Monday, February 4, 2008
As told by Hooie's Mom Lisa
Hooie came from a small town called Indio, California. His father decided that he thought his girlfriend was more important than him, and allowed his girlfriend to beat him, lock him in closets for hours on end, and to leave him home alone for days at a time. When Hooie's "new" grandmother Ofelia got wind of how Hooie was being treated, she talked his then dad into giving him to his new Mom and Dad Lisa and Johnny in Oakland, California. He arrived about 2 years ago, and quickly settled into his new home and became the ultimate Velcro-pug that his mommy had always hoped for. Hooie misses his sister Carmen who had to be put to sleep, but enjoys his new sister Tina very much!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
As told by Bonnie
Cheerio! My name is Lucy and I here to tell you my long “curly” tail. I am approximately 4 years old, according to my wise old vet, and in such a short life I have been passed around like a hot potato (don’t get me started on food!). I was purchased as a puppy to be with a family in South Carolina. Unfortunately, my new pug parents were not very good to me. They did not realize pugs are family pets and must live inside! They kept me in a very small enclosed pen outside! It gets very hot, as well as pretty cold here in South Carolina and I didn’t enjoy living out there all alone! My family did not know that pugs have special dietary considerations either; they fed me miscellaneous table scraps and so, with a lack of exercise and good yummy food, I got to be very fat! Let me tell you, for someone with as much pride as I have, being so fat was very embarrassing for me!
After I was spayed, I didn’t go back to the vet, so from all the neglect, I became a very poor and sad pug. Eventually my owners got tired of me (and I was getting tired of them too!!!) so they posted an ad up offering me free to good home.
A nice lady from the Union County Animal Shelter heard about my ad and went to pick me up. Her name was Donna and she brought me home.
Boy, was I happy to be with her and her nice family! She gave me a warm bath and cleaned me up really good! She also house trained me (who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?). Donna was amazed one day when we were outside and I pooped out a little metal army man toy; I had been so badly abused at my former home I probably ate the toy out of boredom or sadness! I had also worn the same collar for so long, it left horrible indentions and calluses on my poor little pug neck. I also had developed kennel cough from being outside and I wheeze and pant a lot from the strain the collar put on my throat. I had a horrible mite problem in my ears on top of that. But even through all that, Donna could see the sparkle returning to my sad and lonely eyes while she taught me to be a happy pug that trusts humans.
After I had been on a diet for awhile and had shown significant health improvements, Donna was ready for me to go to a forever home!
My mommy and daddy found me on this great site called petfinder.com, which places homeless pets of all kinds in loving families. My new mommy had been searching for a homeless pug for a few months, to be a companion to their existing fawn pug, Lily. When mommy saw my photo, she fell instantly in love with my cute little face and emailed Donna right away. After many emails, mommy, daddy and Lily came to pick me up. Since my new family lived about an hour away from Union, Donna agreed to bring me half way. When I came to my new home, I was very very excited! All the excitement about having a new sister caused me to breathe very heavily for a few days! Mommy thought I must be sick; she did not know it takes me awhile to calm myself down when I am excited!
When I went to the vet a few days later, they took lots of tests and said I was healthy as a horse but just needed to lose a little bit more weight!
I loved my little sister Lily from the very get-go. I took to mothering her, laying her down at night and washing her face and little belly. We also sleep together on the couch snuggled right up against each other! I love to go to ‘puppy spa’ with my sister and get pug facials and massages and manicures! I also have 2 huge baskets of toys to play with (my cookie monster is my favorite toy) and I love to go on a short walks when it’s not too cold or too hot out! Mommy also buys me all kinds of fancy outfits now that I am small enough to fit in them!
I love my mommy and sister but my daddy is the VERY best. I am definitely Daddy’s girl; I am always on his lap and follow him from room to room. My breathing difficulties have definitely improved and I have lost tons of weight since my crazy pug sister taught me about ‘pug attacks’ where we run through the house like 2 miniature galloping horses.
I finally have reached the end of my tail! I conclude by saying I am one happy, lucky, and VERY loved little pug!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
As told by Danine
Hi my name is Frankie and I’m now 3 years old. I came to my mommy while she was trolling the animal care and control website of California. Immediately my little pug face jumped out of the screen and said “COME GET ME!!!!”
Mommy called immediately to be told that I had just been dropped off that morning. Apparently, the people who brought me into their home couldn’t care for me anymore. Me? I’m no trouble at all!
I live in Santa Monica and Mommy quickly printed out directions to the Lancaster Animal Shelter. Being fairly new to California my mommy didn’t know just how far she would have to travel to get me or how hot it would be up there in June!
She left work the next day because it’s first come first serve and there was one other person who phoned with interest. Well, where I was was no place for a pug – hot – no comfy beds and the food had to be shared with two others in my cage. My mommy cried when she saw me in the cage, but since I didn’t know how good she would be to me yet I ignored her cooing my name.
She went through the paperwork and when I came out I was just happy to get out of that horrible shelter (Don’t get me wrong, they take care of us there, but it is a shelter out in desert with no a/c.) I met my new daddy then too! (He’s cool cause he’s home a lot and when he travels mommy makes sure she comes home during lunch to let me and my brothers out for a stretch and a pee!)
I got into their car and since I was so upset at my other family all my fur was coming out (they say that happens when we get nervous). I sat in her lap and kissed her and rustled around – fur was flying everywhere! Daddy had to roll down the windows just to let some hair out cause it kept getting in his and mommy’s eyes and nose! Hehehehe!
Once I arrived at my new home, I immediately christened the nice grassy yard that I now lay in and enjoy the sun and cool weather of the west side!
I was full of foxtails (mommy hadn’t heard of those) so she gave me a bath and my new daddy helped pick them all out (it took them most of the night). She sprayed me with doggie detangle (made from lavender from a farm in Santa Ynez) and she gave me benadryl cause the shelter mass immunizes and they gave me Lepto in my shot!!! Which I hear is a BIG NO NO for a pug.
The next day I went to a nice doctor who gave me a full exam – unfortunately I was a little bit of a mess. I was so skinny and malnourished that the bones in my head were sticking out, my teeth were full of plaque, and I had a heart murmur. I slept with mommy and daddy that night (right in-between them) and although I kept looking for my other family after a few months of home cooked meals and lots of love and lots of attention I’m pretty much running their lives along with the older pug they have (he’s mean some times but most times he let’s me sleep next to him and as long as there isn’t food or treats involved we get along just fine).
I’m VERY happy now. I’m 20 lbs - my teeth are plaque free (without a cleaning – mommy uses plaque off added to my food) and I NO LONGER HAVE A HEART MURMUR!!! I’m in perfect health and living the life I was meant to live.
Thank you for listening to my story.
Frankie the spoiled pug.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
As told by Dianne
Abby’s foster mom gave us some background on Miss Abby. Namely that Abby was a “child” of divorce. When her parents split up, Abby went to live with her Dad. As it turned out, her Dad wasn’t home much and passed her off like a football to his mother. I was told that Abby’s Grandma wasn’t a dog person and poor Abby ended up spending most of her time outside on the back patio. As you know, being away from people is torture for pugs. Being outside in the heat of summer can be deadly. Fortunately for Abby, the patio was in the shade, but she still had to contend with the humidity. As a result of lengthy exposure to the great outdoors, she developed kennel cough and a fear of thunderstorms.
By the time Orlando Pug Rescue got Abby, she was a right mess. She had kennel cough, was underweight, missing two teeth, behind on her shots, had a raging ear infection, was not spayed and very dirty. Abby's foster mom took her in to the vet, got her taken care of and fattened her up with twice a day feedings and lots of treats. (Abby had only been fed once a day at her Grandma’s and had not been given enough food.) By the time we saw Miss Abby, she was thriving in her foster home where she had other dogs to play with and she had been given a lot of love. (Retha, her foster mom, is serious about giving her foster kids lots and lots of L-O-V-E.)
These days Abby rules the roost at our house. She is a sassy little thing and we wouldn’t have her any other way. Her pug-brother, Max, is very mellow, so together they are Yin and Yang and balance each other out. One of their favorite things to do is to run around the dining room table at full speed (well pug-speed) chasing each other. We call this occurrence “crazy-pug time”. They are very fond of sleeping and love to take naps together after “crazy-pug time”. They both are a lot of fun and everyday they do something hilarious to amuse us. Both Max and Abby exhibit that “look at me” trait I think all pugs have; they definitely like to be the center of attention. We felt blessed when Max came into our lives a couple of years ago (another rescue tale) and we were so happy we found Max a pug sister. A big thanks to the nice folks at OPRA. We love both of our pug-children so much.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
As told by Lisa
We knew we wanted another Pug but rather than go to the breeder for a Puppy we looked into the Green Mountain Pug Rescue to find a needy Pug that is in need of a forever home. There were so many to choose from. We came upon Turbo's Photo with little detail on him saying he was an owner surrender and was 10 years old. I contacted the Rescue to let them know we were interested in Turbo. They set up a home inspection and came to talk about the program. Shortly after that we received a call from Turbo's foster Mom asking if we were interested in coming to meet Turbo at her home. My Husband and youngest daughter along with our 2 Pugs Willow and Belle journeyed into Vermont to Turbo and the whole way I crossed my fingers hoping he would like us.
When I first laid eyes on him he stole my heart. He came right over to greet us and gave me Puggy kisses. He followed Willow and Belle all over and they played and played. Our visit went so well we got to bring him home that very same day. His foster Mom is a wonderful woman who was pretty choked up to see him leave but she was happy knowing he was going to a forever home that he deserved. It was a Bitter sweet moment. We keep in close contact with his Foster Mom she played a big role in Turbo's life.
Here is what I know of Turbo....
When he was young he was not treated very well he was used as a stud and kept on a short leash and was abused. He was kicked so hard his left eye was knocked out and his right eye is out of socket and is 90% blind in that eye. He requires eye ointment 4-5 times a day to help preserve the vision he has in his eye. We are trying to save his eye, but if it gets any worse he may have to have it removed to relieve the pain if it starts to bother him. (As of right know he shows no symptoms of pain). He also has Collapsed Trachea and is also on medication for that as well.
When he was around 3 years old he was rescued by a young woman and she kept him for 7 years. She kept great care of him and loved him so much but she was moving and was unable to take him with her. So sad :0
What I have learned about Turbo:
- He loves to sleep under the covers in bed at night
- He can walk on his hind legs for a treat
- He kisses me after I doctor his eye
- He is a Mama's Boy he follows me around every where I go
- He loves to go for rides in the car. (Monday is Turbo's car ride day. Just him and I go for a Monday Morning ride to get coffee and he gets a donut Hole for a treat. (He seems to enjoy this)
- He has Bad breath but I don't mind
- He also sneezes on me and sprays me with his nose spray...But I don't mind this either
- He does not act like he is 10 1/2 years old he acts as if he is 5 years old
- I was told by his vet he is in shape and is fit as a young pug
- He is such a love he wants to cuddle all the time
- He weighs 28lbs, but not a bit of Fat he is just a large structured guy
- He is a good sport and allows my daughters to polish his toes pink (I tell him Real Men wear Pink)
To stay up to date with the latest on Turbo and his two sisters Willow & Belle check out their blog, Pug Posse.
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