Last Friday, we took Sol & Luna to the vet. Luna was going in for her annual exam and shots and Sol was going in for a thorough checkup, shots, microchipping, blood work and an overall evaluation on her current health.
Luna went first, took her shots like a champ and got a great report for annual checkup. Her blood work came back fine, her heart sounded good and everything appeared to be in working order. Her eyes continue to be her weak area and while they are by no means normal, we are doing the best we can to maintain her tear production and keep her vision from getting worse. She will be going to the ophthalmologist in a about a month to get her eye checkup.
Sol was up next and she was very well behaved while on the table. The doctor estimated her age to be between 10 - 12 years old (probably closer to the 12 end of the spectrum than the 10). We had a complete Senior blood work panel ran for her and received her results earlier this week. We were very relieved to find out that everything was in the normal range. From her exam, we learned that she doesn’t have any chronic issues, just some of the normal issue that can occur with aging. She has moderate arthritis in her hips and lower back. We will be putting her on Synovi soft chews (the same thing that Henry takes) to help with the arthritis for now. One day she may need to go on medication for her arthritis, but for now it is not necessary. She has a cataract in her one eye which impacts her vision a bit (mainly depth perception). And one of the things that hit me the hardest is that she is almost completely deaf. I had a sneaking suspicion that she didn’t hear very well, but the vet confirmed it with a little hearing test. She had virtually no response to the test.
She will be going in for a much needed dental in February and while under she will have the growth on her eyelid removed. I was worried about putting her under for a dental considering her age, but the vet assured us that she has no health issues that would make putting her under for a dental troublesome.
We are very relieved to find out that Sol does not have any pressing health issues other than those associated with aging. Her cataract is concerning, but I feel like we are very prepared to handle that issue. Luna has taught us a thing or two about caring for eye issues and we have a very good relationship with Luna’s eye specialists. When we take Luna in for her checkup in a month, we will take Sol and have her eyes looked at as well. I will be relieved to have a better understanding of her current situation and I would feel more comfortable having a baseline so that we can monitor things over the coming years.
The thing that has been weighing on my mind the most is her hearing. A deaf dog is new to me and I have been trying to digest as much information as humanly possible on the best ways to communicate with Sol and make her feel comfortable. Its hard because my only office mates are pugs and I pretty much talk to them all day long. Benjamin, Henry & Luna rely heavily on verbal cues and come on my whistle without fail. Even the cat comes on my whistle - most of the time. She is a cat after all.
My main worry is that one day she will be without two main senses - hearing and sight. Even though her vision is not great now, it is still a huge asset for her. Around the house, I don’t worry so much. Everything is pretty much dog proof and she can’t really get into to much trouble. However, I worry when taking her out for walks. I know that Luna’s lack of vision has gotten her into trouble a few times in the past and I worry that Sol’s lack of hearing puts her at a huge disadvantage when out and about.
The good news is that these are all my worries. Sol gets along very well. She isn’t timid at all when on our walks and is learning to trust and take cues from the boys and Luna.
I know I am going to learn a lot from this little girl.
Oh, and if you are wondering why we are taking Sol to our vet and planning on taking her to the ophthalmologist, check this out. Come on, you didn’t really think we weren’t going to be foster failures, did you?
Great news! So far we have raised $305 for Belle trip to her new forever home. With your support and the support of pug lovers everywhere, Belle will begin her journey to her new forever home on Saturday. On Saturday morning she will fly to Washington state with her foster Mom who will assure that she has a very safe and comfortable flight. Once in Washington, she will cross the border into Canada. As soon as I have an update on her trip I will let you know.
As for the raffle and calendar offer, I will keep it open through Friday. I will draw a winner this weekend and as soon as I have heard back from the winner I will announce the lucky winner. Sarina, from Central Florida Pug Rescue, was also kind enough to sweeten the raffle pot. She has donated a pug rag quilt that she made. The raffle winner will receive the quilt along with the other goodies previously mentioned. So there is still time to enter the raffle. If the funds do not go directly to Belle’s travel they will most certainly be used to help another pug in need. If you do donate, just make sure to send your receipt to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so that I can enter you in the raffle and get your calendar mailed out if you donate $20 or more.
Make a Donation to CFPR for Belle’s Homecoming
I would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone. Once again you pulled through in the clutch and I could never thank you guys enough.
Here is a nice little video of Benjamin running around the living room. A couple things to note, in the beginning you will see Sol just watching Benny acting all crazed. Look closely and you will also see the other old lady of the house, Cupid, watching and laughing at Benny. And at the end you will see Henry chewing on the cat sack / cat bed that Sol likes so much. One more thing, you might need to take some dramamine because I am all over the place in this video trying to keep at least one pug in the frame. Sound is also recommended so you can hear Benny jingling about and panting.
Belle is a 7 year old pug that has been in the care of Central Florida Pug Rescue since October 2008. Belle was found hiding out under a car and was severely injured. Once she was in the care of CFPR, they found out that she was most likely hit by a car and in quite a bit of pain. Her injuries left her paralyzed and unable to use her back legs. It was also learned that before coming into rescue Belle was a puppy mill dog and was used simply to produce more puppies. This has left her a little shy around people, but over time she will warm up to you.
After lots of TLC in her foster home, Belle was well on her way to recovery. CFPR even began to look for a forever home that could accommodate this little girl’s special needs. Happily, that day has come! However, Belle’s new forever family hails from British Columbia, Canada. That a long way from Central Florida!
Belle’s new forever family is quite experienced with special needs pugs. They have four pugs already in wheel chairs and have the knowledge needed to get little Belle zipping around in her cart in no time flat. They are very involved in pug rescue in their area and CFPR knows they can provide Belle the best possible home that a pug could ask for.
The thing that I have learned about from talking to those very involved in pug rescue is that nothing is impossible. A perfect family was found for Belle and there is no way that a few thousand miles are going to keep a pug from getting the best long term care available.
All that is keeping Belle from making her journey to her forever home is funds. So I am asking, once again, if all the generous pug lovers can help. In the past, we have been able to raise several hundred dollars by everyone just pitching in a small bit and I hoping that we can do that once again. The economy is rough and I am sure that we are all feeling the pinch, but when we team up we can do great things and I think it would be great to be able to say that we helped this little lady cross the border and settle in nicely with our friendly neighbors to the North.
So, here is what I was thinking, we can raffle off a few prizes. If you make a donation of any size to Central Florida Pug Rescue (see link below) send me your receipt (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) and I will enter you in the raffle. If you donate $20 to Central Florida Pug Rescue, I will enter you in the raffle and I will also send you a 2009 Owned by Pugs calendar. But you must forward me a copy of your receipt (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)). That is the only way I will know that you donated.
Here’s what I had in mind for the prizes for the lucky winner:
