Age: 8
Adoption Fees: $300
Adoption Status: Successful Adoption
June 13, 2022 – Lolita had been euthanized this past Friday as her condition has worsen and she was suffering. Thanks to her amazing foster mom for all the care and love provided since November 2019.
February 14, 2022 – I’m so delighted to provide an update about our sweet Lolita. She continues to bring so much joy to those around her, and benefits greatly from the UMWPR hospice pug program. For those who do not know her, Lolita entered the foster program on November 14, 2019. For the first year of her fostering, she required intensive medical interventions, including the removal of 63 bladder stones, long-term antibiotic therapy for extensive bladder, ear, eye, and skin infections, and therapies and creative diet solutions for profound allergies and morbid obesity. Her health was such that UMPR decided to trust us with the long-term management of her health, and also the nurturing of her heart and soul, which were sadly affected by her history of trauma and neglect.
These days Lolita is surrounded by love and secure in the knowledge that she belongs to a family who will do anything for her. Medically, she continues to require special support. She was recently diagnosed with a corneal ulcer, but I am happy to report that with swift and devoted treatment funded by UMWPR she recovered in a scant two weeks. As she continues to age, she is showing signs of spinal degeneration and dementia, but UMWPR is providing funding support for medications as well as physiotherapy. And, on top of all of this, the rescue continues to fund several allergy medications and specialized food. This update wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the members of the UMWPR community who have recently assisted our efforts to support Lolita by donating non-slip rugs, a stroller, and a wheelchair. At this point, Lolita retains fairly good use of her hind quarters, but having these items on hand means that we can help her through bad days, and ease her transition as her mobility declines. Thank you. Let me wrap this up by telling you about a special role that Lolita plays in our family. My son used to have trouble falling asleep due to a medical condition. Since her early in her days living with us she assumed the role of putting him to bed. When it’s time for him to sleep, she curls right up under his chin and allows him to gently squeeze her close. She’s a cuddle bug, but he is the only one she will permit to hug her for an extended period of time. She usually drifts off as well. When she is sure he is deeply asleep, and never a moment before, she will get up and join us in the living room. Our precious girl does this every night, without fail. We are so lucky to have her.
May 17, 2021 – Hello! We’re so happy to give another Lolita update! It’s summer now, which means that the terrible season that shall not be named has passed, and walks can happen without many layers of snowsuits and sweaters and boots! It’s really tough to be a little old lady with bald spots during the winter in Ottawa, although her winter ensemble was the talk of the neighbourhood! Over the winter Lolita also proved that an old dog can learn new tricks – if she’s stubborn enough! She decided that she didn’t like it when I went for a walk on my treadmill “without” her, so she taught herself to jump on and walk with me. It was very cute, and I do walk quite slowly, but for safety I relocated her to another available lap during mommy’s exercise time. But she will try to join me if the door is left open! Pugs are unstoppable!
Lolita is loving the warmer weather, and enjoys bathing in the sun, both inside and on the deck. She also enjoys her hobby of keeping as close to us as possible and that’s just fine with us. I don’t remember what it’s like to cook in the kitchen without her little cinnamon roll bum on my foot, or sleep without her snoring next to me under the blankets. She is truly a part of our family, and always at the centre of whatever we are doing (even if it’s just to sit on the floor, in the middle of an impromptu family dance party, and stare at us with complete confusion!)
She continues to require daily allergy medication, and her needs fluctuate with the seasons, just like human allergies. Unfortunately, because she has so many allergies, she doesn’t seem to get an “off” season.
Under my Wing continues to provide Lolita’s prescription medications, prescription food, and her regular check-ups, vastly improving her quality of life. Lolita has had her first dental procedure since coming to live with us at the end of April 2020. She has lots a few teeth and came out of the dental procedure like a champion.
Please consider donating to UMWPR to help dogs like Lolita continue to overcome their past circumstances, and enjoy the lives they deserve to live!
April 23, 2020 – Lolita is doing well. She has a very nice slimmer figure now and enjoys sunning whenever the weather permits. Lolita was on a different antibiotic and she didn’t react well. She had stomach problems and didn’t want to eat anymore. We have stopped that medication and the vet is seeing what would be best for this sweet girl. Lolita is a Hospice Pug which means that she will stay in her foster family forever as she went thru so much health wise and still has to remain on a few meds for the rest of her life and on a special hypoallergenic formula that also dissolves eventual stones in her bladder. If you are interested in donating for Lolita’s vet expenses, you can do so on our Homepage thru CanadaHelps. We will continue to provide regular updates on this sweet girl who is receiving tons of love in her foster family.
February 17, 2020 – Lolita’s bacterial culture confirmed a diagnosis of Methicillin-resistant Staph pseudintermedius or MSRP infection.
This is an antibiotic resistant staph infection that is highly contagious to other animals, and a low risk of contagion to humans. Here is a handout I found online:
Lolita has been prescribed a strong antibiotic for this type of infection. It is the mildest form of this type of antibiotic. She may need something stronger but that will come with more side effects so starting slow. We will start giving her probiotics to help her gut. We should begin to see improvement in 3-4 days if it’s working.
Thyroid test result: Although Lolita’s T3 was a little low, the rest of her numbers were good, ruling out thyroid disease.
Ear Infection: Lolita’s Ears are looking good and the Infection appears to be gone. The vet cautioned that we finish all of the antibiotic and warned the infection could recur until all of the other infections are under control.
Anal Glands: Clean but still very inflamed. Vet told us to continue with Metacam.
Weight: More good news! Lolita’s down another .5 of a pound, bringing her to 24.5lbs
Medications: New antibiotic to be picked up this Friday, continuing:
– Apoquel (itchy skin)
– Metacam (Anal glands)
– Surolan (Ears)
Follow Up – we have a follow up booked for a recheck on Tuesday, March 10 @11am
February 4, 2020 – Lolita continues to be the highlight of our days. She’s a reading companion and a (grumpy) walking buddy, an extra pillow at night and a loyal, if not fearsome, guard dog (she’s has started standing in front of us and letting out one bark when the postman comes. She sure shows him). Still working on her skin issues. Lolita has been on the antibiotics for a week but there is still redness and irritation. We’re taking steps to reduce her discomfort. Anything that regularly touches her skin can cause abrasion – even soft harnesses, knitted sweaters and boots. She now wears a fleece sweatshirt to try to add extra, very soft padding for her skin under her harness and a fleece jacket. She was initially unimpressed but shivered much less and was less irritated after walks. We try to control the irritation on the tops of her paws from the boots with prescribed washes and oils. But it’s a balance to be sure. We’re tried to prevent more foot licking with soft, loose, fleece scarves (and maybe the very occasional tutu) and she’s fine with that (she’s never left alone with something around her neck except a vet approved cone). Thankfully, she spends very little time alone. Finally, Lolita has lost another pound and a half! My doctor tells me my health has also improved, and advised me to tell everyone to adopt a pug.
January 28, 2010 – Lots of positive developments this week. The vet diagnosed Lolita’s remaining skin issue, a wide-spread infection, which had been caused by her previous, long-standing, untreated allergies breaking down the natural barriers on her skin. So now we have a plan! She will be taking another 3 weeks of antibiotics, as well as antibacterial baths and vitamin E paw massages. The vet is also checking to ensure she’s taking the best antibiotic for her infection by doing a culture. Her skin is still red and itchy and easily irritated, but we’re seeing small improvements and that makes us optimistic! Her fur is slowly growing back and thickening since her allergy treatment began and we hope it will continue to improve with these further treatments. Please note that Lolita cannot use typical creams, balms, waxes and oils because of their plant and/or animal ingredients that could trigger her allergies. Only straight vitamin E for this special girl!
In consultation with the vet, we’re trying to walk Lolita without boots and a gentle antibacterial wash when she returns home. We’ll see how it goes. It’s difficult to judge the best course of action when her feet are so sensitive but we’re paying close attention and doing what’s best for Lolita. She does enjoy a nice heated blanket and a snuggle to comfort her after the hardship of winter exercise. So she does enjoy THAT aspect of walking! This week we were also treated with joyful spinning dances and happy zoomies when we returned from an outing. She’s also playing more with her stuffed toys. I guess it’s easier to be happy when your butt isn’t quite so itchy!
January 20, 2020 – Lolita does not like the snow at all! She informed us after the large snowfall that she would not be peeing outside anymore unless we did something, so she’s now the owner of quite an impressive pee path in the backyard. We still have to supervise to ensure that she does ALL of her business while she’s out or we can expect an accident when we she comes back inside. We’ve been focusing on caring for Lolita’s feet this week. Although we’ve treated her allergies, the skin on her paws is still easily irritated, so we took a break from boots and walks for a few days. This will allow her skin to heal more fully, and allow us to assess if there is still another underlying condition that requires attention. Lolita continues to be sweet and affectionate. She is quietly content, but I think that, with time and security, she will express more of the joy and playfulness that we sometimes catch in glimpses. The best is yet to come for this sweetheart.
January 14, 2020 – Lolita saw the vet again this week and switched medications in an attempt to get her allergies under control. Due to the itching, she still scratches and chews on her feet quite a bit, though it is improving. She is growing very tired of wearing the cone all the time, and we don’t blame her. She is not a fan of the colder, snowy weather, and takes a bit of extra prodding to get going on walks. She would much prefer to curl up in bed with someone on chilly days, but we continue to help her exercise to get fit and healthy. She continues to show limitless patience and sweetness, even in the face of excited and overtired children!
January 6, 2020 – Lolita will be up for adoption eventually, so this entry will be a description of her ideal family, based on my 6 weeks of caring for her. The ideal family for Lolita will be sensitive to her significant sensitivity to cold. Warm boots and a good winter coat will be a must. Lolita currently wears Paws boots but something warmer would probably be preferable. She will resist walks in cold weather, to the point of shivering and hiding when its walk time. Don’t forget she spent cold nights on the street……before coming to rescue. Lolita responds well to encouragement. I like to sing her a rousing cheer while walking (not required, but recommended because it’s fun for both of you). With Lolita’s shocking history of bladder stones, her forever family will have to be committed to only giving her vet- approved food. She also needs to continue to lose weight, so consistent use of a measuring cup is essential. The longer you live with a chubby dog, the more normal their obesity will seem. Set a goal weight and stick to it. Lolita’s forever family will be mindful of her health history. Know the signs of urinary tract or bladder infection and be prepared for the possibility of having to take her in for urinalysis to ensure she is well. Safe guarding her urinary health will be key. Also, take her out frequently (every 2-4 hours, maximum, and perhaps a trip at night or early morning). Ensure that she always has plenty to drink. Be aware of how allergies can affect health (ear infections, etc). Lolita is a sweet-tempered dog who loves everyone. Provide ramps for high beds and couches. Watch her on stairs. Be mindful of how her weight currently strains her knees. Lolita wants to be with her people. She wants to sit with them and sleep in someone’s bed. If you can give her your compassion and responsibility, she will love you with all her beautiful heart. Lolita is worth every ounce of care you can provide.
December 30, 2019 – Lolita participated in all the traditional holiday festivities, such as napping in wrapping paper, and dancing around the kitchen in hopes of catching a fallen piece of Christmas dinner (she didn’t). We also saw the vet this week, who identified some food allergies. We’re working to find the best diet to meet Lolita’s various needs, we have started her on a special Urinary SO especially made for dogs with food allergies. She has also started some antibiotics for a sore foot (caused by the allergies) and we’re watching a bump on her side for a bit to make sure it’s nothing concerning. The great news is that WE HAD NO ACCIDENTS THIS WEEK! woo hoo! Lolita has also been able to go a little longer between pees and no longer requires a night time pee every night. We still take her out if she wakes during the night. This improvement is especially wonderful because it means the inflammation caused by her many stones is healing. We’re working hard on trying to take her farther on her walks. She requires a lot of coaxing to get away from the house but trots back to the house quite happily. For this reason, she does best if you take her somewhere she doesn’t know!! She likes meeting dogs and people on our walks and is quiet but sociable. Just a sweetheart.
December 23, 2019 – Lolita continues to be a delight. She loves to burrow under the blankets (the heavier the better) and we’ve developed a family policy to check every bed before sitting on it! She is an adorable shadow, following us from room to room and always crawling on my lap. We love having her. We only had 3 accidents in the house in the last week, which is a great improvement. Lolita’s future family must be very sensitive to her cues to continue this positive development. She must go out every 2 hours unless she is asleep. She will not ask to go out, but quietly wait by the door. If you miss her cues, she will have an accident. We continue to take her out once at night. Sometimes this outing happens a little later, around 5am or 6am. She has been more agreeable on walks, but is extremely sensitive to cold. We dress her in boots, a sweater and a coat but she will still shiver if she doesn’t keep moving. She loves to share my heated blanket with me. Lolita listens very well. Just this week she was making a run for the litter box and I said “no” and she stopped so fast she slid on the floor! (Side note, litter boxes will need to be placed out of reach or behind a gate.)
An ideal home for Lolita would have few stairs. She struggles to go up and down and prefers to avoid them. We have ramps that she uses to get on and off beds and couches. Lolita will be visiting the vet next week for recheck.
December 19, 2019 – Week #4 with Lolita. Her sweet personality continues to emerge. She loves to bury herself under the blankets and snuggle. She requires a nighttime sleeping buddy, but it’s no hardship as she is so cuddly. She hates walks but is frisky and playful when she comes back inside. She requires bathroom breaks about every two hours. She can hold it for longer than that if she’s sleeping, but must go outside as soon as she wakes. Ideally, someone should take her outside half-way though the night. My husband gets up at around 5am, so he takes her out at midnight, but she may require another trip out if she wakes early. With these bathroom breaks, and 3 short walks per day she averages between 3-5 accidents per week. (This is a great improvement!)
Her hatred of the outdoors has resulted in some pretty clever behaviour. We discovered that if she is not accompanied right out into the yard (no waiting on the deck!), she will pretend to pee to get back inside faster, and then pee on the floor almost immediately. So she requires a pretty dedicated pee buddy during the cold weather. But we have been getting her out as much as we can, and with her new diet, it seems like she is looking a littler trimmer! Lolita has spent some time around other pugs this week and was interested in socializing. She is such a sweetheart and will make a wonderful companion for someone (preferably someone who is home during the day or can have someone check on her every 2-4 hours).
December 12, 2019 – Lolita continues to improve every day. Her appetite has returned and her calorie consumption is carefully monitored to support weight loss. She needs some pumpkin every day to keep things “moving”. She’ still struggling with some incontinence and pees in the house 1-2 times per day. We believe she is still healing from the trauma of carrying 63 stones in her bladder. She very clearly knows how to ask to go out and will do so when she can. At this time, we are taking her into the yard around 10 times per day (from 6am – 10pm and sometimes during the night if she wakes up) and *trying* to take her for walks 3x per day.
Lolita is afraid of the stairs and we will carry her down the stairs.
In true pug fashion, Lolita hates the cold, snow, rain and frost. Even with a sweater, jacket and booties, she shivers and refuses to go further than across the street, where she pees and then turns back toward home. At almost 30 pounds, she has a lot of influence on how far we can go. She’s like a mountain when she doesn’t wish to go somewhere, and a little bulldozer when she wants to go somewhere else. Maybe as more time passes from the trauma of being homeless, she will find joy in going outside again. For these reasons, it’s even more important to be very attentive and disciplined with her diet. Lolita is the sweetest soul and we’re so happy to have her in our home. She’s a cuddle bug and very loving.
December 3, 2019 – Lolita’s recheck went very well, her incision is healing very nicely. She had her anal glands expressed and they were quite full. Vet gave the OK for Lolita to start going for walks.
November 30, 2019 – Wow! Another eventful week! Lolita had her recheck with the vet and she’s cleared to slowly resume regular activity. She still pees in the house a couple of times each day, but she’s starting to ask to be let out when she’s on the main floor, and that’s a huge improvement. Lolita hates stairs and avoids them when she can. We think that this makes sense. She’s very large with very short legs. We got her a ramp to traverse the stairs to the backyard, and another to get up on the couch. She’s getting used to vet food. She will have to eat Urinary SO food for the rest of her life, due to a tendency to form bladder stones. Lolita sticks very close to her humans and prefers to always be next to someone. She needs a sleeping buddy. She will tolerate sleeping next to the bed If you arrange yourself so she can see you.
November 25, 2019 – Our first week with Lolita was very eventful! She had surgery on Thursday November 21 to remove an astounding 63 stones, several of which were almost as big as eggs. But the most astonishing part of her illness to us was that, in the days leading up to her surgery, when she must have been in agonizing pain, she never once growled or snapped at anyone. She was sweet and affectionate. There is not an aggressive bone in this lovely lady’s body! When she returned to us on Friday, we could already see a difference in how she held herself and on her ability to sit comfortably. As the days have passed, she has continued to regain her energy and personality. Whereas she was lethargic when she first arrived, now she keeps us on our toes trying to keep her from running and jumping and playing too vigorously. She especially wants to play with the kids, and loves giving them kisses. Otherwise, she continues to despise her kibble for urinary stones, and complains loudly during family mealtime. She is also still using pee pads in addition to being taken out ever 1-2 hours. But this has improved dramatically since last week when she was very ill and painful. We look forward to watching this sweetheart continue to recover!
November 24, 2019 – Lolita has a surgery on Friday to get 63 bladder stones removed. She’s back at her foster home for a smooth recovery. Lolita is a sweet girl who LOVES kids. She will have to remain on special vet food to dissolve & prevent any more bladder stones. Lolita need to lose weight so we will work on that with nice walks as soon as she’s recovered from her surgery.
November 20, 2019 – We welcomed Lolita into our home last night. She’s a very sweet senior who is presently facing some health issues. The vet identified very serious calcification in her bladder (stones), bladder infection & ear infections. She’s presently taking antibiotics, ear drops and pain medication. She will be having surgery for the bladder stones tomorrow. Despite her challenges, Lolita is a lovely lady. She’s affectionate and seems to particularly love children. She ignores the cat and I don’t think the guinea pigs are even on her radar.
After her surgery, our secondary goal to helping her recover from her various infections will be helping her adapt to a new diet and exercise routine. Lolita is rather full-figured and judging by the dance she did while I cooked supper, I suspect she lived off table food. We took shifts spending the night in the kitchen with her last night, (she cannot hold urine at all with the bladder stones so her bed is on the kitchen right now). But we look forward to integrating her into the family routine when she’s feeling better.
November 19, 2019 – Lolita was found stray. This plumpy 29.9lbs girl is spayed (visible scar). She has received vaccination while at the OHS and is going for a complete vet check today. We are suspecting that she has a urinary tract infection at the least. Stay tuned for more on this lovely girl.
February 17, 2020 – Ariana & Emma have settled in over the past two weeks. They’ve progressed from being very noisy and excited when we leave the house to calm and quiet. At least until we get home and they become very animated, bouncing and chirping around to greet us! Both girls are energetic and need active play. They particularly enjoy a good game of tug-of-war or tag in the backyard. Both Ariana & Emma love to interact with each other and other dogs and children—Emma takes the lead and instigates play with Ariana standing back to assess the situation before joining the fun. Ariana & Emma are crate trained. While they prefer to be on the human bed to snuggle at night, they are comfortable in their crate for the night so long as they are together. They cuddle one another throughout the night and aren’t out of each other’s sight much during the day. They also love to be your shadow.
February 4, 2020 – Emma and Ariana had a good week. Ariana is really good at letting me do her ear drops. We got lots of walks in and currently working on teaching them to walk side by side. Ariana had a tough week with house training, we are working on this.. This weekend she’s done well but had been out quite a bit in the yard. Neither like to do their business on walks. Did a trial separation this weekend for a few hours at a time. Neither liked to be left alone. The one that got to be with me in the back of the house in the sunroom did settle down and slept. Ariana had more difficultly being without Emma. When I leave the house to go out, they settle quite quickly and are excited when I return. Conclusion- both don’t like to be without a person.
January 25, 2020 – Emma & Ariana were surrendered by her owner who didn’t have time for them. Emma is 3 years old and she is spayed. She is a little bit overweight so we will be working on a reduced food intake and regular walks. Emma is going to the vet this afternoon for a complete check up, to be brought up to date in her vaccination and to get microchipped.
