A professional took this amazing photo of Louie.

Henry with digital fireplace.

Henry has gotten up in the years and is starting to have serious health problems. He looks pretty good for a Senior Pug and sometimes I can’t believe he is as old as he is.

About a month or two ago, He began a pattern of recurring health problems that continue to escalate. First, he scratched his cornea, a very common injury in the bulgy eyed set. Then, he began coughing and gagging on a daily basis.

He always struggles with a skin allergy that makes him itchy, but we have managed that with Vitamin B shots, which act as an anti-inflammatory and keep him comfortable.

Recently, Henry had some kind of seizure that caused him to end up on his back struggling to breathe. I quickly uprighted him and found that there was food coming out of his nose. He was trembling and gasping for breath, so we rushed him to the vet where he was put into an oxygen chamber and kept there all day to stabilize his breathing.

Turns out he had regurgitated into his lungs, resulting in what is called “aspiration pneumonia”. That means that anything that is in the lungs can cause an infection and is very dangerous. He has been on antibiotics (as well as probiotics) for weeks.

Meanwhile the coughing and gagging has increased. It is a sound like none other I have ever heard. Calling it a “cough” really does not describe it because it is more of a roar or a honk.

Our vet thought that Henry may have Laryngeal Paralysis or LP. After three sets of x-rays, on the chest lungs and trachea, she has determined that Henry’s trachea is collapsing, a condition common in older, small breeds such Pugs, Pekes, etc.

As the windpipe ages, the rings of cartilage become hardened, weakened and sometimes flatten out, narrowing the space for air to pass. The cough resulting from this situation is more of a honk coming from the compromised structure of the larynx than a cough coming out of the chest or lungs.

The cough itself can irritate the windpipe further and is hard on the heart. I have been researching alternative treatment for CT online and may have found a solution with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). There are actually Chinese herbs and cough syrups that can moisturize and tonify the throat. I will be consulting with the Vet about trying these and will keep you posted.

Henry now at twelve years old.

Still Life with Pug

I have lived with pugs now for over 16 years and cannot imagine life without a pug by my side, schnuffling along, smiling up at me with that goofy frog dog grin, big brown eyes bulging with joie de vivre.

A happy healthy pug is a most amusing companion, filled with opinions and observations. When out walking they tell you where they want to go and can be very bossy if you decide to go in a different direction.

Henry stops in his tracks and glares at me, as if to say “How dare you? I was headed that way!” If I insist and try to be the alpha sometimes he will just give in like “Oh well”. Other times, he will dig in and refuse to come with me so that I either have to drag him, pick him up or I give in. Louie was even worse in his bossy behaviors because he was a chest thumping alpha male with attitude up the ying yang.

I am actually shocked at how bossy and controlling Henry has become over the years. But its also hilarious because the little dude only weighs 15 pounds for crying out loud. I mean…he honestly thinks he rules the world! And he knows he rules mine.

I have never been able to dominate my pugs. I give into them because I am a giant and they are small. Or is that I give into them because they are giants and I am small? Yes that must be it. They are forces of nature. Because they are animals and much closer to pure being, they are very powerful.

Add to that natural power those astonishing human faces and cobby little fat bodies reminiscent of the cherubim, and I am just a puddle of powerlessness. I do what they say. Which is usually: FEED ME. It really is a wonder I have not overfed Henry and made him fat. The other thing they say is: LAP TIME! I have spent a huge chunk of my life trapped underneath pugs.

And that is as it should be. If you are going to bring a pug into your life you owe them the best of everything because they are breathtakingly precious and fierce little beings. Like all dogs they are superior to us lousy human beings.

Moishe at the beach.

Eli and Farmer the Pug Frenchies.

Handsome couple with their handsome kids.