360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
GupGup fit in perfectly from day one and continues to be the easiest adoption we've ever experienced! He's so easy going, he gets along with every human, dog and piece of food he meets! Every day he and our pug snuggle in beds and sunbeams together; it's so adorable and exactly what we were hoping for! He's a happy, spritely guy and his displays of happiness at mealtimes are pretty goofy. He is so excited to eat, he parkours off the cupboards if we don't remind him to have a seat. He seems to love rolling in laundry so much that he will pull it out of the basket while making squeaky noises of delight, making a mess and having the time of his life. It's the cutest. He's such a little weirdo; he makes us laugh all the time (in typical pug fashion). He's such a little gift - there have been no issues barking, marking, aggression, you name it... he just walked in and made himself comfortable. We are so happy to have him in our lives.
GupGup--aka Gup, Guppy, Guppers, Gupperdoo, and Mr.Guppertons is now ready to find his forever home. This little man is very relaxed and laid back. Nothing bothers him. He would do well in a Condo, apartment or house with fenced yard. He is great with people (kids over 12) and all animals (currently resides with both large and small dogs plus chickens/Ducks.
He isn't interested in playing with other dogs or toys, but enjoys curling up with his canine friends on a fluffy bed or on the lap of his people. As laid back as Guppers is, he sure comes alive when it's time to eat his meals. His pure exuberance for food is just adorable. He bounces up and down at the sight of his bowl and his little eyes grow bigger as he sits and waits for it to arrive on his placemat.
Mr. Guppers does a perfect impersonation of a shadow, following his foster mum closely as she goes about her day. I believe suddenly losing his previous care giver due to illness, he feels the need to keep his 'person' in sight. He would do best with a family where someone is home most of the time and has a dog or two.
Having had surgery for an ulcer on his eye, he will require eye drops for the rest of his life. Otherwise, he is in great health with a lovely weight of 21 pounds. He enjoys eating blueberries, carrots, liver or sardines as treats. Guppers goes on three walks a day on the trails, weather permitting. Hot temperatures keep pugs inside with A/C or relaxing in the doggie pool. He is crate trained if left alone, but this rarely happens in his foster home (no more than 2 hrs.). He has only used it for bedtime if not sleeping with one of his people. It has been reported that he "doesn't snore much", LOL.
GupGup is very quiet, doesn't bark when people enter the home, but will add his quiet little bark (which is adorable) if his Big fur brother barks sounds of concern. The only time you will certainly hear GupGups voice (sounds like a baby's excitement), is when he greets your return home. Boy oh boy is he happy you're back!
GupGup is adored by EVERYONE that meets him. They admire his relaxed calm nature and want to kiss his precious little grey face. He truly is a pleasure to be around and will fill one lucky family's home with joy and love.
I am happy to report Gup Gup's eye graft has officially healed! Dr. Rogers gave him the 'all clear' after his third eye recheck and she was over the moon with how beautifully his graft has healed. The eye drops are no longer need either with the exception of the Tacrolimus that he still requires twice daily. Gup Gup was even cone-free for a whole week and a half...until he needed his final eye surgery (more about that in a moment).
Needless to say, Mr. Guppers was a very happy camper to be running cone-free and able to lick his paws and my face again--.LOL! All weekend, he seemed to have more pep in his step. However, he is likely a bit disappointed that he must drink out of the water dish like everyone else. He was enjoying the personal water bowl that was held for him several times a day as a result of the cone.
In other news, Gup Gup had his dental surgery just over a week ago. He came through with flying colours, although he did have 20 teeth removed!!! Fortunately, most were either very loose and just fell out or they were broken and likely bothersome. Prior to surgery, he had severe gingivitis, calculus and plaque but NO MORE! His bad (I mean real bad) breath is all gone and his mouth is now healthy and clean. Gup Gup was a even a trooper about taking the awful tasting medicine for the first week of recovery. Now that he's fully healed, you'd never know he was missing so many teeth. He gobbles down his food as though his mouth is full of pearly white chompers!
On July 26th, Gup Gup had his final surgery with Dr. Wolfer. He underwent a bilateral medial canthoplasty to prevent any further corneal pigmentation. Not surprisingly, he came through without a hitch. Unfortunately, he is now back in the cone for the next couple of weeks. Dr. Wolfer will recheck Gup Gup's eye on August 10. If all goes well, Gup Gup will be available for adoption shortly after that. As always, we will keep you updated so keep checking the website for future posts.
I just can't say enough about how calm and sweet this little man is - we just adore him. Nothing seems to bother Gup Gup as far as noise, dogs or people. In fact, we just rescued four ducks and he was uninterested. He simply walked up to pen to say 'hey' and then laid down while he waited for me to finish feeding our chickens. I have no doubt that he'll fit in with whoever is fortunately enough to be his new family.
Gup Gup has been doing well since coming into our care but his journey has not been without some bumps. Just over a week ago, Gup Gup was supposed to go in for his dental, but just prior to surgery, the vet noticed that there was an issue with Gup Gup's eye. One fluorescein uptake test later, the dental was postponed and Gup Gup and I were off to the Toronto Animal Eye Clinic to evaluate and treat the deep corneal ulcer in his left eye.
Dr. Wolfer and his staff were amazing and we are thankful that they were not only able to squeeze his appointment into their very busy schedule, but Dr. Wolfer was able to perform surgery on him that very day. Due to the severity of Gup Gup's ulcer, Dr. Wolfer grafted some skin from the back of Gup Gup's eye onto the ulcer in order to bring more blood vessels to the area, which will promote healing. The surgery went well and I was able to bring Gup Gup home with me that evening.
Much to Gup Gup's dismay, Dr. Wolfer prescribed a series of four different eye drops, pain meds and a lovely plastic cone. Thank goodness for that cone because he tries to rub his eye any chance he gets! The night after surgery, we took the cone off to adjust it and in the millisecond between taking the cone off and getting my hands down to his paws to hold them back, he had them up and was rubbing the heck out of his eye! Thankfully he didn't make contact and cause further injury, but geez he's quick for an old man!!
We had our follow-up appointment with Dr. Wolfer last Friday and he was very pleased with how well Gup Gup is healing. Yay Mr. Gupperton!! We are to continue with the eye drops for another week and then have another recheck done. Thankfully, this one can be done by my local vet and I won't have to battle rush hour traffic in Toronto again!
Dr. Wolfer will be doing a second surgery on Gup Gup to fix his entropion, which is a congenital condition whereby the lower eyelid folds inward causing the eyelashes to rub and potentially scratch the cornea. It is the reason for the corneal ulcer and not uncommon in pugs. However, given that we also need to do the dental, Dr. Wolfer gave us the go ahead to deal with Gup Gup's teeth first in order to give him a break from the cone and all the eye drops for a while. He will be going in for his dental on July 7th with his entropion surgery to follow three weeks later.
Despite all that has happened, Gup Gup continues to be such a sweet boy. He has settled in very well with my dogs and family and is just so relaxed and chill that not much really fazes him. We have another dog spending the weekend and Mr. GupGup could care less. He greeted the dog at first but then continued to go about his business of watching or following me around the house. He does seem to enjoy the company of my resident pug and will sometimes sit or sleep next to him, but he has no desire to do so with any of the other dogs. Gup Gup is very respectful of other dogs though and is quite tolerant.
We have tried to engage Gup Gup in play, but he has absolutely no interest in toys. He does gets VERY excited when I come home after being gone for any length of time and whenever food is involved. Gup Gup is also a huge fan of both snuggling and sleeping! He will often fall asleep with his head resting on my husband's feet when he watches the news before bed and boy is he a heavy sleeper!! Sometimes I think the house could fall down around him and he wouldn't wake up. Haha! He often dreams while sleeping and makes the most adorable little sounds!
We will miss this sweet laid back boy when he goes, but we know that his forever family will love him just as much as we do!
Gup Gup is an 8 year old black pug who has been with us for a week now and I can't say enough good things about him. He is a dream - just calm, easy going and well-behaved! After adjusting to his new life in foster care, it was clear that Gup Gup loves his people more than almost anything. He can usually found snuggled up to one of us on the couch or chair while watching tv or snoozing by my feet while I work in the office or kitchen. We haven't seen any issues between him and the resident dogs. Gup Gup just doesn't seem interested in engaging with his them. That being said, he did have a moment in which he tried mounting one of his furry foster siblings, but quickly received the message that such intrusions were not acceptable and quietly backed away without incident. Thus, it does appear that Gup Gup understands canine social cues, despite his disinterest in actually socializing.
There is one thing that Gup Gup does like more than his people - FOOD! Since his arrival, Gup Gup has wanted food, all day, all the time! He's not picky either and will eat anything put in front of him, including carrots, cucumbers, apples, sardines, salmon and blueberries! Despite desperately wanting food, Gup Gup is very polite at meal times, waiting patiently for me to put down his bowl. He is very gentle when receiving treats as well. He did hop up on the kitchen table one day in search for treats, but was instantly corrected and hasn't done so since then.
Not surprisingly, bedtime, bathtime and walks are all quite uneventful. Gup Gup goes to bed easily and whines for only a moment once he is crated and everyone has left the room. Baths are also a breeze with his favourite part being afterwards when I towel him off with warm towels. He is quite adorable as he rolls around on them, making little baby sounds in excitement. He loves having his belly rubbed during this process as well! As for walking, Gup Gup is still adjusting to his harness, but he a dream on leash, never leaving my side except to sniff something next to the resident dogs. On occasion, he will jump or bark at a tree/plant, but it's done in fun and not anxiety and he has the most adorable, quiet bark. Mosquitoes do seem to bother him and he will try to eat them if they get too much. I do my best to keep them at bay by keeping everyone else moving. I have noticed that Gup Gup's ability to follow commands (such as sit, stay etc) is based more on chance than understanding so we will be working on that during his stay with us.
Gup Gup had his first vet visit the other day and did very well and is in very good health. The vet was very pleased with both Gup Gup's weight (a lovely 21lbs) and his demeanour. The vet did note that Gup Gup is in desperately need of a dental. This determination comes as no surprise to me as I'm certain that his breath can peel paint in its current state! Assuming his blood work comes back with the 'all clear,' we will schedule him in for his dental. I will be sure to update everyone once all is said and done.
Overall, Gup Gup is a sweet-natured, calm little man with practically perfect manners. I have no doubt that he will continue to be a dream once he finds his forever home.
