Devastating News

What a difficult post to write.

Oddjob is an amazing dog. He has fitted in so well with our lives and our other dogs.

Rhyme thinks Oddjob is his own toy to wash and fuss over. Oddjob thinks Rhyme is his own personal groomer.

Flint has also taken to him and licks his left ear, although with what we have now found out is actually a bit weird.

Torro, Devo and Kodi all accept being pug nipped if they are trying to get attention from me at the same time as he wants it. Torro especially surprises me with this.

I had even started teaching him some agility basics and he is so willing to learn and loves trying.

It is hilarious that even though the majority of the time he follows me like a shadow he will stop up the field after training and not want to come back in. Both Rhyme and Kodi often tried doing this so we naturally thought it a collie trait. It really shows what an independent character he is.

Everyone of our friends, previous pug fans or not, have fallen in love with him in a very short space of time.

It doesn't seem like he has only been with us since June last year. He was 10 months when we got him so he is only 17 months yet he seems to have been part of our lives forever.

We noticed he was knuckling over on his front right leg, this then progressed to his left and his circling became more of a problem. His gait was not right either.

I had him booked in our new vets for the Tuesday after Easter and was even more concerned there when we noticed his nail beds were bleeding. Some people had had experience of a nail bed infection and this would have made him uncomfortable.

I researched nail bed infections and treatment was not too bad and recovery was good.

At the vets he spun and tripped and looked very ungainly. He will stop spinning if I ask him to sit so I can usually stop it. The vet wanted to let him keep doing it. It was very sad to watch and I started to worry.

After a thorough check the vet recommended an MRI scan as she was concerned of a spinal injury in his neck or a neurological problem.

Alarm bells rang and panic set in :(

Off to the internet - a good and not so good source of information.

There is a pug disorder called PDE which is found only in pugs and causes inflammation of the brain and is not pleasant.

Pugs can also get the same problem as Cavaliers where they have fluid on the brain and the brain pushes on the skull. Painful and debilitating.

Twisted tails are actually a deformity of the vertebrae and if the same deformity occurs in the neck then the spinal cord can get trapped and damaged.

So many worrying things to think of. The main worry was his unpug like lack of happiness. His willingness to be part of everything was the same which was sad as the stumbling became worse and he also flicked his hind right leg out too.

Tuesday was the day of the scan. We went to East Midland Referrals and saw Graham Oliver. He was very professional and even he had to smile when Oddob delivered a well timed pug snort right at his face. The vet nurse came in to collect him and Oddjob turned the full force of his charms on her. She mouthed "I love him" at me whilst Graham was explaining everything.

There was a long list of possibilities many of which were treatable so we left with a better outlook after so many thoughts of heartbreak over the weekend.

When we picked him up he didn't want to wake up and was shaking uncontrollably which was very distressing.

Graham showed us the scans. He had taken quite a few and was very thorough in explaining them to us.

The scans showed a large cyst at the base of his brain that looked like it had been there a while and was not inflamed, a small round possible cyst that had an area of inflammation around it and inflammation of the spinal cord just below his brain which could have been a result of either of the cysts.

Graham took blood tests and some fluid from his brain to be sent off for testing and also sent copies of the scans off to a couple of places for further opinions.

We have drugs for him to take for now to treat the inflammations and are going back again tomorrow for the results and details of how we will treat him.

He was quiet on Wednesday but came out on Thursday with the others when I was setting up the agility equipment. He must have been feeling a lot better as he decided to walk up the dog walk to get my attention. He certainly got that as I ran across to stop him falling although I don't think if would have. He was obviously pleased with this reaction as although I carried him away from it before I put him down he waited until I was moving the tunnel and run up it again. Mischievous little monkey - glad he has got his spirit back for now.

I am in between thinking hurray the drugs are working and he will get back to normal and then moments of tears when I wonder how he can recover from 3 things and we may loose him.

So everything possible crossed for a good visit tomorrow and meanwhile lots of puggles.