Life with the Puggies
Member Since: March 05, 2008 Last Signed In: August 14, 2008 Blog Views: 657 Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend
Pug elixir
Dog days of summer Fleas if you please Gaseous pugs Operation Pug Delivery Roadtrip! The eyes have it Greased watermelon Blur of fur Naps March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 
RSS 2.0    |
|
|
It all started with a few red, itchy spots on my thigh. I had taken the girls "offroading" at the local park....we spent most of our time running around in the grass rather than sticking to the paved path. A couple of days later is when the spots appeared so I blamed it on chiggers until more spots began to appear nearly every morning....on my thighs, stomach, back. It was getting creepy. Then, as I was lying in bed reading the other night, I noticed something jump out of the corner of my eye.....I had seen that before when Ruby picked up fleas. FLEAS!!!!!!! Oh no! I jumped out of bed, immediately took a flashlight and started looking over every inch of Ruby. Because she's fawn-colored, it's much easier to find things.....like fleas. Sure enough, I found a big fat flea on Ruby's tail! Neither girl had shown any of the telltale signs like scratching so I never thought to look them over very closely. And then it dawned on me....those weren't chigger bites.....I had flea bites!!!!!!!!!!!! I immediately gave the girls their dose of Frontline then stripped the bed and washed nearly every article of clothing, towels, etc. I vacuumed my apartment until every speck and fleck was gone. Not sure where the girls would have picked up fleas but you can bet I'll be far more attentive to monthly doses of Frontline. And I'll stop placing blame on the poor chiggers! Never a dull moment with the puggies!
I was at the vet on Thursday stocking up on Frontline (fleas paid Ruby a visit....I'll be blogging about that) and noticed freeze-dried liver chunks. I'd read that liver is a canine crowd favorite so I bought some. Ruby and Amie devoured them!! I'm always looking for ways to reinforce good behavior so I thought I'd struck gold.....until something became rotten in Denmark as they say. That night as I was reading in bed, Ruby jumped up and with her came a waft of very foul air. At first I thought one of the girls had had an accident but there was no evidence. Ruby seemed to be oblivous to the nasal carnage as she scouted her favorite spot on the bed. A few minutes later I heard an ominous "sound" from Ruby's back end which caused my nose hairs to split! She snoozed through the entire ordeal. Guess we'll save the liver treats for when I'm leaving in the morning for work.......
Turns out I only transported one puggie today: Arnie. Originally I was supposed to take two 6-month old pug puppies plus Arnie to St. Louis but when the puppies were picked up it was clear they needed vet attention. Lisa, the coordinator for Midwest Pug Rescue said both had round bellies (i.e. possible worms) and had scabs behind their ears from scratching at them. Thankfully the owners realized they couldn't provide the necessary care and opted to give them up for adoption. So it was just Arnie and I. He was a bit scared but settled himself in his leopard-print bed in the front seat and sort of snoozed on and off. About halfway to St. Louis he became a little restless so we stopped to stretch our legs and take a bathroom break. Whoa! Within minutes, Arnie squatted and let's just say he was clearly nervous! Poor little fella. It must have done the trick because he settled in nicely and slept until we arrived for the "pass off". Next, Arnie climbed into Melissa car and they were off to Springfield, Illinois where they would be connecting with Arnie's new forever mom who had driven down from Chicago. He's going to be one tired puggie but he has a pug sister waiting for him at his new home. Making the world a better place one puggie at a time! Tomorrow morning I'm headed to St. Louis with some precious cargo: 3 pugs! Unfortunately not my own but two puppies and a 2-yr old who are going to their forever homes. I'm a volunteer transporter for the Midwest Pug Rescue organization and St. Louis is my first "assignment". We had a lot of rain today so I'm hoping the weather cooperates since St. Louis is a healthy 3+ hours away. I'd love to bring Amie and Ruby but I think 5 pugs and only one chaperone would be a bit crazy! Did anyone watch the latest in animal-related TV shows on Thursday night: Greatest American Dog? I caught the last 30 minutes and it leaves a bit to be desired...... Amie's left eye has off and on been a problem. Last summer it became very red and inflammed literally overnight. And with as precarious as pug's eyes can be I was fearing it was an ulcer. Luckily it turned out to be an irritation due to an already healed ulcer that must have happened before I adopted her. I was given a tube of ointment which seemed to do the trick whenever her eye became irritated but this past week her eye wasn't responding even with twice a day applications. After a quick look the vet was concerned the eye was developing glaucoma which is a medical emergency so he referred us to a dog ophthalmologist. After an incredibly thorough exam, I was relieved to find out it was a more a case of inflammation/infection due to dry eye or keratonconjunctivitis sicca. When your eyes stick out of your head like marbles, there are bound to be some unpleasant consequences as evidence by the number of bug-eyed dogs that suffer from this. I was sent home with two types of ointment and three types of drops which have already made a big difference. And of course having gone to a specialist it made a big difference in my checking account but my puggies are worth it!!!! |