• Mike A Stead
• Mathew
• Lisa Pagani (Daughter), Gene Jacaruso (Son-in-law), Jayden (Grandson), Bella and Puggles (Our Pugs) in memory of Mario Pagani, loving Father and Grandfather who was gone too soon and is deeply missed.

Billy is settled in his new home with black pug sister Stella. They enjoy lots of long walks on the beach. It's hard to believe that Billy ever had a knee problem as he jumps in and out of the van and literally jumps up and down in excitement when he knows his family is going out for a walk, to the beach or to the dog run. The bottom line is that it is as if he has always been part of his new family.

This one's a keeper - the hardest foster we've had to give up. Billy is one of those special dogs whose special personality makes him stand out among a breed that is spectacularly wonderful to begin with.

Don't be afraid of taking on Billy due to his medical history. His issues are now all corrected and water under the bridge. Billy has had many surgeries to correct both hind legs (luxating patella), soft palate, nares and eyes (medial canthoplasty). All surgeries were very successful. There is a possibility that the pins in his legs may need to be removed should they cause a problem in the future (Vet described as akin to removing a splinter).

Billy is a very gentle, loving boy who wants nothing more than to please. He loves being close to humans, adults and kids alike. He is generally very subdued, but can be an active boy with puppy-like habits even though he has been estimated as two. Many toys, tuggies and rawhides will be needed to keep him busy. While he submits to other dogs, he's a bit of a tease and steals toys just to start some fun.

He eats a grain-free kibble and is only mildly interested in treats. Billy takes treats very tentatively and gently. He waits until the other dog is finished eating before he starts.

If in a house Billy would need a fenced yard as he likes to investigate. He's still a youngster and needs a space to run.

Billy started out sleeping in his crate at night, but now snuggles with his foster brother on the couch or in a dog bed. He has the run of the gated kitchen/family room when left alone during the day. He goes out to do his business first thing, has his breakfast, but other eliminations are during walks. He seems to be in no rush to eliminate, so he would be fine for an apartment. He has the largest poops for such a small dog - take a large pick up bag. Billy's quite a fussy thing about picking the perfect spot to poop. But also gets caught short sometimes as starts pooping while lifting is leg to pee. Quite funny.

Billy gets very excited about going for his walks and is good about getting coats, harnesses and leash on - all while squiggling. During walks he is very inquisitive but doesn't pull, and he enjoys sniffing and greeting other dogs. He likes people, but takes his time before feeling comfortable enough to approach them. He knows sit, but takes his time doing it - his legs have hurt for so long it's not his favourite thing to do. Billy would do best with a family that has time and interest to train him to understand more.

Billy would only do well with a housemate willing to play and snuggle with him. He initiates games of bity face and basks in the attention of other dogs. He can be a little tentative with new sounds and movements, and his first response if to roll on his back. Billy enjoys being with people and follows them around the house, but takes a while to warm up to them. He cuddles up on the couch, nestles at feet. He is a very inquisitive guy and likes to know what's going on everywhere, with everyone. He runs back and forth in an effort to miss nothing.

The dreaded cone is back! Bill had his eye surgery and follow up x ray for his legs this week.

Wonderful news on the eyes - the surgeon is very pleased with how things went. Billy will not have to worry about going blind, but it means a week of tempting him to take his pain pills several times daily. Liverwurst worked this morning - keep your fingers crossed! Luckily he's no problem with repeated applications of two kinds of eye ointment.

His follow up leg x ray showed one pin broken and another bent, but Dr Miller was pleased with how the bones had healed. It does mean that perhaps in the future he will need to have the pins removed. But Dr. Miller said it would be much like removing a sliver if indeed it needed to be done at all.

He is none too pleased with the cone and is banging around the house, bumping into legs, furniture, his foster brother. Good thing he has to be lifted up and down stairs still with his mending legs because he certainly can't manage the cone very well.

Another visit to the vet for a recheck next week and it might be time to get his adoption requirements done. After almost 5 months in foster care it will be very hard to even think about not having Billy in the house. He is everything a pug should be.

We have good news and bad news about Billy. Two weeks ago he had double knee, soft palate and bare surgery. It was a pretty sad weekend immediately post surgery with lots of lap time. He was a stinker about taking his medication and many options were tried to varying success. Using the harness to help his do his business was an adventure, and Billy preferred to stand on his nose to pee. It wasn't many days before he got the hang of his new back legs and was wobbling around, even initiating play with foster brother Jackson when out of his limited x-pen accommodation. After his 2-week visit to the surgeon things are much better. The stitches were removed (with much screaming and squirming) and Dr. Miller was very pleased with the results. Billy will still be very restricted with no jumping, stairs and very limited walks, but no more cone! He goes back for an x-ray in 6 weeks.

Now the bad news. When he was getting his stitches removed Billy was examined by an Ophthalmologist who is recommending canthoplasty surgery to prevent future blindness. Billy will get some time to recuperate from his knee surgery, and Pugalug to bank some funds to pay for this, and hopefully in April he will go back under the knife. Once that is done Billy will be ready for forever.

What a special boy Billy is. He's eager and playful, snuggly and inquisitive - everything a pug should be. Winter certainly isn't his favourite, and while foster brother Jackson is pawing at the door wanting to get out to any snow we get this winter, Billy plays dead and has to be picked up and taken outside. He's happy about getting his coat on and going for a walk, but if his paw should step on salt, he drops immediately and whines until the salt is removed. Good thing this hasn't been a bad winter.

His other likes are baiting foster brother by grabbing his toys, chewing his face, or just getting in his way. But that doesn't mean humans don't get his attention. He must be close to somebody.

Billy has been able to add some much needed pounds and is about right now. He saw the surgeon in January and as we suspected he will be needing surgery on both his back legs. At the same time they're going to take care of his elongated palate. Surgery is scheduled for February 23rd. Poor boy - he'll be sore at both ends. So several weeks of crate rest and then limited activity for many more weeks. It will be months before this little guy is ready to adopt.

It's a good thing Billy takes his medicine with no problem, because as soon as we found out his pneumonia was cleared up, the vet discovered he had Giardia. We will just be starting the second course of medication to clear up this intestinal bug. While at the vet Billy had x-rays taken of his back end as he is distinctly hunched and bowlegged. She suggested we take the x-rays for a consult to an orthopaedic vet. He likely has to have surgery on both knees. So even more medication for him. He'll be checked out in the New Year for this.

But on the good side, Billy has gained weight, and is generally a perky, happy, playful little guy. Billy plays with himself in the mirror, and initiates a tussle with his foster brother, who he absolutely loves. Billy follows Jackson around - that is when he's not following me around. Billy is an ultimate Velcro pug. He's also a weather wimp. This cold weather and ice just isn't his idea of a good time. While Jackson bounded out the door happily chasing a snowball, Billy rolled on his back feigning death to avoid going outside. He got a bit of salt between his pads on an enforced walk and threw himself to the ground immediately, requiring this fiendish situation to be remedied before taking another reluctant step.

This delight of a 2-year old pug will make a wonderful addition to a family with an existing dog willing to play and humans happy to have an exicted, inquisitive shadow.

What a difference a few days can make. When this little monkey -- have no fear we've found him a much more appropriate name -- first came into rescue he had pneumonia and was facing euthanasia if Pugalug wasn't able to take him. The long ride from Kingston took such a toll on his already depleted system that he went straight to the VEC for two nights on oxygen and IV. I dreaded each phone call and e-mail from Pugalug wondering if he hadn't made it. Still subdued and wobbly when we drove him home, I could feel his rattling chest struggling for each breath. I'd never seen a pug's ribs sticking out. But once in a home environment, with another pug to play nurse and give him encouragement, a metamorphosis occurred.

Such a sweetie deserved a better name. Sweet William came to mind, but he's so petite we decided to give him the diminutive of the name and call him Billy for short. Introduced to the back yard, Billy immediately peed like a racehorse (likely due to the IV fluids he'd been receiving), had a good sniff around the one room the clinic advised he be confined to, gotten a "I like you" lick from big foster brother Jackson, took a long slurp of water and was escorted into his crate for a nap. Once out he was coaxed to take his medicine, slowly finished a bowl of kibble topped with wet chicken, once again drenched the bushes in back and had a bit of a playful tussle with Jackson. The rest of the night was spent cuddling on the coach getting his chest patted to help break up the phlegm. With 10 minutes of whimpering because he didn't want to be left alone, Billy had a restful night and woke up happy to take his medicine -- wrapped in turkey bacon, and finished a big bowl of food. Following the clinic's suggestion, Billy joined us in the bathroom for the healing effects of steam during morning showers. Picking up the leash to give Jackson his morning walk, Billy rushed to the door insistent on not being left behind.

Still a little rattily in his breathing and snotty around the nose, our challenge is now to keep Billy from over exerting himself. This handsome lad follows Jackson around instigating wrestling, gets excited to go on very short walks, enjoys his meals, craves attention and generally is acting like a happy young pug.

Once Billy is finished his medication, he'll have another chest x-ray to ensure his pneumonia is gone and then we can have the vet look at his bow legs and crab-like gait to see if Billy has other health issues.

Just heard from the VEC and they say he's like a totally different dog today--eating well, lots of energy. Still snotty and gurgly so they've suggested hanging onto him another day, but they think he should be good to go home tomorrow. Blood work was good except for a slightly elevated ALP which they'd like us to keep an eye on, but they are not especially worried about that at this time. So all things being equal, he may be able to go home tomorrow night.

This little boy ended up in a shelter as a stray. He unfortunately developed what we think is pneumonia and the shelter wasn't able to care for him and was going to euthanize him if an alternative couldn't be found. We were able to take him in, but his last transporter (Leila's mom who is also a vet tech) felt that his health was pretty poor so we took him directly to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic. He has been admitted for at least the next 24 to 48 hours for care, treatment and observation.

We will update as we know more about him.