Daisy

Daisy-Bo: 1999 (?) to 2006

Daisy was surrendered to Pugalug Rescue by a loving family who took her in after years in a puppymill. When I went to transport her to her foster home, there was an immediate connection and I asked if I could foster her, knowing that I could work with some of her health issues.

It turned out she had an elongated soft palate and a narrow trachea which caused her to pass out. Corrective surgery was a success and although Daisy still had the seizure-like spells, she no longer passed out. Daisy was well-named, a delicate but wild flower, strong enough to hold her own in the pack, especially at mealtimes, but small and vulnerable to those awful coughing spells.

She wiggled her way into my arms and my heart and when we adopted her, I named her Daisy-Bo since ï¿½boï¿½ is the Chinese word for precious. Daisy never left my side, even clambering in between when one of the others was having a cuddle. She slept in the crook of my arm every night.

On December 13th she left us suddenly, leaving a huge hole in our lives. I will miss her "runway stomp" caused by a bad leg from living in a cage and the way she looked like a chipmunk washing its face when she tried to clean her own nose fold. She taught me that even though youï¿½ve been through hell, you can still love and live with all your might. Good night, precious Daisy. Run free at the Bridge until I can put your little head under my chin again.

Daisy Update, May 15th

Daisy's condition will need to be monitored for a while yet, but the worst is definitely over. Emotionally, she is still very needy. She craves attention and love, and follows me everywhere. We're looking forward to the day she feels secure enough to develop some independence.

She's such a strong little flower, I know that she'll get there in time. Thanks for all the well wishes and support."
Hilary

Daisy Update, May 4th

"Daisy's surgery went well but it was more than we bargained for. Beside spaying and microchipping her, the vet took 1 inch off her soft palate and extracted 11 teeth, including 3 of her 4 canines. She was in surgery for 2 hours and 2 hours in recovery before I brought her home. They first put her in a cage to recover from the anaesthetic, but she seemed distressed. I wasn't sure if it was from discomfort or from being in a cage (given her early background), so they let me put her in a padded bed I had taken and sit with her in another room for the whole recovery time.

She's still very dopey now but resting peacefully. She'll have a sore belly, a sore throat and a very sore mouth. She has a weak back end anyway, so moving to get comfortable is difficult. But I have some Metacam for pain just in case. The good news is that the vet saw no evidence of laryngeal paralysis and thinks the palate resection will help her breathing about 75%. We're hoping this is the last operation for her."

Foster Mom Hilary

Daisy Update, April 24

Daisy is doing very well except for the continuing breathing problems. She has had several more seizure-like episodes where she can't get air. Fortunately she has shown no ill after-effects and settles back quickly into normal life. However, we are looking forward to knowing more on May 4th when they will do a scope of her throat area. While she is under the anaesthetic, she will be spayed and have her dental work done.

Please keep Daisy in your thoughts and prayers through this difficult time. Thanks to those who have already contributed to her medical costs. They will probably be quite extensive and we are grateful to be able to help our little flower with your generous contributions.

Our current rescues Mocha and Daisy partying at the Flower Power Pugalug

Daisy Update, April 8

In general, Daisy is doing well. Her heartworm test was negative. She's eating and sleeping well and her housebreaking is much better. he's not paper-trained but we'll work on that after the outdoor training is 100%; it's much better now that she's more settled and knows the routine here.

Although her back end is weak, I like her mobility. She is a going concern - very curious - and follows me up and downstairs without a problem. Her ear wax is clearing up and her nose wrinkle is much better. The red staining on her paws, chin and cheeks is almost completely gone so I suspect it was a diet issue rather than systemic yeast. Her appetite is MORE than good and she has had no trouble with any of the new foods I've given her. She has managed to steal food from both Mei-Ling and Denver and get away with it !!! She's got spunk, this little flower.

My major concern is her breathing. I believe she has Chronic Airway Obstruction. It is a strain for her to get sufficient air into her lungs and twice this week she has collapsed and stopped breathing from lack of oxygen. As far as we know this happened once last year.

The longer this goes on, the more likely the chance of laryngeal or tracheal collapse, so the sooner it's fixed the better. However, the operation is quite delicate and may involve enlarging the nares, trimming the soft palate (a not uncommon operation in pugs), and possibly removing the saccules and tonsils. The status of this cannot be determined until Daisy is under anaesthetic which we don't want to subject her to until we know more. We would also want to find a surgeon well-experienced in this operation and make a determination of whether laser or scalpel surgery is better. Until we make a decision on her breathing issues, we are not going to schedule spay and dental work or shots.

In the meantime, Daisy is a lovely little cuddle-pug. She's looking forward to the April 23rd pugalug in her honour and appreciates all the well wishes and contributions from the many caring puggers who wish her a healthy, happy future.

Daisy Joins the Pack, April 2nd

Daisy is a puppymill breeder pug who came to us from the Brantford area. We don't know her full history and she could be anyhere in age from 5 -7. She was surrendered to us by a well meaning individual who had her for a year but wanted a Daisy to have a good home. She reported that Daisy had several medical conditions that needed looking into.

The first thing you notice about Daisy is her size - she is small (see the photo of her and Magoo. According to her vet records she was only 10.8 lbs last year. Today she is 12.2. The second thing you notice is her loving affection - she craves human attention and responds with all the tail wagging her little hind quarters can muster.

She was transported yesterday by Hilary and is now in her foster home. Her initial vet check indicates that Daisy is one tough little cookie. Her blood tests came back normal (still waiting on the heartworm tests) There is no sign of a bladder infection (which was an initial concern). Hilary was also concerned with Daisy's breathing. At one point Daisy was coughing/gagging for air and appeared to have stopped breathing. Dr Plummer of Nobelton Veterinary clinic did X-rays of the airways but found no blockage. He thinks she may blocked by the soft palate and stenotic nares and recommends fixing them when she has surgery.

Hilary reports: "He also felt along her spine and says there is a disk problem, which explains her gimpy walk. The sore spot on her back where there is no hair is a sebaceous growth and nothing to worry about, although it feels about the size of a flat pea. Her eyes are good; no sign of pannus and although she has a very protruded nose wrinkle, it isn’t affecting her eyes. He put some Theraderm cream on her inflamed wrinkle and told me to do it for a while until it’s fixed.

He noted she has very waxy ears but mostly in the top canal; not so much in the lower. He put some ear-cleaner in; I will be treating her for this as well as for systemic yeast problems which are indicated by red staining on her coat Other than that her coat is good and quite soft. Her teeth are black with tartar and his will have to be removed during surgery. He trimmed her nails. He scanned for a microchip but couldn’t find one. The fecal sample was fine.

There is no evidence of a Caesarian section for delivery of pups although it is obvious that she has had at least one litter because of the size/shape of her teats. But the vet did find an old incision the length of her abdomen right up to her chest. e said this was very serious surgery as there was a possibility of collapsing the lung when the incision went that high. He suspects the cause of it may be to fix a diaphragmic hernia (possibly congenital). Another possibility is surgery to repair an accident or attack, possibly by another dog."

Rescue Report - March 23rd, 2006

A woman posted a newspaper advertisement looking for someone to take her pug. One of our pugaluggers spotted it and posted the link on our discussion board. Blanche contacted the woman and offered to have Pugalug Pug Rescue taken in her pug. After some thinking and investigating, the woman decided our group was the best place for Daisy

The Pug Pickup