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?

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?

Impatient

I am walking around barking, trying to look for my mom. I know, it's tough to be a blind pug. I think she is in the kitchen but I am not sure.

I like being with mom a lot. Last night, in my sleep, I started freaking out, so all of a sudden I was salivating a lot. But mom woke up and at once she realized that I was about to have a seizure. So she spoke softly to me and held me tight. Then I calmed down and I did not have a seizure. This is good.

I think that my seizures are under control with medication and much love. These days, I only get pre-seizure panic attacks when I am sleeping and I wake up. I think that maybe my dreams create these seizure conditions. This is also what happens to my brother Alfred. I think we are making much progress. I feel much better now and my coat is super-duper-glossy!!!

It's August already?!?

Well my fans, I must confess that the lazy days of summer sure make me lazy... My mom has been working very hard and she has not been able to help me with the typing on my blog. She has been taking some really nice pictures of me but we have not been able to post them yet--it's that summer thing...

However, I do have awesome news. I have been seizure free for more than two months now. My poor brother Alfred had a tiny seizure a few weeks ago but he's not on medication. Speaking of medication, I don't like it that much but Mom makes me take it every day, twice a day! Why she must follow all these silly rules, I am not sure; but I am feeling better these days.

A few weeks ago, we pug-sat Olive the Pug for a week and a half. In the beginning Olive was a bit hyper but at the end she was very relaxed. She and Alfred walked really well together and I supervised from above, since Mom always carries me on the Pet-a-roo carrier. I think all our neighbors probably thought Mom was crazy and she was hoarding pugs, but we don't mind having a crazy Mom because she loves us very much.

Take care my fans!

From the house of the sick pugs...

Hello again!
Thanks for all your comments. Guess what? Today I got my stitches removed from my surgery. Everything is great and I have not had a seizure in over 1.5 months--knock on wood if you please... Now my vets and my Mom are going to try to reduce the dosage of my medication to see what is the lowest dose that I can be on that does not trigger seizures.

I am so happy my fans! Every morning, at 6 a.m., I am ready to have breakfast and play. As soon as my Mom and Alfred enter the living room (that's where I sleep the last part of the night after I have my restroom break and my dad goes to bed), I start barking and I jump in my crate. Then Mom gets me out and I run several laps around the couch. And I run really fast too. Mom says that's why I am skinnier now and more athletic.

Then Alfred and I have our breakfast. My poor brother Alfred has some yeast in his left ear so he also had to go to the vet. He is almost well. Mom has been giving him medication and cleaning his ear. Alfred does not like the ear cleaning part, especially now because it hurts. That reminds me that Mom is really happy because my ears are almost perfectly healed and they are not as swollen anymore. That's really too bad though because now I have no excuse to not listen to my parents. And believe me, I try to get away with as much as I can. Mom says I have gotten really bossy and stubborn but I like to think of myself as a really confident pug.

I'm almost back to normal :-)

Dear Readers,
Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers. My surgery, on Monday, went very well and I even got my teeth cleaned. However, if I had known that I would be without food, water and treats for more than 24 hours, I would have told my Mom and my vet "No thanks!!!" But now it's done and there's no turning back.

So far, so good. After the surgery, I slept all day long until 4:30 a.m. I have not had any seizures, which makes my parents very happy. I am still unable to run and act goofy like I used to and it hurts when I go potty but Mom says I'll be back to normal in no time at all. By the way, after my surgery, sometimes I have this pitiful cough that Mom thinks is really cute. And mom has been checking my stitches and she is putting Neosporin on them to minimize scarring. I just love to be pampered by Mom... Even Alfred has been gentler on me!

What a weekend!

I guess I should give you an update on my seizures. I think I told you sometime ago that my phenobarbital levels were too low and the doctor doubled my dosage. After that happened I actually had more severe seizures about once a week. Mom was very upset but she waited a little bit to see if it was just a temporary thing. Then I went to the doctor again and he gave me his own phenobarbital pills just to make sure that the ones I was having were still good. No luck, I still had some seizures.

Mom called the vet again and he decided that we were going to try something new. So yesterday, I started taking potassium bromide along with the phenobarbital twice a day. Although my white cell counts were normal, the vet also thought that I should take some antibiotics because I may have some infection since my heat period lasted for over 2 months.

Mom was a bit apprehensive about how I would react to taking all this medication, but so far so good. I know that Mom is trying to get me well, so I try my best to take my pills and my liquid potassium bromide.

And finally, today, I did not have a single accident, so Mom was very happy. Now Mom gives me a treat every time I go to the bathroom outside. I love treats... Yum yum yum!

My new home update

Hello again!
These last few days have been really exciting for me. I can't remember if I told you but on Saturday Mom gave me a bath and cut my nails. She also cleans my ears three times a day--I think she is crazy if you ask me, or maybe just a stubborn lady. Anyway, I love the attention and my ears are getting better.

Then yesterday, my Dad took me to the vet where Alfred goes. Boy, that Alfred is a popular pug. The ladies at the vet asked about him as soon as we came in and even told my dad to tell him "Hi" from them. They also thought I was cute because I'm so tiny. The vet office was a bit noisy but I just slept on my Dad's lap. It felt so good...

The vet did blood work on me to check my phenobarbital medicine levels. (Mom told them to do it because she had forgotten to give me my pill in the morning. She felt really guilty about it but I told her it was OK because I still have not had any epileptic seizures since I moved in with my new family. I told her not to forgot ever again and she said she would do her very best.) I'll get the results on Wednesday, so wish me luck. They also cleaned my ears and I did not like that at all. And they gave Mom medicine to put in my ears--I keep telling Mom to not put that stuff in my ears because it tickles, but Mom is stubborn. But I know she's right because my hears are feeling better and they don't smell any more. My skin is also looking better, so Mom is super-happy for me.

So far, the only problem I have is that I have a hard time going potty outside. I have accidents in the house and today I was really bad because I peed in my crate while Dad was at work and I fell asleep on the wet blanket. I shouldn't have done it because Dad took me out during the day but I am still learning, I guess. Mom said that she will do some research on how to help me.

And that's it, I am doing great so far and I am still learning my way around the house and how to tell my parents what I want. Alfred has been giving me hints and he even checks up on me during the night to make sure I'm alright. My brother Alfred is the best!