 6 teeth out of 42!  She was missing a bunch and I’m pretty sure they took out at least 6.  Anyway, she is really out of it and not moving around much. I made her a double soft bed and she is covered with a very light weight throw.  I got the pain meds down her but she has no interest in food.  Not even the turkey I made for them!

Foxy Roxy is feeling much better than Diamond.  In fact, she is now in a crate beside Diamond. She kept wanting to get to my other dogs who I am keeping in the back of the house for now while these girls recover.  Anyway, she does not want food either but at least is forced to lay down and rest.

Diamond has to see the doctor in 14 days.  It seems like they want to start heartworm treatment soon after.  Roxy is all set…. she’s actually glued together so no sutures to remove!

UPDATE 09/22/10

6am…. What a difference a few hours can make!  The girls woke me up at 1am and were already feeling better!  They both ate, went outside and are now resting quietly.


10/02/10

On 09/29/10 Roxy went to her new home where she has 3 other Pug siblings!!  I just spoke with her new mom today and she is doing great!  She is really starting to feel at home and has even started playing!  She is getting lots of love and hugs... just what all Pugs need!  She slept in today, burrowed way down under the covers at the foot of the bed!  Perfect for a cold rainy morning!

Diamond is here with me and maybe just a little lost without her Roxy.  She has been following me all around the house and really "talks" to me when I have been gone and come home.  She has also been sleeping in the big bed at night and of course loves it!  We start each morning with more love and hugs than I could ever measure!!  She has got to be one of the happiest Pugs that I have ever had here!!

Diamond will be transferred to a new foster home tomorrow.  On Monday she will be admitted to the hospital where she will begin heartworm treatment.  She will be in the hospital for 2 days and then released under the close supervision of her foster mom.  She will be very sick and require quiet and rest.  Please send out good thoughts and love for this little one... she has a very rough road a head of her. 


Update 10/04/10:

I just called the hospital and Diamond is doing well.  She had her first injection late this morning.  They said she seems comfortable and is not in any pain.  I asked them to monitor that closely and to be sure and give her whatever she needs to stay comfortable. Her vital signs are good and she ate a little.  She will have another injection tomorrow.

They did a fecal and she also has whipworm.  Poor baby is being treated for that too!  I will check on her again late tonight. Please keep her in your thoughts. More to follow...

Update 10/05/10 6:30am

I just called the hospital again and our girl did really well through the night!  No pain and it sounds like she is still her happy self.  The vet tech even commented on how sweet and outgoing she is!


She will have her second injection later this morning and may spend one more night in the hospital.  I will call again later this afternoon and keep you posted.

Update 10/05/10 7pm:

I called to check on Diamond and she is doing really well.  She had her second injection today and is sleeping it off.  They said that if her vital signs stay stable she will be able to go home tomorrow afternoon.

Once at home she will need to stay calm. The vet tech explained to me that the medication breaks up the heartworm and it is passed through the system via the lungs.  They can fill quickly and cause death if her blood starts pumping too hard.  What a tough thing to hear... Believe me, all it would take is you meeting this girl just one time and you would know why.  Please send well wishes for her... the next 30 days are going to be very critical.

Update 10/06/10 7am:
I just called the hospital and Diamond is doing very well. No problems through the night and she is resting comfortably.

10/06/10 8pm:

Thankfully Diamond was released from the hospital and is resting quietly at her new foster home.  I will update you as I get more information on her condition and plan of care.  Please check back and keep our girl in your heart.

Update 10/08/10:

Diamond is doing great so far!  When not resting quietly in her crate she is snuggled close to her foster mom.  She's a lover and I'm sure enjoys any cuddle time she can get!!

*** Roxy update 10/08/10 ***

I emailed with Roxy's new mom and it sounds like she is having the time of her life!  She went on an adventure to meet her new grandparents and ended up chasing a tennis ball around the backyard with 3 big dogs!  Her mom was a little worried at first but Roxy jumped right in and had a great time!  Needless to say she slept very well that night!!


Diamond update 10/11/10

Diamond is doing really well!  She is resting as much as possible and is still her sweet happy self!  She has a good appetite and is doing everything the doctor ordered!

Our girl is very vocal and will let you know when she wants attention!  In fact, she sang the woo woo song to her foster mom today in that soft velvety voice that she has!  You just can't hug this one enough!!

We are so very happy that she is on the road to recovery!  Please keep those good thoughts coming her way and any donation that you can make toward her care is greatly appreciated too!  Thanks and check back soon for updates!

10/15/10 Diamond update:
Here is our girl lounging in the Florida room!!

Update 10/19/10

Diamond spends her days lounging in the Florida room and giving her foster mom lots of love!  She has also become old chums with Phoebe who is also up for adoption.  They spent the morning snuggled up together just snoozing away the day!

Here is a picture of the 2 of them outside.  Diamond found her way into the Siberian Iris patch and thought it was a wonderful place to relieve herself! Of course Phoebe was soon to follow!  It sounds like they had quite a time in there!  Such beautiful and happy girls!  Diamond is the one on the right.

10/27/10 Diamond update:

Our girl is doing great!  She has really made good friends with Phoebe and they can often be found hanging out together!

Okay, this is the same Iris patch but if you close your eyes and imagine, you can almost see a pumpkin patch!  Boo!!

***10/31/10 Roxy Update***

Roxy is doing great in her new home!  Here are a couple of pictures that her mom sent of Roxy and her new family!

10/31/10- Here is Diamond sporting her fall jacket!

11/04/10 Diamond Update:

Life if good with Diamond and her pug family!  She is feeling well and even trying to boss Phoebe around! 

Unfortunately she will be admitted into the hospital tomorrow morning for her second round of heartworm treatment.  Please keep this sweet and wonderful baby in your heart!! We all love her so much and will be so happy when all of this is finally behind her!! 

11/05/10 Diamond update:

We are so happy!  Diamond got a clean bill of health today!!  Her heartworm test was completely negative!!  She goes back in 2 months for a recheck but in the mean time our girl is ready for her forever home!!!

11/08/10

***  DIAMOND HAS BEEN ADOPTED AND REUNITED WITH ROXY!!!  ***

 

I will update this as soon as I have details! :)

Update 11/09/10

Diamond is doing great in her new home!  Although I thought that her reunion with Roxy was going to be much more exciting than it actually was, lol! 

It seems that Roxy has become very attached to her new mom and although happy to see Diamond, she was much more concerned that she may have to

share her mom!! 

I'll call for an update later and let you know how these beautiful girls are doing!!

Update 11/13/10:

Diamond has settled into her new home with no problem!  She is quickly learning how much her new mom is going to spoil her and she loves it!!

Diamond's new home is also a part time daycare for small children.  This is an unexpected bonus for her because we have learned that she really loves those children!  With her sweet and loving personality it is a perfect match!

It sounds like her and Roxy are falling back into their old tag team routine!  They are back to playing together and sleeping together.  I'm going to bet that the next time I get an update they will be back to bossing each other around too!!

Stay tuned for more...

Update 11/24/10:

I spoke with the girls new dad the other day and he said the girls are both doing wonderful!  They have fallen back into their old routine with each other.  Diamond made the 5th dog for the family!  There are four girls and one boy!  He said the boy just sits back and takes it all in!

Tomorrow is the big turkey day!  Remember that Pugs love turkey too but no skin and no gravy!  Enjoy a healthy and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

12-19-10  I have updated a couple of times since Thanksgiving but seem to have deleted the posts by accident!!  The girls mom sent me some holiday pictures this morning and when I added them I lost some of the other info!  Here they are again - Diamond and Roxy - happy and loving each other up!!

01/30/11 - Just a quick note to let everyone know that Diamond had her post heartworm treatment vet visit and all is well!  Both girls are happy and loving life!!

02/03/11 – Well it sounds like the girls do not care for this big snow and cold weather! They hide when its time to go outside!  How sweet!  I don’t blame them one bit!!


Roxy still will not let her mom out of sight and has become her little shadow buddy! Diamond really loves the daycare children that come to the house and is always trying to give them kisses!  Such a happy little girl who loves to be loved!!