Louie Update

So, I've made an appointment with the expensive eye dogtor for tomorrow. She, thank god, takes Care Credit. My reasons for taking him is fear that his blind eye, which has been sticking out more than usual, has scar tissue behind it and it's causing him discomfort. My husband is totally against taking the eye out (he's afraid how Louie will look with one eye sewn shut -- I say Louie won't give a shit and it's not like we're doing Westminster this year.

If I can rule out any eye trouble, he's off to our regular vet to see if we can get him a dental without it doing him in. My vet and I are beginning to think it's the eye that's causing his discomfort or a dental problem -- though his blood work has been negative for infection. He's a senior for sure but he's tough as nails so if the odds are good he'll make it through the dental, I'm going to do it. I just think that whatever time we have left together, it would be much better (for both of us) if he's got clean and relatively health choppers.

My other worry which might make all of the above moot, is that he's getting weak in his back legs and that might be a sign that there's a lot worse stuff going on than we think. He's starting to stand funny lately, with all his weight on the front. In the morning, he's much stiffer than normal. Still, you'd see him dance a bit for his dinner and you'd forget there's anything wrong with him. I just want to make the best decision for him and not be selfish and think of how losing him will break my heart into a million little sharp pieces. I know y'all will help guide me through this. Just knowing you're out there and that many of you know what I'm going through is comforting. When I think of how how so many of you have dealt with the loss of their most special furry friends and yet somehow found a way to shoulder on in their absence, it's inspiring. I hope when the time comes, I'm as strong as you have been.

I'll update as Louie and I move forward in hopes we can find a solution that keeps us together for a little bit longer at least.

You've got it all lined out, I will be keeping Louie in my thoughts (and you), as you go through the steps to make his years as wonderful as possible.

Elizabeth, If it is Louie's eye that is causing the discomfort I recommend it's removal.
I wish I had done so with Frankie long before I did; I didn't realize what a difference
it would make in his life. Like Louie, he had no sight in the eye and so the removal
did not make a difference in his sight. What I didn't realize was the amount of pain
he endured every day until the pain was gone. I'm with you, Louie won't give a shit
about the loss of his eye, but he will about being pain free. Frankie is minus both
eyes, but I still think he is one handsome boy. I'll be keeping Louie in my thoughts!

Wow, my thoughts will certainly be with you and Louie. I think it is always tough to remove an eye for aesthetic reasons - but really, it doesn't matter when you are talking about taking away pain. He will be just fine without that eye.

I wish I had some answers about everything else. Its so tough when we can't pinpoint what is wrong.

Hugs.

Just wishing you and Louie good luck.

I'll be praying for Louie and you, Elizabeth. He is a very special Puggie boy.

Poor sweet boy, I hope everything will be okay.

I hope all is okay with your special boy. Kathy said it best on eye removal. As to the weakness in his back legs, that is unfortunately so common in Pugs, usually from spinal issues. I've had four Pugs go through this to varying degrees. My most loving thoughts for Louie.

Elizabeth, I've spent my winter break shadowing a veterinary opthalmologist. I absolutely adore her and she is by far one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. It's scary. I hope you love yours just as much.

I would put money on the fact that the dental issues and eye are directly or indirectly related. When you look at a human skull, our eyes sit in a bone socket. Dogs do not. There is an open space behind their eyes directly above their back teeth. Therefore, an infection in the teeth or a tooth root abscess, then it can cause swelling/irritation behind the eye. Here's where I don't want to scare you. If there is a mass behind the eye (more than scar tissue), if it grows, it can cause discomfort with the jaw opening and closing. BUT, I would not jump to that conclusion. Like I said before, dental infection alone (which can be treated), whether localized like a tooth root abscess or more all over, can cause issues.

I could be completely wrong, just babbling I guess. Louie has my strongest positive thoughts and prayers! He's a tough ol' guy and I strongly feel you have good time left with him. Oh, and tell your hubby that most or all one eyed pets do amazingly well! They don't even notice. I've seen an enucleation...it's really not even a horrendous surgery!

Sending hugs and good thoughts to you and Louie. Just take it one day at a time. Sounds as if you've got a plan. I agree about the eye. Rather have him out of pain. Dogs don't care as much about that stuff as we do. They're amazingly resilient. Yet, we project human emotions on them all the time. Kinda makes you wonder who the real superior race is.

Good luck! We'll be here no matter what the outcome.

Tell your hubby that all Louie wants is to be pain free so that he can enjoy his time with his people more - he doesn't give a rat's ass how it looks.

The weaker rear ends can be managed with dedication and are not necessarily very painful (unless arthritis in the joints - Sasha's Blens is great for that).

Hugs to sweet old Louie and tell him he needs to hang around a while longer - who else can keep the black in line? Hoping for the best possible outcome from the vet visit!

Why do we always have to sell a concept to men, in this case I would just have it done and tell him Louie is going pirate this winter. Hugs to Louie and yourself, he is a grand old boy.

well just going thru an eye removal.... he actually looks still as cute to me. We did do a dental on him at the same time as the removal so he didn't have to have two surgeries back to back. I had my regualr vet take the eye out and do the dental. The opth can't do dentals and was more expensive just for the eye removal.

And, I've dealt with back end issues as well. This just sometimes happens in pugs as they age. As said, it can be managed with meds.

Hugs to you and Louie!

Back from the eye doctor today. Good news, believe it or not. The eye is NOT causing Louie pain or much discomfort. It's too dry and he's not producing enough tears so we're doubling and adding to the eye ointments. There's no indication of a mass behind the eye or any reason whatsoever to remove it.

He was an amazingly wonderful and patient boy today. I was so impressed and it was a difficult exam for him. Oh, and while we were waiting to see the eye dogtor, what pads out from the exam rooms but two pugs! Can you believe it? At a vet eye doctor? LOL Two pretty 7-year black-faced fawn girls named Cutie and Sweetie. Their owner was this sweet old guy who has owned five pugs overall.

Next up is a Thursday is the regular vet. She's going to look at this dental situation. Louie still seems to be having a back legs issue. The eye dogtor thought he might be favoring one of his legs though it's hard to tell which. A good checkup will tell the tale of the tape for sure. Thanks for your kind wishes. Louie's sleeping curled up next to me in bed, his chin on my leg, snoring away. I can't imagine not having him here. You guys rock.

While I do know that Louie would be a great pirate pug, I'm so glad he does not have to have the eye removed. No surgery is always a good thing! Great news that we can mark that off the list. I hope the next visit is similar.

Oh, what good news for you and Louie. Hope his next Dogtor visit goes well, too.

Love the good news!

Ummm, the vet eye specialist is exactly where I expect to run into other pugs - I am sure pug owners are their bread and butter!

Puggered wrote:Love the good news!

Ummm, the vet eye specialist is exactly where I expect to run into other pugs - I am sure pug owners are their bread and butter!

Sammy's ophthalmologist actually has a pug and a Frenchie!

So glad you got good news from the eye dogtor. I hope the appointment on Thursday goes well!

Quick update before I turn in as I have to get up early tomorrow (early for me anyway). We discovered he has a terrible ear infection in the "good" ear (that's the one that didn't have a total ear canal ablation surgery). We've been treating it for a couple weeks but now apparently it's gotten worse. So, we're going to aggressively treat this for now and when we get it under control, we'll tackle the dental issues.

He also has some weakness in his legs and he's clearly favoring one of his legs (or more) by the way he stands. We can't really figure out which one it is or how bad it is -- he just won't tell us -- but we can treat it with Rimadyl and hope it's just a temporary hitch in his giddy up.

If there's going to be a dental done, it won't be for a few weeks yet. More time for me to raise some funds or sell a script or something (anything LOL). I think overall it's good news because everything is treatable and it's relatively inexpensive at that.