Adopt two new Pugs. No wait, make that three new Pugs!!!

left to right . . . Spanky, Faith and Choncho

I honestly thought they would say I was totally irresponsible and they would come and take Faith back. Seriously, I thought I was such a loser. Mike said we would get another Pug and I told him I didn’t think APARN would let me; however . . . about 5 days later, I got an email from Mo and Faith’s foster Mom that they were getting in two male puppies and that I could meet them first before anyone else. They still had faith in me . . . I was astounded!!! Laura said she knew I was a good Pug Mom . . . she said she knew it the instant she met me. (???)

So I took Faith with me to one of the APARN intake workers office. She works at a Best Western and these people who were giving up these puppies took them to her office to relinquish them. I came to her office to pick them up, Faith in tow. It was pug day at Best Western. I was supposed to bring them home and let them interact with Faith and when Mike got home from work, he would meet them and we would decide which one we wanted to keep and I would take the other back to her. These puppies are right around Faith’s same age. Spanky is 2 months older than her and Choncho is about 1 week younger than her. However, they are both significantly larger than she is. I wonder if her small size (which I find just adorable) is a result of her litter being so sick.

Mike came home and after just a few minutes of interacting with them, said we were keeping them both! So as I type this, I have three snoring pugs in my office. things seem mostly right in my world, but I do miss Mo horribly. I could have lived with 4 pugs.

I do not know how or why this happened. Mo had never shown any interest in the pool area. He always ran immediately to the grassy area in the back of the yard and played until he couldn’t play anymore. He ran and ran and ran until he was exhausted and one of his favorite thing to do is to have me let him out the master bathroom door and he would run around to the doggie door and come back in and present himself to me in the bathroom again. Like he had pulled one over on me. Mike and I worked hard to get Mo and Faith to learn the doggie door and they learned quickly and would come and go as they pleased, although they mostly stayed very near me and would hang on my every move. On this one morning I let them outside the master bathroom door as I usually do and I even sat outside with them for a few minutes with my coffee. When I came in, they came in with me and I was getting ready for work and they were just playing and then they went outside. The next thing I knew, Mike came in and told me that Mo had fallen into the pool. Actually what he said was “Mo is dead” I laughed when he said that because I didn’t understand. I was thinking like “Mo is dead . . . he chewed up my “fill in the blank” and I’m going to kick his curly tailed ass” . . . but that is not what he meant. Because when I laughed and asked what he had done and Mike said, ” He fell in the pool” I knew what had happened.

The pool is fenced and gate was locked, it is always locked so somehow and for whatever reason he squeezed through the bars of the pool fence. We had checked the bars when they first got here and they didn’t seem to be able to get into the pool area and they never actually even showed any interest in it. As it didn’t seem that they could go through the bars (their heads kinda fit, but they stopped at the shoulders). I don’t know why Mo went in there. There weren’t any toys or anything in there that would be of interest. I just don’t know why he did. Mike and I have beat ourselves up over this . . . to this day we still are. It is very hard to get past. We are heartbroken over this. In all the years I have been with Mike I can honestly tell you that this is the first time I have ever seen him break down and cry.

All I can think about is how they (Mo and his sisters) were so sick when they came to APARN and how Laura (their Foster Mom) literally saved their lives. they were so sick and she helped them fight for their lives. They fought and fought and fought to get well and healthy only to have this happen.

The last interaction I had with Mo was him pulling on the hem of my nightgown that morning as he did every morning. He was just playing. It was like he was telling me to come and play . . . now!!! I guess that was fun to him and it actually always made me laugh.

Mike and I buried him in the backyard where Tootsie and Pork Chop are (my first pugs). Mike went to Home Depot and got some orange safety netting that is 4 feet high and wrapped it around the entire pool fence. It looks kinda stupid, but Faith cannot get through unless she jumps 4 feet in the air so that is really all that matters at this point. I can’t let this happen again.

I will do it because I have to do it, but in the mean time I am directing you all to a different entry which will explain why Hippiechick is so heartbroken . . .

It turns out that probably she was having a reaction to the medication for the mange, so she has been taken off of it. In the mean time, she had had to have an eye surgery and had to be on prednisone for the eye and so now has the demodex mange again. She is on half the dose of Ivermectin to fight this round of mange because the dips are possibly toxic to her.

Little Hope is such a trooper and a brave little girl. I just love her!!!

I wrote a very long post and twice I got the “oops” screen and it was lost. I was frustrated!!! I am going to try again now, but I am going to break this down into smaller posts so I can get it all out and maybe not get the frickin’ screen . . . puppy paws crossed folks . . .

On the day I was supposed to pick them all up (Mo, Faith and Hope), Hope got very ill. She was very disoriented and sluggish, almost like she had a stoke or something. Laura (foster mom) took her to the emergency clinic where they examined her, but couldn’t find anything conclusive. She was to go for further testing, so that day I only brought home Mo and Faith. But that was a good amount of “puppyness” for the time being. I love them so much!!!

I am meeting Laura (foster Mom) tonight as we are giving all the puppies their baths as we do several times a week, only this time, instead of all of them going home with her . . . three are coming home with me!!!

YAY!!!!!!

their foster Mom, Laura, told the APARN president that I could take them home when I was ready. She felt confident that they were stable enough and that I would take good care of them!!!

I have to hurry up and get their things together, beds, a little house for them (they have a little house where they live right now made from a crate (carrier) that they like to sleep in at night or when they are napping. The rest of the time they are running around like crazy. I have toys already . . . when I should have been buying beds, I was buying toys . . . geez. (they love that little red ball)

This morning Laura (their foster mother) and I took all five puppies to the vet for a check up. They had skin scrapings to check on the demodex mite situation and had their eyes checked. The vet found zero mites on two of them and only dead mites in the other three. That is awesome progress. Also, they each have gained 1 – 2 pounds each since the last visit two or so weeks ago. They are on the road to recovery!!!

The really significant thing is that they all got their first shots this morning. They have not been able to have any shots yet (and they are already 5 months old) because of all the infections that they had.

Shots mean that Faith, Hope and Mo are one step closer to coming to live with me!!!

Note: I took this picture one day last week. I was at the Paws Pet Resort and Spa (where Laura works) helping with their baths and they were terrorizing a little terrier that was being groomed at the same time. Poor Chrissie (the terrier) was exhausted by the puppies. She is usually very dominant and bossy with other dogs, but she didn’t know what to make of these puppies! that is Laura’s daughter in the background (sitting on the floor). She also works at Paws Resort as a groomer.

and Klaus and Violet were adopted by the family ahead of me.

I was pretty disappointed; however, another opportunity presented itself, as is often the case.

APARN took posession of a Mother and Father and 5 puppies in September. The Mom and Dad were sick at that time. The Dad had heartworm, ticks and worms and the Mom had demodex mange, worms and ticks. The puppies who were 2 months old at the time had severe demodex mange, yeast infections and scabs and sores all over their tiny little bodies. At 2 months of age they weighed only 1.5 – 2.5 pounds each. One of the puppies had pneumonia. It was questionable as to whether or not they would even live. Several of them also had eye ulcers.

They were sent immediately to the emergency hospital where they were stablized and they have been living with a “wonder woman” who is caring and fostering them. I was told that when they were ready (healthy) I could adopt a puppies from this litter. I decided that I wanted too and for the past several weeks I have been helping the foster Mom (her name is Laura) with the care of the puppies.

We give them special baths 3 times a week and other care specific to each puppy’s needs. They all still have varying degrees of yeast and bacterial infections, but are getting better and stronger each day. As their immune sysrems develop and become stronger, they develp the ability to fight all of the infections. They hate their baths, but love their play time.

Each time I go, we play for a little while (they all love to play catch/fetch with balls and other little toys) and they love to be cuddled. After we play for a little while, they get their baths and them we have a little more play time before I leave. They are awesome little tough guys!!! They may not have had the best start, but they are mighty in spirit. They have not had their puppy vacinations yet as they cannot until they have better developed immune systems and the mange is under control, so they are still fostering together.

I am planning to adopt three of them. Mo (the only boy) and Hope and Faith. Mike agreed to let me have three . . . but draws the line there. Bringing home 5 puppies is not acceptable I guess.

This is a picture of them about week ago when they were put into the tub for their bathtime. From left to right they are Faith, Joy, Mo, Serenity and Hope. They have all stolen my heart!!!