Oh, wait, did you think the vet visits were done?

So, to continue the chronicling of my incredibly fun day carting a puglet around for her (v expensive) medical needs...

Deedee needed a re-check of her thyroid hormone levels after being on medication for hypothyroidism. Apparently, her thyroid gland just decided to up and poop out, which we noticed by her uncharacteristic lethargy

redonkulous hair loss (I think her groomer thought we were waxing her chest)

flaky skin rash and fur color change.

look at this pug. she's brown, not black.

Once on replacement thyroid hormone, however, the puppy has regained her inky black silky coat and OH THANK GOODNESS her frenetic rabbit-like energy. It just requires a couple of blood draws to make sure the pug is getting the correct dose.

Deedee L-O-V-E-S our vet. She loves the office, she loves the people, she loves the building, the parking lot, the grassy patch next to the parking lot.... She literally DRAGGED me into the door, and leapt into the first person's arms. Too bad that 1st person happened to be another client, who happened to be a cat person, but whatev.

if i don't get more treats, i will... i will.... i will look EXTRA cute

During our wait, Deedee had a parade of fans visit her for some luvin'. and some munchin'. rewarded with lots of lickin'. She then even managed to behave for the exam.

this good behavior better be worth it

Good news -- Deedee is euthyroid! which means that we keep her on the same dose of thyroid hormone for the rest of her life, she keeps her hair and boundless energy, and I and the geriatric pugs get to sleep less.

Back to the dentist vet

This was just for a routine post-operative checkup for Deedee after having the majority of the teeth in her head removed. OK, it was just 6 of them, but it seemed like a really large number on the final bill.

i am toothless, mama

Deedee was unreasonably excited to be at the vet's. I think because after the eye vet visit, she now associates copious treats with going into buildings where there are dog smells. Once in the building, she stood at attention, like the good pug she is not, at the desk, waiting for her treat.

note the blur of her tail, bobbling away in anticipation

Once in the examining room, she was like a maelstrom of begging. That dentist vet didn't know what hit her -- Deedee pulled out the perfect sit, the big hungry eyes, and as a last resort, the gentle reminder paw on the face followed by a lick.

i am being so damn good

Off to the eye vet

So the other weekend we noticed that Sasha's left eye was half shut, runny and red. Thinking she may have gotten something in it, I took a closer look. Only to discover -- with a fair amount of vocalized horror -- that she had somehow managed to injure her eyeball and acquire a corneal ulcer the size of an asteroid crater. Luckily, this is not the first time Sasha has had one of these, so we knew what to do.

I called the eye vet to make sure we were doing the right thing, which was the Wrong Thing for me to do. Of course they INSISTED on seeing Sasha. I could've refused, but then I'm pretty sure that something to effect of 'terrible neglectful pug mama refuses treatment for poor invalid geriatric pug' would somehow get into our file. So off Sasha went. Deedee, too, because it was time for her checkup.

hm. they look more than a little horrified.

Good news -- Sasha's corneal ulcer had healed. Bad news -- she now has small cataracts in both eyes. And apparently it's too dangerous to operate because of the lack of visibility imposed by her pigmentary keratitis. Poor blind and blinder pug.

don't worry mama. i will use my sense of touch instead -- with my face.

I will just note here how deliriously happy Deedee is at the eye vet's. The puglet that cannot string together the 2 events -- 'Come' and the subsequent treat -- somehow manages to remember the treats given after an eye exam she has approximately once a year.

gimme 'nother treat. i know u have more.

More post-op Deedee pictures

You would think that after being poked with needles and assaulted with tooth-removing pliers while anesthetized, a puglet would want a little bit of alone time. Time in which to rest, recuperate, and plan daily tooth-brushing. Not this pug. She ran her sleepy little pug butt outside to soak up the last of the waning rays of the setting sun.

i feel more comfortable drooling on this particular piece of furniture

She got plenty of lurvin' from the fam. Her dada was all soft pets and sweet nothings.

u r wrapped around my little pug toe

She got some words of comfort from Miss Cleo, a surgery veteran.

don't worry, this too shall pass. and then they will shower u with treats

Deedee was so out of it that she insisted on sleeping outside even after it got chilly when the fog rolled in (either that or they also removed some of her precious few brain cells). I found her shivering, sound asleep. It called for emergency blanketage.

mama. i could also use a hot toddie.

WHOdunnit??!

After carefully nurturing several tomato plants to maturity, we have finally been able to (slowly) reap the rewards. Last weekend, we had 2 whole, ripe tomatoes!! produced from 6 ridiculously lazy plants. So you can understand that when I noticed another single tomato ripening on the vine, it was with Great Anticipation.

But, what's this? The tomato is no longer perfect!

i show you perfect. and it is not me.

Not believing my eyes, I took a closer look. Could it be? Someone else has gotten to my tomato first?

i am half eaten

Muttering dire curses and threats against all imaginable wildlife, including raccoons, deer, housecats, and even snails, I plucked the offended tomato for a closer look.

i have claw marks. possibly from an individual with opposable claws.

well that just leaves one option. Miss Cleo.

i have no idea what ur talking about. i don't know why i have tomato breath.

Visit with the cousins

I was able to spend some quality time with my pug-nieces last month. Lots of shnerfles and snuggles and furballs to be had. Sadly, there was no cousin-bonding, mostly because traveling with multiple pugs is a Pain In The Ass, and also because said travel costs approximately ONE MILLION DOLLARS in pet travel fees.

Luckily, I was visiting the East Coast during the equivalent of a cold snap, in that one was actually able to remain outside for more than 2 seconds without steaming to death. It was almost like home, except 20 degrees hotter. The pugs seemed to like it, too.

we're working on our tan

auntie, we think we could be california pugs, too

Another day, another surgery

We found a cracked molar on Miss Deedee one night while brushing her teeth. She was behaving even more squirrelly than usual, and it turned out that the tooth was so damaged it had to be pulled (believe it or not, we did go to a vet dentist to see if a root canal would have been an option -- yes, we are that crazy).

BEFORE AFTER

Oh, you can't tell the difference? Well, look closer, because as it turns out, Deedee needed to have SIX TEETH pulled, total. Three of them are her top front teeth. So that crooked, sunken smile she's sporting is due to the drastic reduction in number of teeth.