360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
Brinkley continues to be a delight. She seems to be constantly happy, always eager to have belly rubs and playtime. When not enthusiastically playing with our resident chihuahua mix or by herself with toys, she plops herself down by my side in whichever room I'm in. She sleeps well in the Big Bed with foster mom and the other dogs and is learning that bedtime is for sleeping, not playing. She still pants heavily, particularly when excited, but the volume and amount has decreased substantially and I am less concerned now that the vet has confirmed her heart is strong. She continues to be clean in the house.
In late January we noticed her limping and lifting her left paw. She had previously done this once in a while on short walks but we attributed it to the fact that she was tired and/or was feeling the cold. However, when we noticed the limp continued indoors and her outer toe became swollen and clearly painful, we took her to the vet on January 31 who put her on Metacam (anti-inflammatory and pain med) and an antibiotic (for the infection). On February 2 we soaked her foot in warm water and pus immediately came out. A couple of hours later we soaked her foot again and out came some black exudate which may have signalled a strep or staph infection or yeast. It left quite a hole in her paw! The swelling has largely gone down since then. Today, February 6th, we went back to the vet for a recheck and distemper/parvo vaccination. The paw is much better but since she occasionally licks it, especially at night, she has been given another week of antibiotics and we need to stop her licking in order for it to scab over and heal completely.
Obviously during the last week and a half, walkies have been out of the question so our efforts at weight loss (hers and mine!) have been hampered. Nevertheless, she is doing well. How well, I'm not sure as the scales have not been consistent but we estimate she has lost about 2 lbs and needs to lose at least 4 more. When gets close to her target weight, we'll schedule her eye surgery and dental.
In the meantime, we really enjoy her company.
Meet lovely Brinkley who is a 7-year-old spayed female pug who came into rescue through no fault of her own. She is a happy, affectionate, and playful individual who gets on well with both people and the other dogs and loves to chew and squeak her toys. She has very good manners and does her business very efficiently, letting you know very firmly when she wants to come back inside the house. She is very content, including when crated (so the amorous boys don't bother her), and travels well in the car. In short, she is perfect.
Medically, however, she has a few issues. She came into rescue last weekend with a corneal ulcer which has now healed. The eye specialist attributed it to entropion, a condition not uncommon in pugs, where the eyelid/lashes roll inward and scratch the cornea. She will require medial canthoplasty where the opening of the eyes will be surgically made smaller to prevent this inward rolling. Brinkley also has a fair bit of pigmentary keratitis and an indication of dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca), both common problems in pug eyes. She has been prescribed Tacrolimus drops (twice daily) which she will need for life and which should help with the dry eye and slow the progression of the PK.
Brinkley's previous diagnosis of luxating patellas ("trick knees"), a condition where the kneecap dislocates and moves out of the joint, was confirmed. Her condition is not severe in either leg and no action is required.
At her first vet appointment, Brinkley had a rabies shot and a complete checkup. She will need a distemper/parvovirus vaccination in a few weeks. Her blood results came back normal and she tested negative for Lyme disease, heartworm, ehrlichia, anaplasma and fecal parasites. Unfortunately her urinalysis showed up some struvites crystals and an elevated pH so we will be working on increasing the acidity of her urine in the next few days. There is some tartar on her teeth so a dental cleaning is in her future. Unfortunately at her present weight, Brinkley is not a good candidate for her needed eye and dental surgery so we will be working to get some weight off. Weight loss will also ease her breathing and reduce the strain on her knees.
Brinkley will be in foster care for quite some time to accomplish all these objectives but will eventually make a lovely addition to someone's family. In the meantime we are delighted she is staying with us.
