From the start, it was pretty apparent that Peggy didn't plan on going anywhere once she came to my home. We had recently lost our dear, sweet Mookie to cancer and our other pug, Mocha, was still grieving the loss of his best buddy, as was the whole family. Peggy seemed to bond with Mocha almost immediately. We have had many, many fosters over the years and this is the first one that Mocha ever decided to groom and lick on a nightly basis. Peggy loves having it done and will raise her paw to have him continue to lick her. They are so adorable together. Mocha was not the only one that she has helped deal with the loss of Mookie. She has made our home a happy place and we just cannot part with her. We truly love her bossy, but sweet personality. She continues to have allergy issues, which we will work on, but she continues to improve in so many ways. When she came, she couldn't walk very well. After her surgery, she kept improving. The stairs had always been a challenge, but one day, she decided to follow me all the way up to the second floor. It was so amazing to see her accomplish that hurtle! She will now follow me wherever I go and race up those stairs. Something that she could not even imagine to do is now an easy thing! Her improvements continue to bring us so much joy. We decided to make her adoption day January 1, 2014. A new year, a new permanent beginning for a girl that had some rough years in her past. And how could anyone separate her from Mocha!

Peggy has been adopted by her Foster Parents!

In the last update, Peggy had been on antibiotics for her ear and pustules on her belly. Everything was looking better, but went downhill when the antibiotics were finished. She got an ear infection in her other ear, more pustules, a hot spot and she had a bunch of red bumps on her chin. We went back to the vet and she is on another two weeks of antibiotics as well as being put on prednisone, an antihistamine and fish oil. It looks like she may be reacting to the gas heat in my house. I have seen other animals having issues with that. We continue to give her baths in an anti-fungal shampoo and clean her bedding weekly. She is looking much better with the increased medications. We will start decreasing the prednisone soon and see if we can get her off of it, or at least on a very small dose. She loves getting her pills and gets excited when she hears the shake of the pill bottles...of course I do put them in cheese! She is a piggy, especially while on the prednisone.

Other than the health issues, she is a complete doll and puts up with being dressed up in whatever is handy, like the tissue paper bow in the picture.

Peggy was at both the Halloween Pugalug events and got a lot of attention from her admirers. She had a great time and was very sociable! She is becoming quite the playful girl now that her leg is healed and she has built up muscle. Unfortunately, she is still plagued with health issues. She had been doing quite well in the summer and her skin was looking good, but now that the fall has hit, she has developed dark patches and small, red pustules on her belly. She has gone to see the internal specialist again. The lymph nodes are still enlarged, but have not become larger. This is a good sign that it is probably not pre-cancerous. It could be allergy related and that could be environmental or food. It is hard to know for sure. Peggy also went to the vet about an ear infection and the pustules. She is back on ear drops and antibiotics. Hopefully, that will clear up the ear and the pustules. We will also give her baths with an antimicrobial shampoo.

We will keep trying to figure all this out and see if there is anyway to change these symptoms and make her more comfortable.

Peggy continues to be the sweetest little girl and doesn't let her health problems affect her good nature. Here's a Pugoween picture of her, with her foster brother.

Peggy had x-rays of her knee done, and it is almost completely healed. She is allowed to start using stairs and manages 4 or 5 steps. On the water treadmill, she is doing a faster pace, for 15 minutes. We have started going for longer walks that are on hilly streets as she needs to build up muscle on her leg.

Now that her knee isn't painful, Peggy is getting more playful and energetic. Unfortunately, she continues to be plagued with health issues. Her lymph nodes are enlarged, which can be a number of things. She has seen a specialist of internal medicine and after having some of the lymph nodes tested, we have found out that they are not cancerous, but they are reactive and hyperplastic. These issues can be indicative of some sort of immune issue, pre-cancer cells, allergies or parasites. If you want to know more information, check out this link.

Peggy has been tested for various parasites, including lime disease. She does have a chronic ear infection, which just started up again, and some red bumps on her chest and legs. We will see the specialist again in a few weeks. If the lymph nodes have grown larger, it could be the start of cancer, but at the moment, we are in a watch and wait situation. Let's hope it is something easy, like a seasonal allergy.

Otherwise, she is a happy girl, who gets excited when her people come home and it is almost impossible to get her harness on because she is so excited about going for a walk! The only time she tucks her tail in is when we go to one of the many medical facilities - then she won't get a perky tail until we walk out their door, but then up it goes!

Peggy should be attending one or maybe both of the Pugalugs for Halloween. As you can see, Peggy loves to use her foster brother as a pillow!

Peggy has been steadily improving after her knee surgery. She is trying to jump up on people, which is a no no! She is still restricted from too much exercise. We are going on short walks during which I shorten the leash to keep her from trying to run. She will lift her healing leg and hop if we don't go nice and slow; however she is using it more and more.

Peggy has been to physiotherapy twice. The first time, we got the assessment, had ultrasound, learned how to do a few stretching exercises and were told to start short walks. The second time, she received ultrasound, did some new exercises to promote use of her hind leg and went on the water treadmill. She wasn't sure of the water until the treats came out and then she started moving! Once a week, Peggy will continue to go to physio until she has regained some strength and is using her leg properly.

In another three weeks, she will be going to see the surgeon and have x-rays to make sure she has healed properly.

Peggy is looking great, but still has a lot of daily care needs. Her wrinkles and chin get very wet and full of food. Her eyes and ears have to be watched closely and cleaned daily. The dark skin on her belly is getting better, but needs to be wiped with special antibacterial, antifungal wipes. She puts up with all the fussing, especially if she gets a food reward! We call her Piggy Peggy because she is always looking for food! She will sniff the entire kitchen floor and try to steal treats that are meant for her foster brother. They are always cuddling and are great friends.

Of course, everyone who meets her thinks she is just the cutest girl ever and we can't help but agree!

Peggy continues to be the sweetest little girl.

Her ear infection is completely cleared up. A week ago, she was able to go in for her knee surgery (grade 3 luxating patella) and her hernia surgery. The stitches will come out in another week.

Peggy must be restricted from running, jumping and going for walks. She is allowed to walk around the house. It will be another 3 to 7 weeks before she can go for short walks. In 7 more weeks, she will go for a follow up and x-rays.

Peggy seems to be comfortable, but did have discomfort until the last day or so. She is not putting weight on it yet so she hops around on three legs. Once she is able to, we may take her for a physio assessment.

Let's hope that this is the last of her medical problems for a very long time!

Oh Peggy, you are such a little character! This girl is a charmer and just so sweet.

Her health continues to be a problem, though. She has totally recovered from her anal gland surgery, although her fur still needs to grow back around the surgical site. Now, she has an ear infection of staph and strep bacteria. Because of this, her knee surgery and hernia repair have been put off. She has been put on a topical ear medication and an oral medication that should work for this type of infection. We will wait for another 3 weeks and then get the knee surgery done. She will need a fair bit of time to recover from the surgery and possibly have some physio to regain strength in the leg.

In the meantime, she doesn't let any of this bother her and continues to be a joy to have around.

Peggy has had her first surgery to remove her anal glands. She is doing fine and recovering well. Next week, she will have a re-check and then her surgery for the luxating patella will be scheduled for late July. She has finished her treatment for the parasite that she had and will have a fecal test done to ensure that it is all gone. This little darling has many medical issues, but is the sweetest natured girl and takes it all in stride.

Shortly before her surgery, she was moved to a different foster home because the first home couldn't continue to foster at this time. Peggy has settled right in and made good friends with her foster brother. They are always together and Peggy likes to cuddle right up to him. She also worked the Pugalug Rescue booth at Woofstock and charmed anyone who passed by.

Peggy continues to have issues with her anal glands. Despite having her glands regularly expressed, a recent visit to the vet determined that her anal glands were full and also infected. The infection is being treated with antibiotics, but the continuing issues with high anal gland output have been challenging. The vet suggested that food allergies may be the culprit so Peggy has been switched to a single-source protein diet, specifically raw duck and veggies. Her foster parents have noticed more mucus in her stool since the diet change, which is promising as it indicates that the anal glands are draining on their own. If the anal gland issues are due to allergies, then the food change might be all that's needed to resolve the problem; however, if Peggy's anal glands continue to cause her problems, they may need to be removed.

The vet also noticed that Peggy had a parasite so she is also being treated for that. Fortunately, they caught it early and she hadn't lost much weight.

Despite all of this, Peggy is still her fun loving, fashionista self! She will definitely make one special family very happy in the future!

Peggy has been doing well in foster care, although she's had ongoing issues with her anal glands, as was the case in her former home. Allergies are an issue, but to what, we don't know yet. Peggy is also going to need knee surgery; however we have not, as of yet, booked her surgery as we were dealing with both an anal gland infection and an ear infection.

Despite all that, she is playful, fun loving and quite enjoys her food. She seems to eat faster now and with great enthusiasm. She also enjoys gnawing on a bone or a good hard biscuit and has a strong jaw - the couple of stubby teeth in her mouth get quite a workout!

For such a tiny little thing, Peggy does rule the house here - stamping her bossy boots to get the whole house up at 7 am (much better than 5:30 or 6 when she used to get us up), though she does have the cutest little bark.

Overall, Peggy is a sweet, sassy girl that will be the perfect pug for one special family.

Peggy is an energetic little pug who was surrendered to Pugalug by her previous owner, who was no longer able to keep her. She is about 5 years old and spayed. She travelled well in the car on the way to her foster home and was content to be crated during the ride. Her adjustment to foster life has been quick. She has learned that the resident foster pugs are warm and soft and get cookies often so she happily follows them around the house. At bedtime, she likes to have one last energetic "hurrah" before settling down to sleep. Her foster mom has been leaving one or both of Peggy's foster siblings downstairs to keep her company during the night and she seems to enjoy that. Peggy is an exceptionally early riser, eager to start the day and eat her breakfast. Her foster parents are working on syncing her routine up with the rest of the house.

Peggy does have some health issues. She only has one tooth and her lower jaw is quite crooked, which has resulted in her dangling tongue and lots of drool - her face needs to be wiped often. The vet will take at look at these issues during her initial visit. She is able to drink and eat normally with the addition of water to her food, but she is definitely slower than the usual vacuum eating style of the average pug. Peggy also appears to have loose knees and could possibly benefit from some physiotherapy. She will be best suited for a home with a quiet lifestyle, but she does take at least 3 short walks a day and has become quite the fashionista, wearing her foster sisters' coats around the neighbourhood. Everyone agrees that they suit her!

Overall, she is a doll who has already won the hearts of her foster family!