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Please help our Emma!
Our sweet little girl, Emma, formerly called Lobo, has had a very rough life. Years of malnutrition, neglect and lack of veterinary care have not diminished her joy of life or her sweet personality though. While we aren't really sure of her age, the vets that have met our Emma, estimate her age to be from eight to almost twelve years old. This is her story.
Emma came to our attention after arriving at a Riverside County shelter, left by a 90 year old man that had bought her from a Craigslist ad, wanting a young companion pug. He paid $200 for "Lobo" and was told that she was three years old. It very quickly became apparent that she was an older pug and he was unhappy that he had been fooled. He brought her to the shelter and told the shelter staff that he hoped she would be adopted soon. Hearing her story, PRSDC pulled her out of the cold, stinky shelter and brought her to the care of foster mom, Cindy Dunford.
"Emma was placed into my arms and she immediately looked up into my eyes, searching to see if she was going to see a caring woman to care for her or someone else to neglect and mistreat her. Her face, a bit gray, her eyes, both with small ulcers appearing to form from the rubbing of her face folds, and her battered little body left me holding her close, telling her that she'd be alright, we would take good care of her." An appointment to visit the vet was made for early the next morning and she was thoroughly assessed. Her shoulders would not fold in to her body, giving her the look of "John Wayne's bow legged stance" when she stood, sat or walked. This could be congenital or perhaps from poor nutrition as a puppy and in her younger years and upon further examination, a very large mass was found on her right shoulder. After looking at cells under the microscope that morning, it was found to be a large mass cell tumor and it had to be removed quickly to avoid further cancer treatment. Her rear legs were a little unsteady but showed no signs of neurological damage. Her ears were badly infected and she may have some hearing loss and after inspecting her teeth, thinking that we would find a mouth full of rotten teeth, we found that just a few infected teeth needed to be removed as well. Emma went into surgery immediately, removing the tumor and getting a very clean margin report from the biopsy. Her few bad teeth were pulled, her ears were treated for their infection and her face folds were repaired, allowing her vision to return to normal and the ulcers to heal on her eyes.
Two weeks after surgery, Emma was back in the vet's office to remove her stitches and inspect her incisions and clearing ears. The news was not good. Both ears were still infected but improving but most sadly, two additional small tumors were now felt. Neither "bump" had been present before and that was very concerning but not uncommon. The first small tumor was found on her neck, near the top of her head, the other on her left side torso. They needed to be removed right away and Emma went into surgery within an hour. Home just a few days, healing nicely and feeling right at home with her new foster mom and three pug sisters, her foster mom noticed that Emma's back legs were more unsteady and she seemed to be having occassional muscle spasms, making it difficult to straighten out her rear legs and walk. An x-ray determined that Emma had three degenerating disks in her spine and steroid treatment was recommended to reduce the inflammation and slow any possible progression of the damage to her disks. The good news is that the steroid treatment seems to be helping and Emma is active, walking a bit better and feeling no pain.
Emma's veterinary care has come to be billed at just over $2000 to date. Most of her issues are resolved but she will need some follow-up care in the days ahead and she should have years of love to share with a forever family in the future. Pug Rescue of San Diego County needs your cash donations today in order to pay for Emma's care. While she is doing well today, she and so many of our older pugs have medical needs that simply overwhelm our bank account. Please donate in care of Emma. Your donation of $10, $25 or $50 or more today will certainly help with her $2000 bill. If you can donate each month, our senior pugs, forever fosters and our constant stream of new pugs in need will be given quality veterinary care and the love of a foster family while they heal and until the day that they meet a family to call their own!
This is Emma's story. Sad, but a happy ending in the making. Emma's foster, Cindy, says, "Emma is a joy. She smiles all the time... yes, dogs smile! She is a spunky and spirited little pug that loves dinner time and snackies... have you ever known a pug that didn't? LOL! She loves outings to the dog park, loves to bark at the cat, likes people to fuss and cuddle her close and her favorite position is to be straddling my lap or cuddled up tight to me in bed. Emma gives kisses any chance she gets and she is a constant trail behind me, a Velcro Pug... she loves being part of a pug family! She likes to crawl into Roxie's bed or push up close to Fiona, her pug sisters. She loves attention and affection and I see a happy little pug looking up at me." Won't you donate what you can to provide for this little pug girl?
Curly tails wagging and pug kisses!!
Emma came to our attention after arriving at a Riverside County shelter, left by a 90 year old man that had bought her from a Craigslist ad, wanting a young companion pug. He paid $200 for "Lobo" and was told that she was three years old. It very quickly became apparent that she was an older pug and he was unhappy that he had been fooled. He brought her to the shelter and told the shelter staff that he hoped she would be adopted soon. Hearing her story, PRSDC pulled her out of the cold, stinky shelter and brought her to the care of foster mom, Cindy Dunford.
"Emma was placed into my arms and she immediately looked up into my eyes, searching to see if she was going to see a caring woman to care for her or someone else to neglect and mistreat her. Her face, a bit gray, her eyes, both with small ulcers appearing to form from the rubbing of her face folds, and her battered little body left me holding her close, telling her that she'd be alright, we would take good care of her." An appointment to visit the vet was made for early the next morning and she was thoroughly assessed. Her shoulders would not fold in to her body, giving her the look of "John Wayne's bow legged stance" when she stood, sat or walked. This could be congenital or perhaps from poor nutrition as a puppy and in her younger years and upon further examination, a very large mass was found on her right shoulder. After looking at cells under the microscope that morning, it was found to be a large mass cell tumor and it had to be removed quickly to avoid further cancer treatment. Her rear legs were a little unsteady but showed no signs of neurological damage. Her ears were badly infected and she may have some hearing loss and after inspecting her teeth, thinking that we would find a mouth full of rotten teeth, we found that just a few infected teeth needed to be removed as well. Emma went into surgery immediately, removing the tumor and getting a very clean margin report from the biopsy. Her few bad teeth were pulled, her ears were treated for their infection and her face folds were repaired, allowing her vision to return to normal and the ulcers to heal on her eyes.
Two weeks after surgery, Emma was back in the vet's office to remove her stitches and inspect her incisions and clearing ears. The news was not good. Both ears were still infected but improving but most sadly, two additional small tumors were now felt. Neither "bump" had been present before and that was very concerning but not uncommon. The first small tumor was found on her neck, near the top of her head, the other on her left side torso. They needed to be removed right away and Emma went into surgery within an hour. Home just a few days, healing nicely and feeling right at home with her new foster mom and three pug sisters, her foster mom noticed that Emma's back legs were more unsteady and she seemed to be having occassional muscle spasms, making it difficult to straighten out her rear legs and walk. An x-ray determined that Emma had three degenerating disks in her spine and steroid treatment was recommended to reduce the inflammation and slow any possible progression of the damage to her disks. The good news is that the steroid treatment seems to be helping and Emma is active, walking a bit better and feeling no pain.
Emma's veterinary care has come to be billed at just over $2000 to date. Most of her issues are resolved but she will need some follow-up care in the days ahead and she should have years of love to share with a forever family in the future. Pug Rescue of San Diego County needs your cash donations today in order to pay for Emma's care. While she is doing well today, she and so many of our older pugs have medical needs that simply overwhelm our bank account. Please donate in care of Emma. Your donation of $10, $25 or $50 or more today will certainly help with her $2000 bill. If you can donate each month, our senior pugs, forever fosters and our constant stream of new pugs in need will be given quality veterinary care and the love of a foster family while they heal and until the day that they meet a family to call their own!
This is Emma's story. Sad, but a happy ending in the making. Emma's foster, Cindy, says, "Emma is a joy. She smiles all the time... yes, dogs smile! She is a spunky and spirited little pug that loves dinner time and snackies... have you ever known a pug that didn't? LOL! She loves outings to the dog park, loves to bark at the cat, likes people to fuss and cuddle her close and her favorite position is to be straddling my lap or cuddled up tight to me in bed. Emma gives kisses any chance she gets and she is a constant trail behind me, a Velcro Pug... she loves being part of a pug family! She likes to crawl into Roxie's bed or push up close to Fiona, her pug sisters. She loves attention and affection and I see a happy little pug looking up at me." Won't you donate what you can to provide for this little pug girl?
Curly tails wagging and pug kisses!!
