Age: 12
Adoption Fees: Hospice Pug
Adoption Status: Successful Adoption
June 19, 2023 – Butters was euthanized this morning as his quality of life failed in the past months. He was having chronic UTI and had almost completely lost the usage of his hind legs. We have made the very hard decision to let him go, he was surrounded with his loving foster mum.
March 6, 2023 – Butters has had a difficult winter and at times we’ve questioned if it was closer to his time to cross the rainbow bridge. We noticed he was more anxious and panting again, as well as drinking and peeing a lot. His thyroid levels had increased again, so his medications were adjusted. That adjustment did help normalize his levels and improved his symptoms. The other issue has been worsening myelopathy. His back end function has deteriorated and he does require assistance outside and at times around the house. He has had increased stool and urinary incontinence that goes along with this progression. Despite these things, he loves playing with his puppy pal who he lives with, enjoys his food, and loves lying at my feet. I still feel he has quality of life when I watch him, but I keep a close eye to make sure he isn’t uncomfortable. It is always a difficult decision to make, but we have been lucky to have Butters with us for almost two years, and feel we will know and he will tell us when it is time.
August 5, 2022 – Butters has been enjoying the summer so far. Relaxing at home in the yard, going for short strolls, and having spa vacations at Casa Donnie. His thyroid has been stable with medications. His back end has been giving him more trouble at times especially when more active. He needs help getting up the two deck steps in the yard now. He continues to have a good appetite. His food was recently switched and we have found he is pooping inside less often now. Overall he remains his happy self with his teddy bear face and perfect tail curl
June 13, 2022 – Bring on the sunshine! Butters is loving lounging in the backyard now that milder temps are here. Sometimes he will bark at little critters passing by while he watches from inside the patio doors. He is moulting these days. There are tufts of hair everywhere, but such is the pug life! He sailed through his dental surgery and has been feeling pretty well overall. His appetite is good and he is still hopeful that the toddler might drop scraps.
Butters continues to have good and bad days with his hind end. He remains on Metacam for comfort. He still has bowel movements in his bed overnight, but we try to keep on top of things during the day. This sweet guy is just enjoying life day by day currently. I will be sure to take some photos outside on the next sunny day
May 4, 2022 – Bring on the sunshine! Butters is loving lounging in the backyard now that milder temps are here. Sometimes, he will bark at little critters passing by while he watches from inside the patio doors. Butters sailed through his dental surgery and has been feeling pretty well overall. His appetite is good and he is still hopeful that the toddler might drop scraps. Butters continues to have good and bad days with his hind end. He remains on Metacam for comfort. He still has bowel movements in his bed overnight, but we try to keep on top of things during the day. This sweet guy is just enjoying life day by day currently. I will be sure to take some photos outside on the next sunny day
February 14, 2022 – Butters has been holding his own for the most part, but we have needed to adjust his thyroid medications to keep his levels in control. He is booked for dental surgery on February 23. Otherwise he keeps a fairly quiet lifestyle – relaxing most of the day. He enjoys napping, getting pets and occasionally barking at things passing by in the backyard.
Butters still loves to eat! He hasn’t been so keen on the cold weather and I think he looks forward to warmer days in the backyard. For now he prefers the dog bed or curling up at my feet.
His ears can get bothersome, so we clean them regularly. He is mainly incontinent of stool, so daily clean ups are required. He urinates outside if let out frequently with a rare accident in the house here and there.
He continues to be very sweet with occasional glimpses of his pug spunk
January 6, 2022 – Butters enjoyed Christmas with us. He got a new toy, as we have found that he does enjoy a good play every now and then. He did find going to another house during the holiday a bit stressful. As long as he had company, he was okay. He wouldn’t have liked being left alone or crated during the visit though.
His thyroid levels have come down with adjustments to his medication. We are aiming to get it down a bit further in hopes that he might be able to get his teeth cleaned. His breath could peel paint on the walls!
Butters has a good appetite and enjoys his day to day activities. He is endlessly patient with our kids and he really is a gem.
December 6, 2021 – We are a little less active outside with the colder weather these days. Butters finds the footing a bit more challenging, but has mostly been okay going in and out to the backyard. We still have daily pickups of poop in the house, but I can tell he wants to be able to get outdoors.
He is a very food motivated boy. We wishes he could eat people food and other treats, but has done very well on his weight maintenance food.
He has calmed down significantly with his thyroid levels in better control and feeling secure here. We haven’t seen the same anxiety as when he arrived and he does better in the car (but shorter trips are still best).
For now we are in status quo and keep a simple routine. He still get his blood checked every 3-4 weeks to monitor his thyroid and otherwise he is enjoying a quiet lifestyle (aside from noisey kids!).
October 12, 2021 – Butters has been enjoying our day to day routine and feels at home here. He enjoys short walks around the neighborhood and romps in the backyard. He is very gentle with everyone and my infant daughter adores him. She is even trying to say Butters. He gets a bit anxious if his routine is thrown off, but this has improved overall thanks to his medications. We have been increasing his dose of thyroid medications and have started seeing some improvement in the numbers.
Butters remains on a weight management diet and has a good appetite. His weight has stabilized now. He continues to drink more water, but this has decreased from when he first came. He is not incontinent of urine and is good about asking to go outside. He remains incontinent of stool, but tries his best to get to the door when he can.
We continue to see the vet regularly to check his thyroid levels and otherwise ensure he is comfortable. We use a daily dose of Metacam for this, as he does have difficulties with his back end especially if he has had more active day.
June 29, 2021 – Butters is currently finishing up a second antibiotic for an ear infection, and his ears look good on recheck. Unfortunately his thyroid levels are still very high with his most recent blood work. He enjoys bring active, but is limited by his weak hind end. He is able to zip around the yard and go on short walks, but is unable to go up stairs (more than 1 or 2). We have done a trial of Metacam to ensure he is comfortable. He has a good appetite and is eager to eat at mealtimes. He is doing well on his W/D kibbles. He drinks more than average and requires more frequent trips outside. He still struggles with bowel incontinence, but we just clean up and carry on. He is less fond of going outside in the rain – typical pug in that way! He is a sweet pug with a kind heart, and he is a pleasure to have in our home.
June 9, 2021 – Butters has really settled well into our routine here. He loves being around people and relaxing at their feet. He still remains quite attached to me in particular. He has a funny and cute habit of gathering my shoes in his bed to cuddle with. He does not damage the shoes at all. Currently I count 4 of my shoes in the dog bed (no one else’s shoes – just mine). Butters has done well with his transition to a weight management diet. He does not feel his bowel movements until they are happening. During the day, I can often tell the signs and whisk him outside, but he will frequently be incontinent overnight. There will be a trail starting at his bed and going to the door, as he does not have warning. Butters still has some anxiety with traveling, but has done much better with his last few trips. He is good in the car, but his breathing does become quite laboured. If we blast the a/c and keep him close to us, he does fine in the car. I feel he has lost weight as I did tighten his harness. He went to the vet to have his blood work repeated today and we will know the results in a few days.
May 31, 2021 – It took this wee boy a few days to recover after the vet, but Butters is back to his baseline. He is eating well again and is not stressed when at home and in a regular routine. He will sometimes get a bit anxious when I am in another part of the house as he likes to be close to me. He settles and just sleeps if I go out for longer periods though. We have noticed he has a raspy bark when he does try to call for us or when excited. At times he can have a little of trouble settling down. He paces a bit and pants.
Butters gets along well with the resident dog and children. He is hopeful they will drop food at the table, but we are keeping a close eye to make sure he isn’t getting anything.
May 24, 2021 – Butters went to the vet, he weights 24.5lbs. His thyroid level are a bit high so we will be monitoring that and Butters has a recheck at the vet on June 8. Butters had bilateral ear infection that is actually being treated with antibiotics. He seems to have elongated soft palate and narrow nostrils. We will see how he will be once he drops a few kg.
May 17, 2021 – Butters just came in yesterday. He was surrendered as his owners didn’t have time for him anymore. Butters looks like a big teddy bear and seems very sweet. He was quite anxious on arrival and was panting quite a bit. He was exhausted and did settle after a time when set up with a soft bed and some water.
He seems much more comfortable with us now. He is my little shadow and looks hopeful about coming up on the couch. He spends most of his time at my feet. He definitely loves his pets.
Butters didn’t eat last night, but took breakfast today. He ate fairly slowly – I think he may have some difficulty chewing related to his teeth.
He drinks quite a lot of water and is having issues with urinary incontinence/dribbling. I
have been taking him out frequently and I think he is housetrained, but we are using belly bands.
He dribbles intermittently and was soaked through in the morning. He is unable to lift his legs to urinate, so will stand or walk and pee.
We have noticed he has weak hind end. He can walk around, but struggles with sudden direction changes or if objects are in the way. He has difficulty getting up from sitting/lying at times. His legs will splay in front on him and he kind of spins around when seated. He will drag one leg at times when walking. He has managed 1-2 steps outside, but do not feel comfortable trying a flight of stairs at present. I think the combination of excess weight are making things more difficult for him. He will be seeing the vet this Friday for a complete check up and blood work.
Now that he is more comfortable, I notice that he barks at sights and sounds outside. We will see if this improves as he adjusts to his new surroundings. I think he would try to hump the resident dog if he was physically able to do so.
Butters seems sweet with some underlying spunk, so I’m sure more of his personality will begin to emerge as he settles in.
