360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
It's hard to believe that it's only been a week since we picked up Liam. It just feels like he's always been here because he fits into our family so well! His human sisters cannot get enough of him and look forward to every morning when he showers them with kisses. However, I'm sure Liam wishes that the baby would throw more of her food down for him in return for those kisses - haha! Liam loves playing with his toys (with his sisters of course!), but he thinks it's the best when Daddy and his biggest sis chase him around the yard!
When Liam isn't busy playing and exploring his new home, he enjoys going outside to bark at the birds. He also enjoys watching TV and barking to make sure that we know when that darn orange juice commercial is on again (LOL)! We are also happy to report that Liam has overcome his fear of the stairs and will go up and down without issue. He does still choose to sleep on his own downstairs. We aren't quite sure why, but as long as he's happy, that's all that matters!
In closing, we love Liam so very much and we are so happy that he chose us to adopt him (with some Pugalug help of course).
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us love Liam.
After months of recovery and assessment, Liam is ready to go to his forever home. He is a happy, loving 4-6 yr. old pug. He was turned in as a stray so we do not know his actual age or birthday.
We have been reviewing the need to have his knees operated on and the surgeon has recommended that the knee surgery be put off until some unknown point in the future - if ever. Liam does not show any clinical signs of requiring knee surgery for the patellas at the present time. With proper care, Liam may be able to go his entire life without this surgery. At this point, it is not believed that it would in any way improve his quality of life.
Even though Liam's knees do not require surgery, it will be vital that his weight remains stable and that he continues to be lean. By doing so, Liam's chances of requiring luxating patella surgery will be dramatically decreased. Pugalug will require that the adopters continue with his current food plan. Liam receives 1/3 c of Origin Tundra Grain-Free dog food with enough water added to float the food. He also gets grain-free treats a few times a day. They are sized for small dogs.
Liam continues to bark at the TV when animals or small kids are on, but can be called back for pats, rubs and praise for returning. He loves his people, tolerates other dogs well. He is not aggressive or dominant with other dogs and will back down from any confrontation. He has seen cats at the vets and shows signs of interest, and some barking. Liam sleeps in the big bed and would like to continue doing so. He loves to snuggle tight against you all night. He is a fairly early riser, looking to be up by 7 am at the latest. Liam is very happy sleeping in his favourite dog bed during the day. He is housebroken.
In terms of keeping his knees healthy, he does not and should not, ever be encouraged to jump off the bed. He should have short walks at a normal pace and, as mentioned previously, his body weight should remain on the lean side. He goes up and down stairs at ease.
Liam does not like to be picked up, except for a few seconds at a time. He does however, love to snuggle against you, sleep next to you on the couch and will come up on your chest or next to you to give kisses. Liam loves to give kisses to people he knows. He will struggle hard to get away when he has had enough cuddles or being held (even when he has asked to do so) and he could be dropped if you are not prepared to move quickly and put him solidly on the ground. Falling or jumping from heights is not good for any small dog's knees and definitely not for Liam. He enjoys belly and face rubs too. Liam has the cutest way of holding his ears - like a nun's wimple.... so cute when he picks them up in this pose. In spite of hundreds of picture attempts, I have not caught it in a good picture yet. Liam is not one for photo-shoots.
When you come home, Liam greets you with wiggles and kisses. Liam is a lovely boy, can be crated calmly and is a total sweet-pea. He is not suitable for an apartment or condo due to his barking. He would not be suitable for young children, especially those not experienced with animals, or who would try to pick him up. He would love to be the only dog as he will back down immediately from competition from other dogs or he would also like to have the company of another easy going dog. Liam may not be the best companion for a cat. He can be somewhat shy in new situations.
Liam is a wonderful loving little guy. He is very easy going, a bit shy, never aggressive with other dogs, he needs a home alone or with another easy going dog. Liam will be a wonderful addition to a new family.
Liam is doing really well. He is quite a sweet guy who loves to snuggle tight against you at bedtime and next to you on the couch. He is also happy to stand on your lap and give kisses. However, for some odd reason, he is still not fond of hugs or laying in your arms.
At the moment, we are still waiting for a surgery date for his knees. The vet office is transitioning between doctors and thus, it is taking longer than normal to fit him in.
Liam is improving when it comes to barking at the television. Although it is hit or miss, he is learning to come back from the TV when told. It will just take some time before he is able to do so consistently. Anyone who adopts him will need to be patient and committed to working with him on this habit. At the moment, he would not be a dog for an apartment or attached house; however he is quiet during the day when the TV is on music so perhaps there is hope.
In general, Liam likes the other dogs, but is not interested in playing with them. With the holidays coming up, we are hoping to introduce him to some children so that we can see how he handles them.
Liam continues to be a character. He is funny, sweet, kind, and even completely housebroken! Unfortunately, in the lottery of life, poor Liam has had some wins and losses.
With his breathing issues and neuter behind him, it was time to address what several vets had indicated were congenital cataracts. Thankfully, Liam was able to have a "win" in this department. His cataracts turned out to be a congenital refractive lens issue - which is really a non-issue! Basically, his lenses have a "sheen" on them (for lack of better words) that looks like a cataract at first glance. However, unlike cataracts, these do not require surgery and do not affect his vision in any way. They will need an occasional check to make sure nothing changes, but otherwise no treatment is needed.
However, poor Liam couldn't just leave his health issues behind on a "win." It's been determined that his knee issues are due to bilateral grade III luxating patellas. Surgery is recommended for both. At the moment, Liam's foster parents are working with Pugalug and the vet to determine when the surgeries should be done and if they should be completed concurrently or one at a time.
Liam will not be up for adoption until this surgery is complete and he has healed.
Liam is doing great post-neuter. He never even bothered with the stitches. Overall, Liam is just a load of fun, a real nut. He loves if you tap the couch, bed or ottoman near his feet - he starts to jump, wiggle, rub his face, give kisses and talk... he loves to talk to you, especially when you get his food ready. He is eating Acana Ranchlands kibble and gets a measuring 1/3 cup twice a day with water. He does well with that.
Liam is not a dog who likes to be held - rather he is more of a sneak attack boy. He will jump on your lap or ask to be picked up, jumping readily into your arms and giving nice kisses, rubbing his face on you and snuggling tight - for about 20 seconds. Then he wiggles and squirms wildly to get away. You really have to hang on tight so he does not leap out of your hands and hurt himself and you have to put him on the ground right away. He does love lying next to you on the couch, or occasionally sitting on a knee for a few minutes. Liam has become a HUGE fan of the big bed as well and is a snuggler. He is very good and knows not to jump on or off unless helped.
Liam has over come so much - his incredibly bad and frightening breathing issues and surgery, his neuter surgery, plus he has congenital cataracts and luxating patellas. The cataracts do not seem to slow him down any. You would never know that he has issues with his eyes - except when it comes to TV watching. He barks like a fool whenever an animal or what he thinks are animals, come on the screen. We find muting the sound during commercials helps as he knows every sound track and anticipates the animals or whatever things he reacts too. - Did I mention he is really, really smart...? The cataracts may remain as they are his whole life or may get worse. There is no predicting what will happen in the future unfortunately.
His knees are considered a grade 2 on the right and a 3 on the left. In the house and on short walks, there is no evidence either is a problem. If he runs however, the left definitely bothers him and causes him to run with it bent up. We will be looking into having the left knee fixed. The right is much less of a problem for him. Keeping him lean will be important to making sure his knee will remain a non-issue.
Despite all his health issues, Liam remains a happy and playful little man who will love that certain special forever home when it finds him!
Liam continues to do very well after his rather dramatic joining of the Pugalug crew. He is no longer coughing and breathes without any stress at all. He has settled into his new foster home quite well and continues to gain strength and confidence after spending so much time in the shelter and then the vets. In fact, he has done so well that it surprises us when he suddenly shows a bit of nerves at a new experience. Nonetheless, he is beginning to show his true personality and all of his wonderful traits and quirks!
Liam has learned his name quickly, leaving us to wonder if it is in some way similar to his previous name. He is a gentle, kind fellow, who takes treats with a very soft mouth. He is quite the talker though and amuses us daily with his various mumblings and yippings while he waits for his dinner and occasionally when excited. He enjoys watching tv and barking at the animals. Although quite amusing, it does not make him suitable for apartment living. However, if you own your home, he will happily entertain you!
Although Liam is still not especially fond of car rides, we are working on that by offering the occasional small treat. He is quite fond of soft dog treats, but will not eat raw veggies or fruit as of yet. In terms of food, we are transitioning him to Acana Pacifica kibble with a teaspoon or 2 of soft food, which had been his previous preference. Liam does appear to be housebroken as we have had no issues since he arrived.
He is a playful pug and enjoys tossing his stuffies in the air, then flinging them around. Although not a fan of being picked up, Liam will readily come and lean his head on you, gazing up lovingly. He also enjoys sleeping on the big bed at bedtime.
As we have no history on Liam, he will receive all of his vaccinations. He also needs to be neutered. We have discovered that he has cataracts, which does limit his eyesight to some extent, however you would never know it!
All in all, Liam is a charming, kindly gentleman who will make a wonderful member for his future family.
Little Liam (approx. 4 yrs old) was brought into Brampton Animal Services about 7-10 days ago as a stray. He was struggling to breathe and was rushed to a vet upon arrival. The initial thought was that he had been stung by a bee or received a spider bite. He stayed overnight and received both medication and O2, then returned to the shelter. Pugalug was contacted to see if we could take him and once the mandatory waiting period was up, the shelter released Liam to Pugalug and he was picked up on the afternoon of July 2.
Thankfully, Liam's transporter also happened to be an emergency vet tech because when she went to collect him from the shelter, Liam was again having an episode of extreme panting and was clearly not able to get enough air. She assessed him at the car and decided he was in no state to travel and rushed him to the nearest vet, which just happened to be across the street. The wonderful vet staff were amazing and Liam was immediately given O2 and medication in hopes of stabilizing him. A quick phone call with the higher ups in Pugalug determined that Liam was far too unstable to bring him to his foster home. Instead, he would be sent to the Toronto Veterinary Emergency Hospital to be evaluated and hopefully stabilized. Our amazing Pugalug transporter had the brilliant idea of packing him in ice to keep him cool for the trip, but even with that, he barely made it. Much to the relief of all involved, Liam was stabilized by the fantastic TVEH team and they determined that Liam required life-saving surgery to fix his incredibly tiny nares and his elongated soft palate (ESP). The technical diagnosis was severe brachycephalic syndrome.
Overall, Liam appears to be a friendly little fellow, although he is obviously not able to be his true self at the moment. Until his surgery, Liam needs to remain calm as he struggles to breathe any time he is even a little bit excited. The hope is that the surgery will take place on Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Until the surgery takes place, he is unable to be taken to his foster home; however his foster family visited him on Sunday afternoon and were able to get a picture and some video of the handsome little man.
We will update everyone on his status once he has had his surgery.
