07/02/21 – Pugsy was rushed to the emergency vets last night after being off his food for a couple of days and then collapsing. X-rays revealed that he had some sort of blockage and unfortunately had gone into septic shock. Sadly there was nothing the vets could do for him and he peacefully went to sleep. Run free little lad x
Pugsy is an 8 year old Shih Tzu x Pug who came into Oldies Club care in August 2020 as his owner had sadly passed away.
When Pugsy first arrived he seemed in pretty good health apart from being a little overweight. He was keen to play and go for walkies so getting him back in shape didnt seem a hard task although getting him to eat dog food was a challenge as he appeared to be rather fussy. An incident with Pugsy being picked up resulting in the fosterer getting bitten revealed Pugsy was in pain either in his back or his chest area. This was noted for the vets to investigate and he was put of painkillers to help.
It was also found that when Pugsy gets bored, he will chew things such as pieces of plastic or paper. If you simply try to take them from him, he becomes defensive over his stolen items. He does provide a warning growl but there is a strong possibility he will bite if you try to take them from him. His foster carer has learned how to manage this.
Although Pugsy is a happy and playful dog most of the time due to his guarding tendancies and bite threat Oldies Club made the decision to place him in our sponsor dog scheme, which means he will remain in our care on a permanent basis, with the charity paying his vet bills for the rest of his life.
Pugsy is doing well with a set routine. This does mean that morning walkies is at a certain time every day no matter what day it is, be it during the week, weekend or holiday such as Christmas day. It also means walkies is whatever the weather be it sun, rain or snow. Pugsy is fine with dogs that he meets out on walks, and ignores cats outside, but he can be territorial and enjoys having his foster home to himself.
Pugsy has been known to try and be a bit of an escape artist and will try to bolt if a door is opened, so extra care was taken especially when settling in. He enjoys spending time in the garden and enjoys woofing at passing dogs to let them know this is his home.
Pugsy had a lovely Christmas and had lots of new toys and treats. He also enjoyed helping his fosterer open up her gifts. Unfortunately poor Pugsy is very frightened of noises such fireworks. This meant New Years Eve was no fun for him. He has been prescribed medication to help which stops him shaking but he still finds it stressful so his fosterer sat with him wrapped in a blanket to reassure him.
Pugsy is a playful boy and he adores all sorts of toys. Soft toys he enjoys vigorously shaking and tossing them all over the room. He loves playing with balls and squeaky toys are just the best. Recently when tradespeople such as an electrician came to his foster home he greeted them with a toy and encouraged them to play with him before allowing them to do any work. Pugsy loves to be the centre of attention.
If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor Pugsy, or one of the other special oldies we are caring for in our sponsor dog scheme.