Alfred was mean to me, so I stopped eating!

Beauty treatment

You may recall that I was adopted from the Northwest Arkansas Pug Shelter. I stayed with those nice people for over a year because everyone was too scared to adopt me. I am a special needs pug: I am partially blind and I have epilepsy. And when I was at the shelter I also smelled bad because I had constant ear infections and some skin issues. Well, no more!

The last time I went to the vet, my mom mentioned my skin problems. Basically, I had all these scales coming out of my legs. Then the vet, who knew that I am 7 years old, decided to run some tests. He tested me for demodectic mange, which is a condition that is common in pugs and, in fact, my little brother Alfred had to be treated for it. Fortunately, I tested negative. Then he tested my thyroid and bingo! there was indeed a problem because my test value came out too low. My doctor then prescribed some shampoo (Keratolux) and a spray (GentaSpray) and he also gave me some other pills that I have to take for the rest of my life.

So, now I take the following medication twice a day (note that I weigh 13 lbs):

• 8.1 mg phenobarbital for my epilepsy
  
• 1 ml potassium bromide for my epilepsy
  
• 0.15 mg soroxine for my thyroid
  

Additionally, I also take a daily vitamin supplement (Vetri-Liver Support) to help my liver because phenobarbital can cause liver problems. And, besides buying me Science Diet food, my mom also provides me and my brothers with plenty of fruit (tomato, apple, pear, mango, and peach). But note that we never eat grapes because grapes are poisonous for us as are chocolate and onions.

Finally, I feel good: I play with and chase my brothers around, my coat is super-glossy and I don't stink any more!

P.S. In the picture above, I am in the bathtub waiting for the shampoo to work. It has to stay on me for 5 minutes before we can rinse it off. Then mom wraps me in towels that she pre-heated in the dryer. And how does your mom dry you up?

Scratch!

No, not my back or my belly, silly! I learned that if I scratch the walls and doors, my parents get so annoyed that they go feed me (this only works around meal times, though) or take me outside. My mom does not like it when I do it ( she calls out my name: Steeeella!) but I think my brother Alfred approves. Look at me ready to scratch & roll!

We are very tired

Choppy, Alfie and I are so tired that we all slept together throughout the morning while our Mom was at work. When our dad got up, he could not find us anywhere and we actually thought Mom had taken us to the vet. But here we were; instead of crashing on our usual beds, we were just in our crate.

Not again...

Two days ago I had a seizure. I fell on the kitchen floor and as soon as Mom saw me she scooped me up and held me until I was better. I suppose it's my fault. I have been spitting out some of my phenobarbital pills without Mom noticing. She found a couple of pills half eaten in the laundry room not too long ago, so now she has been making double sure that I swallow the little suckers. Bummer, I thought I was doing so good...

But I suppose having seizures is not good for me so I'd better try to swallow those horrible tasting pills. Do you have to take pills too?

A very rough day!

Oh my goodness, something bad happened this week. On Friday night around 2:30 AM I woke up and while still half asleep I knocked out one of my toenails. Yes, you read that right. It was so painful that my Mom heard me gasp! She had woken up around the same time I had with the noise I made (shhh!, I grunt a little to get my Mom's attention) and she had just turned on the light when she heard a noise, followed by silence and then she saw me walk around the carpet leaving a trail of blood. She quickly scooped me up and saw what I had done. I did not mean to, believe me...

My nail was broken really short and it was still attached to my toe and turned upside down, not a pretty sight or comfortable outcome. Mom took me to my dad and she quickly grabbed her first aid kit and tried to make a funny boot for my paw. Then she grabbed me, wrapped me up in a blanky and she and I went to sleep in the spare bedroom.

During the night I managed to get my boot off. When Mom got up to get ready to go to work she noticed my handy business. She did not mind. Mom just made me another boot with one hand while holding me with her other arm--my Mom is a talented lady!!! Then she got ready for work and we left so that she could drop me off at the vet. There, my nice doctor and some nurses took care of me and made me another boot. This one was blue and very professional looking.

I know that shoes are all the rage now with SATC2 and whatnot but I do not like to wear boots, especially non-pink boots! So as soon as I got a chance, I lost my blue boot as well. So now I am bootless, my toe is not bleeding anymore and I am taking antibiotics. I hope my nail grows back straight because I don't want to wear any more boots blue, pink or any other color...


Me wearing the boot Mom made me


Alf giving me kisses after I got back from the vet


Taking a nap after a very long day!

So tired after the long weekend!

Chopper and I are so tired that we just fell asleep on our big pillow.
Normally, I would be sleeping in my own bed but since we all wanted to
be in the same room as mom, while she works on the computer, we had to
share.