Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Cinderella

Since we adopted Luna a little over a year ago, her physical appearance has changed tremendously.  When we adopted her, we knew that Luna had issues.  Her main issues were a severe case of dry eyes and a very bad skin condition as a result of an untreated case of mange.  When we adopted Luna we were informed that while she was on drops for her eyes and she had seen the dermatologist for her skin, she was by in no means cured and we would have to continue to monitor and work on these issues.  We were fine with this and couldn’t wait to meet Luna, the little pug that we heard so much about.  The day we met Luna, she was as cute as a button, but it was plain to see that she had suffered from a lot of neglect in her former life.  But, we took it as a challenge and vowed to make her life from this point forward as happy as it could possibly be.

It was hard for us to notice the changes in her that were taking place during her first few months with us, but friends, neighbors and Luna’s veterinarians all commented about how much better she looked.  It always made me feel good to hear these encouraging words.

As we were going through our pictures and putting together the Pug Love video, I came across a few photos that really showed how much Luna’s physical appearance has changed since she has been with us.

The one main thing I noticed was her weight.

As you can see in the photo, when Luna came to us she was a scrawny little thing.  In the photo you can see how her stomach drops right after her ribs.  Helping her put on weight was one of the easiest things to do.  She has the typical pug appetite and she loves her home cooked meals.  She started putting on weight almost immediately.  Today, the vet says she is at a healthy weight (but she is on the heavy side of healthy, so we will need to keep an eye on that)

The other big difference you can see in Luna is her fur.  When we adopted her, her fur was very patchy on her back and head and her belly and chest was almost completely bald.  This was because of an untreated case of mange.  When we first took Luna to the dermatologist, we found out that Luna had a lot of scars on her back and that she would most likely never grow fur back in many of the places on her back.  The cause of these scars remains a mystery, but the dermatologist doubts they are from mange.  Nonetheless, Luna’s coat has dramatically improved.

She hasn’t really grown fur back in the scarred areas on her back, but her coat has grown longer so that many of the bald spots are hidden by the longer hairs.  Most of the fur on the top of her head has grown back and she has a lot of new fur growth on her chest and belly.

The dermatologist has said that if her fur never grows back she is no worse for the wear and so far she has not had any skin problems.  Most people that meet her don’t even realize that she is missing fur, they just think she is an odd colored pug.  It isn’t until they pet her that they realize she is missing fur.

Another huge improvement is Luna’s eyes.  She currently get 5 different eye drops a day and she will be on eye drops for the rest of her life, but we are maintaining the little bit of vision that Luna has left.  She has a lot of scar tissue on her eyes as the result of untreated dry eye and this impairs her vision.  The ophthalmologist compares her vision to looking out a frosted car windshield.  She mainly sees shadows.  She gets around wonderfully during the day and the only time her vision is ever really a problem is at night.

All in all, Luna is doing well.  When you look at her you can tell that she has led a rough life in the past, but you would never tell based on her personality.  She acts like she as been spoiled since she was born.