Murphy

Murphy - 5 year old fawn male

Murphy healed, happy and adopted - July 25

We LOVE Murphy. The best decision we could have made, Nathan doesn't let him out of his sight. He got to wear his new lifejacket and go out in the boat on the weekend and he seems to be adjusting very well to our hectic life. He did seem really anxious about going down the stairs into the basement, but that may be residual anxiety from the puppy mill.

Lesley

Murphy has recovered nicely from his neuter, dental and removal of scar tissue on his penis. During the dental, it was noticed that two of his upper teeth were side by side instead of in line. They are in good shape and may never have to be removed, but if it becomes necessary, they are so close to a major artery that the extraction will have to be done at a facility that can be ready with a blood transfusion as excessive bleeding is a possibility. He lost four of his front lower teeth and one upper.

Murphy is very good with both my 3 and 7 year old as well as their friends that come in and want to 'love' him. He walks very well on a leash, as well as plays well with other dogs. He is not food aggressive in any way.

Murphy does not like riding in the car in a crate. He may be ok over time, if he travels with another dog or in a seatbelt. He does not like my neighbour when he is doing yard work in his overalls. Coming from a puppymill, I imagine that overalls were the preferred attire of the 'millers'. He likes the man just fine when he wears anything else.

Although Murphy came from a puppymill, he has never pooped in the house. We initially had peeing and marking issues, but they have improved and we have not had an 'accident' in over a week. His new family will have to be prepared that there may be some 'marking' issues at first until a toilet schedule is firmly in place.

Foster Update - June 21

Murphy had a big vet visit on Friday - tidying up some unfinished business. His condition has improved so much that we were finally able to have his neutering done. At the same time, they removed 2 small hard masses from the penis area. They have been sent off to the lab to be identified.

Dental - 5 lower teeth were removed due to advanced periodontal disease. There was moderate calculus and minimum gingivitis. It was also discovered that two upper teeth are incorrectly placed and are shark like (side by side).

In true pug fashion, Murphy came home completely stoned, but demanding his dinner.

Foster Update - June 1

He is still skinny, but has managed to gain a pound already and is now at 8kg. He had some tapeworms caused by ......rodents..... He is finally urinating normally too.

Murphy had a poop just after the stitches came off. To my horror, his penis popped straight out! Fortunately, it immediately retracted when he finished.......you can imagine what went through my head. This seems to happen quite often so I guess this is now 'normal' for him. The middle is still an angry red colour and there is a lump on it which we think may be some of the barnyard debris that 'hid' while you were working on him. We are now keeping an eye on it. It doesn't appear to bother him and it doesn't interfere with urination. Removing it may do more harm than good so time will tell with this too. He will be vaccinated within the next couple of weeks and after than, a dental and neuter.

Murphy has definitely embraced living in a house, having regular meals, going on walks and sleeping in the big bed. He can go up a flight of stairs, but not down yet. I put the baby gate on the stairs to keep him on one floor until he can go down. He is quite a gentleman but has to wear a belly band when I'm not supervising him as he will lift his leg at any given time. Once he is neutered, I'm hoping it will be easier to break him of this habit. All in all, he is going to make a wonderful, loving companion for some lucky person. I'm actually shocked at how well he is emotionally. He likes to meet new people and has met a few dogs that I know well and gotten very well.

Introduction - May 10

Murphy's story to date in not very nice. Hopefully, under our care, that will all change. That he will be able to start on his road to recovery and have a healthy, happy pug life.

He was a puppy mill stud dog. He suffered a serious injury when his penis was bitten in a fight. It was left untreated and exposed. After a few days, it got badly infected and the farmer was going to shoot Murphy. Thankfully there is a wonderful reascue person operating in the farming community where this occured. She was able to rescue Murphy and get him into the vets for emergency surgery.

She contacted us because she did not have the resources to deal with this type of healing. Blanche, our Rescue Coordinator, was able to take care of the vet work and find a foster home. Hilary made arrangments for transport today. We will have a medical update in a few days but it appears that the infection has been stopped and the injured area has been saved.

Despite the fact that our intake is closed, everyone made an extra special effort for this pug to ensure he be given a chance in life. Kudos to Blanche for everything she did to help him to date.