Wednesday, July 7, 2010
We had a very nice, but low key Fourth of July weekend. Benny is still on the mend and we spent a lot of time with the pugs just relaxing around the house.
Benjamin had some expected inflammation from his surgery. He sounded like a very congested pug. As the weekend went on, the inflammation went down, which meant Benny's mood and energy level went up. And even though he was feeling a bit better he really wasn't well enough to do anything. He picked himself out a bone that we had to take away because bones don't fall under the soft food category. He scratched on the door to go outside, but was disappointed when we didn't take him for much of a walk. By Monday night Benny was fed up with us following doctor's orders and he was a cranky mess, pacing around the house, desperately trying to find something to do. So we pulled out one of our Solsey tricks and took the pugs for a car ride. This was exciting to Benny, but did not get him bouncing off the walls so it worked well.
We are still supposed to keep Benny quiet for the next few days, but at this point Benny is as well rested as a pug can get. His batteries are fully charged. Depending on how he does today, I may try and take him on a short walk to the corner and back to see how he does. I think that would perk Benny up a bit. I don't think he can handle being cooped up on the house much longer. After all, he has grass to smell and trees to mark.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Another photo from the archives. Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Friday, July 2, 2010
I wanted to let everyone know that Benjamin is home and is doing very well. He was very excited to see us this morning and was bouncing around like his usual self. He certainly did not look like a pug that just had surgery the day before.
After we got home and Henry and Luna frantically smelled him for clues to see where he had been, Benny hopped up on the couch and took his usual spot on the pile of pillows. He is still there now, snoring away, getting some much needed rest.
Thank you for the well wishes and have a great weekend!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Yesterday, Benny had his consultation for his soft palate issues at the the specialist. The consultation went very well. So well, actually, that Benjamin had the surgery yesterday.
The surgery wasn't planned, but there was an open slot on the surgery schedule and after the consultation wrapped up the surgeon said it would be no problem for Benny to have the operation that day. It went against all of my instincts to have Benny's surgery yesterday. It was unexpected. Well, it was sorta expected because I knew he would be having it, I just wasn't planning on it being so soon. I didn't feel prepared. But, then I thought to myself, what exactly do I have to prepare for. It's not like I am doing the surgery. As odd as it sounds, since I didn't have a night or two to worry about the upcoming surgery, I didn't feel ready.
I managed to get a hold of myself and realize how ridiculous my thoughts were and I gave the go ahead to put Benny on the schedule. After all, we were there and Benny had already skipped breakfast for his requested consultation fast. If we scheduled the surgery on a different day, Benny would need to fast again and I know how much he hates to miss a meal. Plus, with the holiday weekend, we would be off on Monday and be able to tend to Baby Benny while he recovers.
So we left Benjamin yesterday morning to have what they called his Brachycephalic Surgery. The surgery includes soft palate resection, a rhinoplasty (widening of the nasal passages), and if needed laryngeal sacculectomy. It turns out that Benny needed the laryngeal sacculectomy but not the rhinoplasty. During the surgery they determined that Benny's nasal passages were not too constricted and they would only be able to improve them a minimal amount. So they opted not to do the additional procedure.
When we spoke to the surgeon after the operation, he told us that Benny's soft palate was "definietely elongated" and his saccules where very much in the way. Shortening and removing these items should help Benny tremendously.
Benny had to stay at the vet's office last night, but we get to pick him up today at 10:45 AM. I will be so happy to get the little guy back home. He was bouncing off the walls of the exam room with nervous energy when we left him yesterday, so I am pretty sure he will be happy to get back home and relax with his brother and sister. Benny is all about sticking to his routine and yesterday was no where near ordinary for him.
I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend with the pugs. Happy 4th of July!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
For the last week, we have been telling Benny that today is his "Special" day. But, I am pretty sure that the type of "special" that today holds isn't quite the "special" that Benny has in mind.
This morning we are off to see the Specialist about Benny's soft palate surgery. Being all healed up from the surgery to remove his mast cell tumor, we wanted to get in to see the specialist to hopefully rid him of his cough. He still has been waking himself up with a little cough pretty regularly.
Hopefully, the consultation will go well and we will be able to schedule Baby Benny's surgery. Then, fingers crossed for another quick recovery and that Benny will be breathing a lot better after the operation.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
In an effort to make commenting a bit easier, I removed the CAPTCHA (the word you had to type) from the comment form. The main purpose of the CAPTCHA was to cut down on the amount of comment spam. I am trying a different approach that should also reduce comment spam and also make commenting a bit easier for all those commenting for the right reasons. I will still be moderating the comments, so there could be a small delay before your comment appears on the website. If the new spam filter works well, I may remove the moderation process, but, for now I am going to keep moderation in place while we test things out.
If you have any problems adding any comments send me an email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) and I will help you out.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
With the summer heat the pugs have been spending a lot of time in the house. And that means the boys have practically become permanent fixtures on the sofa.
Always aiming to please, I think I have come up with a pillow configuration that the boys enjoy. By laying the pillows on their sides and piling them up, it puts the boys a tad higher than the arm of the sofa and gives them a little bit better view out the front door. The configuration was inspired by our makeshift winter games Olympic podium.
How do I know the pugs like the new pillow configuration? Well, Benny has yet to throw the pillows on the floor, so I am taking that as a sign of contentment with the arrangement.
Why isn't Luna on the couch with the boys? Because Luna is all about the puff pillow.
