I recently received an email loaded with pictures from One Hundred Dollars a Month Reader Aubre who is a Veterinarian in Louisiana. To be honest, it was more like a good book about how she came to own 3 pugs and I couldn’t stop reading it.
So grab a cup of tea, and get cozy, it’s a long one.
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As a child, my husband wasn’t able to have dogs (or cats, or hamsters, or anything else with hair for that matter) due to his dad’s severe allergies.
I learned of his desire (or rather, obsession?) for a dog – I mean Pug – while we were dating in college. As a future veterinarian, I constantly reminded him of the many different health issues Pugs are faced with. Anytime he brought up the subject, I would rattle off my list: “There’s skin problems, chronic ear infections, dental disease, their eyes can fall out … and don’t even get me started on the snoring!” {Oh my word, our Lucy totally snores!}
The years passed by. I finished vet school, and shortly after we were married. We adopted 5 cats, and then a parakeet named Peep adopted us in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (that is a story in itself!). When we had our daughter in 2006, our family was complete. Or so I thought. A few years later, we moved into a new house with a very large fenced backyard.
I still lobbied against having a Pug, but my husband had adopted a new tactic – flattery. He started saying things like, “I know that Pugs are prone to certain health problems, but that’s why I have YOU, a wonderful veterinarian, to take care of it!” How can you argue with that logic?
And then it happened. It was December 2008. I left my work during lunch to run to town and do a bit of Christmas shopping. I returned to my office to find my entire staff huddled around a cage, staring intently at a dog inside. I walked up behind them, confused, and said, “What are we all looking at?”
They all turned around and started talking at once. “Please don’t be mad, Doc!” “She just looked so sad!” “We had to take her in – it’s so cold outside!” “We can’t send her to the shelter!” I was finally able to look into the cage, and what I found was the most pitiful looking Pug ever.
She was several pounds underweight, and she had a very bad corneal ulcer on her right eye (it was just a few days away from perforating, leaving her blind in that eye). She had Heartworms and Hookworms, and too many fleas to count. She was young (<2 years by my estimate), but had obviously already had a litter of puppies.
One of our clients had picked her up in the parking lot of a local salvage store. The client had knocked on several doors and asked around trying to find the dog’s owner, but no one claimed her, saying that she’d been hanging around the parking lot for several days trying to scrounge up food. And so in that moment I knew that she was to be my dog.
I got to work fixing her up, but I kept her existence a secret from my husband, as I intended to surprise him for Christmas. Within a few weeks, she was perfect … well, except for the missing teeth that I’d pulled due to dental disease, and the scar on her right eye from the corneal ulcer, and the fact that she was still a bit underweight.
On Christmas Eve, I wrapped up stuffed Pug along with a giant box full of treats and other dog paraphernalia. I had my husband and daughter (then 2 ½ years old) open the box together. My husband, understandably confused, looked up from the box just as the dog walked straight into his arms. That’s when the tears started flowing (although later he would claim it was an acute allergy attack). At the age of 30, my husband had finally gotten his first dog! He thought long and hard about what to name her, and finally settled on Cayenne.
Cayenne proved to be a great addition to our family. She got along well with our cats and our Parakeet, and she didn’t object (too much) to being dressed up in different outfits by our daughter.
And then it happened – again. It was July 2011. I received a call from one of my employees about a stray dog. “Hey Doc! I’m here on Sunday afternoon taking care of the patients who are boarding with us, and I hear a knock on the door. It’s the neighbor behind us. He found this dog running down the middle of the highway. He was hoping we could keep it till tomorrow and then have the shelter come pick it up.” I said “Sure, not a problem. What kind of dog is it?” She replied, “A Pug. Black, female, small. She reminds me a lot of your Cayenne.”
The next day, I examined the stray Pug and found her to be in similarly poor condition, like Cayenne had been. She was very underweight, and had a bad skin rash. She also had Heartworms and Hookworms, as well as fleas. Like Cayenne, she was young (<2 years by my estimate), but had already delivered puppies. After a few weeks of medical treatment, Pepper was settling in to her new home with us.
Just when things seemed to be going smoothly with our crazy zoo of animals, it happened – again. It was November 2012. My receptionist handed me a message from one of my clients. It was a very difficult decision, but she was letting me know that she needed to find a new home for her dog. Her work situation had changed, and she felt she was no longer able to provide the best home for the dog. He was a middle-aged black male neutered Pug, and she wondered if I knew anyone who’d be interested in adopting him. Oh I knew someone alright. It was just a few days later, and Cole was coming home with me.
The next couple of pictures were of our three older hens, who are not quite a year old now. The Black Austrolorp is named Midnight, the Rhode Island Red is named Pot Pie, and the Americana is named Sam.
The final pic was taken just this past week of my son hanging out in the yard with our new baby chickens (both 6-7 weeks old). The Light Brahma on his lap is named Gumbo, and the Barred Plymouth Rock is named Star.
I have a theory that I often share with clients, “When the time is right, your pet – and I mean THE pet that you are meant to have – will find you. You won’t have to look far, he/she will be there right under your nose.
Whether you adopt or purchase or pick up him/her up off the side of the road, you just have to be patient and trust that it will happen in time.” I would love to say that we are “maxed out” on Pugs, but I know my husband would say otherwise. Besides, if history repeats itself, it’s only a matter of time before another one finds its way into our lives.
~ Aubre
If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:
- Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
- Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
- Cool Arts & Craft made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
- Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.
If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.
Go HERE for the official rules.
Katherine says
What a great story. My cat totally found me. I had just put my previous cat to sleep the month before. He had cancer and there was nothing the vet could do. A month later this noisy kitten showed up outside my apartment. She would talk and talk (and eat and eat) but wouldn’t let me touch her. Then one morning while my fella was asleep I opened a can of tuna, set it in the middle of the living room and crouched behind the door with a book. At least two other cats (normally fed by the neighbor) came in and left before my kitten finally walked in. I slammed the door shut and the rest, is ahem, history. Now she is 13 and spoiled rotten. I have never had a cat that fits me so well, or vise versa.
suzanne says
Sweet! Made my day.
Ashley says
What a sweet story. And that little guy with the chickens, that picture belongs in a calendar or something. It is ridiculously adorable!
Mavis says
I know, her pictures are awesome! 🙂
krista says
We have 3 dogs and a cat, all who found us. Our amazingly wonderful black lab Buddy was found on the side of the road, about 10 lbs underweight, with serious fleas and worms. He is the sweetest dog you could imagine, and my husband’s shadow. It is a wonderful thing to make room in your life for an animal who needs love and attention- what a great story you and your pugs have!!
Lynne says
Wonderful story and pictures. Pugs are awesome (and I’ll bet that covers Puggle dogs, too), and have the sweetest dispositions. I had the joy of having a Pug in my home for a number of years, and Pugsley got along with everyone, and all the other dogs. Pugsley would sit down on a dog puff, and inevitably, one, two or three other dogs would snuggle in with him – that stopped when he passed away. He had orthopedic problems and lost the use of his hind legs, but was always up for a game of tug-of-war over a toy with one of the little dogs.
Laurel says
“When the time is right, your pet – and I mean THE pet that you are meant to have – will find you.”
Aubre.. I’ve said that many times myself.. I’ve known a dog was mine when I was simply told about it.. Since 1999, 7 Geman Shepherds and every single one of them I knew.. I just KNEW the dog was mine… and it’s not happened with other puppies I’ve held or rescues I’ve helped. 4 of those dogs were rescues and were adults when they came to me. The 2 I have now I drove 7 hours each way to get them (3 years apart) knowing that I wasn’t just going to look but going to pick up MY dog who was waiting for me.
Thank you for sharing your story…
Julie's Rants says
“That’s when the tears started flowing”…Gosh, I almost got tears in my coffee this morning reading this. Thanks for a great story!
Grandma PattyB says
I had my cat, Chelsea, for 18 years. She was a gift from my then 10-yr old daughter. To back up a bit, we lived in apartments and I was a single mom with 2 teenaged boys and Hollie, my 10-yr old. Hollie wanted a cat. I said we can only have goldfish since we lived in an apartment and pets weren’t allowed.
So one day, with the help of her brothers, they all went to the pet store and found this adorable kitten waiting for adoption. So with her $10 she had gotten from her dad, she bought me this kitten. Gave her to me on Mother’s Day! (The boys were smarter than the average bear!) We named her Chelsea. Then we moved.
Fast forward to 18 years later. Chelsea was blind for about a year by then, and doing quite well. But one day she couldn’t stand up. She just stayed in her favorite cardboard box and didn’t come to breakfast. I decided to take her to the vet the next day (Friday, thank goodness!) and took 1/2 day off from work (thank goodness!). It was harder than I thought, putting down a beloved pet. I bawled so hard I could barely write the check.
After a couple of months, and coming home to no Chelsea waiting by the door when I came in, I decided that, hey, I can now get a dog. See, Chelsea didn’t allow ANY other pets in the house.
So I decided on a Golden Retriever. Always wanted one. So I voiced my desire at work one day. Someone said, well Marilyn breeds them. WHAT!?! All these years and I didn’t know my friend breeds Goldens. Then I remembered all the Golden pictures, calendars, etc on her desk. OF COURSE!
So I got one. Baxter. He was a bundle of ENERGY. Loved him. After several months, the AKC papers arrived. I looked at the date he was born. Why does that date look so familiar? Oh. My. Gosh! THAT’S the date I had to put down Chelsea. I bawled.
kathy says
Happy Easter! Here’s the Easter Pug or Rug.. not sure..
http://cheezburger.com/6095157248
Mavis says
Ha! Happy Easter to you too. 🙂
Gina says
This story totally gave me goose bumps. Chuck Norris just found us a week and a half ago. He and his two sisters were found abandoned in a ditch. Boyfriend asked if we could get a puppy and my answer was no. Then he showed me the picture. Two days later I was driving to pick up Chuck Norris. He’s a black lab mix of some sort and he’s totally captured our hearts.