Thursday, November 19, 2009

Pug Medical Issues That Smell Like Poop



Penny went to the vet this morning for her re-check, and her
infections seem to be clearing up. But, on the heels of
her infections, we were dealt another blow. A few
days ago, I noticed Penny was wobbly at times
and knocking into things. I assumed she was
just loopy from all of the medication
she has been on.

But it seems to be more serious. As of right now, Penny has
very little vision. It seems as though she can see a little
out of her left eye, but not much. The vet told me her
pupils are not reacting to light, but she cannot
see any abnormalities.

Penny has an appointment tomorrow with an animal eye
specialist, and we are hoping to get to the bottom of
this and find out if this is temporary or permanent.
The vision loss became more apparent after she
began taking the medications for her
infections. I really hope one of her
medications did not cause her
to go blind. If it did, this
will be permanent.

Over the last 24 hours Penny has been confused.
Her pug tail is always uncoiled and she
is running full force into walls and
table chairs, so I can't let
her out of my sight.

She is sleeping and laying down a lot because she is
having a hard time navigating. All I can do right
now is be with her and not leave her
by herself.

I don't know what caused or is causing her vision impairment,
but she literally lost her vision overnight. I'm doing as
much research as I can and talking with our vet to
better adapt Penny to this new situation to
prepare us if this does happen to be
permanent. I won't know anything
until tomorrow, but I will be
sure to let everyone know
what happens and how
she is doing.

We're just going to take it day by day like we do everything else,
and hope for the best. No matter what happens, Penny will get
through this. I'm going to be sure to give her plenty of
whipped cream, and let her listen to as much
Michael Jackson music as she wants
while we figure this out.

18 comments:

dw said...

Awww, I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, Penny. I's hoping you'll get some better news from the eye doc tomorrow!

Kelly said...

Oh Penny! Bless your heart! I will be waiting anxiously to hear what the eye specialist says.

Sending a prayer your way,
Pearl

Arlo The Pug said...

Oh Poor Penny! We will be on our knees (and paws) praying until we hear good news! Bless your heart!

Pug(s) and Bugg said...

We are praying for you Penny! In the meantime I hear whipped cream might make it better!!! Please get some of that and keep us updated!!!!

Stubby said...

Hi Dana! I'm so sorry to hear about Penny. I know you are worried sick about her and I am too. I took some medicine a couple of years ago that made me temporarily lose my earring. Mom and Dad were beside themselves.

I'm keeping my paws crossed and sending good vibes your way that everything will be okay.

Stubby xoxo

agent99 said...

Penny, we hope you get better soon!

love

Gen & the Foo

Salinger The Pug said...

Oh no! We hate to think that anything could be wrong with my fabulous Penny!!!

We'll be waiting for some good news from the specialist!!!

Love,
S-Dog

Nevis said...

Oh, Penny! I'm so sorry! I'll keep you in my prayers all weekend! Keep us up to date!!!

Archie and Melissa said...

oh dana and penny ~
i am so sorry! i am thinking of you both and i am always here if you need anything at all!
i will be checking in on you for any updates.
all my love!
melissa

Harry Pugalicious said...

Penny, we's thinking about you and your Mom and hoping that it's just some weird temporary thing.

Get better soon, Beefy Pug!

XOXO,

Harry P.

Winston Wilbur said...

Oh my this is upsetting. Poor Penny. We are sending luvs and hugs your way. We hope things turn around and get better real quick. We do know of a pair of black pugs that we see from time to time. One of them lost their sight recently. It was very strange, some sort of genetic eye problem. The pug is doing well and has adapted well to her new life without sight. The only thing she can't do anymore is fetch a ball but hey, she is alive and happy and none the worse for wear. Please keep us posted.

Winston

Paula said...

I am so sorry to be reading what your Penny is going through. I will keep her in my well puggy thoughts and prayers. You must be so filled with worry.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Hi my name is Tweedles
This is my first time to your blog.
I came to bring you love from me and my moms and let you know that we will be crossing our paws and sending puggie prayers for sweet Penny.
We know this is a very scary time for you.
We will expect a miracle
love
tweedles

Sandra y Coco Pug said...

Hi Penny, I am sorry to hear about this. I really hope it is a temporary issue that will go away in no time. Let's keep our paws crossed for that! But tell your mom not to worry if it is not temporary. I lost both eyes 3 years ago and I couldn't be happier, plus I have a lot of fun adventures, just like any other puggie! We adjust and adapt, and I may not be able to fetch a ball or run around in circles (though I do walk pretty fast at home) but I can sniff much better now, specially food and treats!
My mom will be praying for the best, too. We wanted to know what are the other issues (what the medicines were for), and hope that's not a problem anymore. Well, I guess we will visit your previous posts now to find out!
Kisses
Coco

Becky said...

I hope the eye appointment went well for Penny and that you got an answer. This sure sounds serious and I would be worried too. Praying for a recovery coming Penny's way very soon.

Love,
Fuji Pug, Gidget Pug, Mom and the rest of our dog family

Brutus, Ellie, Pippa and Otto said...

Hope she feels better soon and regains her sight. We will keep her in our prayers.

Pugs & Kisses,

Yoda & Brutus

Jean C said...

I have been following your blog for a short time and am so sorry to hear about Penny's eyes. I have included some info from my Pug friends here in Santa Cruz CA. We hope it helps. Know that our group is very concerned for your situation and will follow it closely.

Jean Chalmers (Emerson's pug mom)
Toni makes a profound point. The calmer and more upbeat we are, the more quickly the dog will get over the initial confusion and depression of sudden blindness.

The more we train and show the dog how and what to do, etc., rather than doing everything for the dog, the better the dog will be at regaining her/his confidence and security.

There is a problem with strange dogs that can be avoided by never putting the blind dog into a situation with other dogs unless every dog is leashed and held by the human. The blind dog can accidentally challenge the sighted dogs by unknowingly staring (a confrontational signal in a sighted dog).


I took a blind dog while his owner had surgery and rehab. This was just before Leo came.

The very best thing I did was to get a book called Living with a Blind Dog by Caroline Levin

http://www.amazon. com/Living- Blind-Dogs- Resource- Low-Vision/ dp/0967225345

One of the other best things I did was to use bottled essential oils (vanilla and lemon so they wouldn’t get too gross in the house like florals might) to mark “watch out” as well as “this way to the food bowl” and “here’s the door.” I used one for “good” and the other for “watch out.”

I was careful not to move furniture without showing him (Regis).

I found out that a blind dog is not secure when lifted quickly off the floor. That is, the dog wants to be aware of how high up he is and how far it is to the floor. I lifted slowly, and then slowly returned Regie to the floor before lifting him onto my lap, every time. Otherwise he spent the time straining towards the floor, very anxious. It took me DAYS to figure this out, but of course it would be that way (duh).

SARD can strike any breed. That is, it’s not just Pugs at all. Because it has many facets (not just the blindness), the owner should pursue a specialist referral.

It has been proposed that adrenal exhaustion is a major component and that an endocrinologist can help with the other SARD symptoms, but this (so far) has been unproven.

Do you know if the dog has Cushing’s? Cushing’s too has been posited as a SARD trigger. So has autoimmune disease.

SARD strikes a few thousand dogs every year.

Unknown said...

Penny! Walter and I will pray for your health and recovery. We're so glad you;re in a loving home with good pug parents. Please hang in there and have faith, We're rooting for you.