Laura is “mom” to four rescued pugs and a basset hound named, Smash. She is also a talented jewelry designer and you can find her creations at http://www.richmondltd.com/ or http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/pugwa. This is the final installment in the saga of Ruby.

Ruby, the princess pug

Wow! I just met someone who in 20 minutes convinced me that Ruby could live a normal life at home with our family, regardless whether she ever walked again! I was so excited to share all this with my family and check Ruby out of that ridiculous Emergency Animal Hospital VCA .

So we ordered all the items the therapist recommended and a child’s playpen from Target so that I could continue to keep Ruby somewhat  secure as I did my daily house work and such. Ruby absolutely became bonded to me and would scream every time I left her sight. She hated being in that playpen but it was the only way I could insure she was on a Pee pad if needed, and her food and water were right there next to her.

So after about six months of using the pet harness to take her ” body potty ” three times a day, I had trained Ruby to know that putting her in the harness meant she was going to go potty. What’s more, now when I ask if anyone needs to take their body potty, all four pugs run to the front door.

I used the muscle stimulator every morning when I woke up, placing Ruby on my bed for 20 minutes; and again at night for 20 minutes. I only used the lowest (#1) setting strength, holding her up in her harness to get used to supporting her own body weight. Now Ruby is absolutely perfect and walking and running all on her own!

Looking back, my husband and I think Ruby either suffered a small stroke or a back injury and, just like humans, needed to be laid up and immobile for a couple of weeks to heal.

We will now always trust our intuition and never take the vets’ suggestions for full face value as they are there to run a business first and foremost and they make their livelihood off distraught pet owners. Always know that the Internet is a wealth of information. Other pet owners’ stories, just like mine, can help you make decisions that are truly best for you, your pet and your family in the long run.

Thanks, Laura for bringing Ruby’s story to us and for being such a wonderful and dedicated “mom”. If only there were more people like you! If you’d like to see Ruby’s family, take a look at http://www/wrapperco.net.

Laura is “mom” to four rescued pugs and a basset hound named, Smash. She is also a talented jewelry designer and you can find her creations at http://www.richmondltd.com/ or http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/pugwa. This is the second installment in the saga of Ruby.

Ruby

I went to visit Ruby (at the vet’s) every morning and sat on the floor of the VCA Animal Hospital holding her, making sure she knew I was not abandoning her, and returned every night after dinner. I wanted to make certain she knew I would be there each morning when she woke up and every night before she fell asleep.

We had only had Ruby less than a couple of months. I’d seen a Pennysaver ad. for an older black pug for sale for $150.00, about 5 blocks from my home. I told the old owners (who were moving out of state and not including Ruby, something I never understand) that I had three older pugs myself and adore them more than life. We have Pug Birthdays for each one every year, we take them to our cabin for vacations and they never are alone and every dog sleeps in a family member’s bed at night. I also said I would not purchase Ruby for $150.00 but my family would be honored to take her in and love her to pieces, and she would always have all the vet care and treats she ever needed. Needless to say, Ruby’s family came to our home with Ruby and knew we were the perfect family to take in their beloved pet.

Upon Ruby’s third day in the hospital I was told she was in physical therapy and to walk down two doors where I could sit with her while she had therapy. This was the first I’d heard about her receiving therapy. I walked into the room and Ruby was laying on a mat on the floor, on her side, with a floppy plush stuffed dog toy supporting her neck while the therapist had two electrodes on her inner and outer leg muscles to stimulate the muscles and prevent atrophy as she was now immobile. I asked the therapist all sorts of questions and, most importantly, did she think this would be good to do after I take Ruby home…. should I bring her in for this physical therapy daily or weekly?

The physical therapist commended my earlier decision not to operate on Ruby and said their office can lease me this machine for $25 a month. I could take it home the next day when I pick up Ruby !!!!! She explained that I did the very best thing for Ruby, which was not the invasive emergency surgery that the VCA hospital encouraged, preying on clientele who are in the most vulnerable state of mind. All too frequently pet owners go into debt to pay for such surgeries. More often than not, I was told privately by the therapist, these “emergency surgeries” are hardly ever needed!!

I had just saved our family $17,000 by declining all the surgeries. Still, the hospital asked me every day that I came to visit Ruby if “I had changed my mind yet”. I did not realize at the time they were keeping her for four days (not in Ruby’s best interest at all) and I believe it was solely to encourage me to change my mind. I was continually told that most likely within a week after I take her home she will be unable to eliminate on her own and will eventually die …

Hahaha! The physical therapist said Ruby won’t die and showed me right there on the mat, with a pee pad below her, how to stand her up and hold my fists on either side of her hip and push inward. If her bladder was full the pressure would cause it to empty, and right there it worked and I had a million epiphanies at once! I will absolutely lease the muscle stimulator, which I knew I would need for a long time to assist Ruby in strengthening her muscles. However, when we researched online, we found it is much cheaper and easier to buy the stimulator. So now, for less than $100, I have a stimulator and it’s all mine.

I also was told by this angel of a therapist that I could go online and order a hand held harness to support Ruby’s back end. This would allow her to walk on her front feet while supporting her back feet so she could go outside to potty with the other pugs .  . This harness could also be used to help Ruby support her own body weight on all 4 paws. So five times a day I held her up, gradually allowing her to take more and more of her own body weight in order to build up her strength. Also, the therapist told me that Ruby could use a body protector. It’s like overalls to put her body into so she can pull herself around the house and have some mobility.. I also went ahead and special-ordered a pug wheelchair so, at times, if Ruby wanted to run around with our other pugs, she could be placed in the wheelchair for more independent mobility. Now she could resume her daily pug walks around the block and resume some normality . .

The final part of Ruby’s ordeal will be revealed next week.

Laura is “mom” to four rescued pugs and a basset hound named, Smash. She is also a talented jewelry designer and you can find her creations at http://www.richmondltd.com/ or http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/pugwa.

The Day we thought Ruby would never walk again …

Ruby, a Gem of a Pug

It was a typical Sunday mid-morning; wake up and eat and go out for our weekly Costco run. Nothing out of the ordinary except when we returned from our shopping trip and opened the front door only three of our pugs were there as usual, jumping and greeting us home but Ruby was pulling herself across the floor to get our attention, her back legs dragging to the side like a mermaid.

I dropped everything and sat on the floor to see what the matter was. She’d been absolutely fine and walking around previously that day. I propped her up holding her waist up and then she simply collapsed. We tried supporting her by her hind quarters but it was soon apparent she had lost all use of her back legs.

Our immediate concern was perhaps she fell down the stairs while we were out shopping and injured her back, and to this day we keep a baby gate at the bottom of our stairs when we leave the house to prevent any accidents while we are away.

Meanwhile, I made up a large plastic laundry basket with a bed pillow and nice pug blanket for Ruby to rest in and keep her contained, and carried her from room to room so she would not feel abandoned or helpless till I could get her to the vet on Monday morning. I carried her into the kitchen in her laundry basket so she could be alongside our other three pugs during dinner preparations, which all the family pets look forward to every evening. And at night I carried her upstairs and placed her in her pug bed next to our bed.

The following morning, again in the laundry basket, I took her to the vet’s office. We wanted to keep her absolutely still. Fearing she may have a spinal injury, keeping her immobile was our first priority.

The vet who examined her said he needed to take x-rays to see why she was not able to walk but when the film came back he could not see anything. He told us that Ruby should see an orthopedic and neurology specialist immediately. He called ahead with a referral and Ruby and I headed out to the VCA Animal Hospital.

By now I was frantic, calling my husband at work to tell him of the serious condition of our lil’ Ruby pug as I raced to the hospital. Once there I filled out tons of paperwork and “willingness to pay agreements” along with payment-collection paperwork that I thought odd but I filled out anyway, as quickly as possible, just to get Ruby in to see a specialist.

Upon examination, the neurologist said that Ruby most likely had a tumor next to her spinal cord that would be causing her to suffer. She wanted to open her up right away and shoot a dye into her spine and, if they found a tumor, remove it at once. The cost would be $12,000 today!

Oh, I was crying and feeling helpless so I called my husband again. His thoughts were that no tumor showed up on her x-ray and 24 hours prior she was completely normal! He said she was already 10 years old and to open her up like that and do major back surgery would probably leave her in a far worse state, on top of having to recover from serious surgery that may not even be necessary . He said tell them, “No” and see what we can do for her today.

I was willing to pay anything and give up everything to trust that this doctor knew what would fix my Ruby and I was shaken that we were not going to pay to “make it all better”. The doctor was not pleased with my decision and said that Ruby would not be able to eliminate on her own at this point and would need intravenous pain relief so I should at least check her into the hospital for four days .

Believing it kindest that Ruby be catheterized and sedated, rather than lying on pee pads in her laundry basket and having me clean her up like a baby, I checked her in to the hospital and went home alone.

Part II of Ruby’s story will be featured next week.