Tuesday, September 1, 2015

I Have Been Fighting a War and POTP please


Dear Friends

It's time to come clean and tell you about the battle I have been facing. You see life has not been all fun and games at my house. I have been fighting a nasty war and I told Mom that although we think we are winning the fight, maybe we need to call out the big guns and ask for a little support from our friends.

Let me back up. About the time I turned 6 months old, Mom started noticing some of my skin darkening. It started on my forehead, then she noticed some spots on my legs. She changed my food, bought some moisturizing spray, skin oil for my food,  but it slowly got worse and I was starting to have hair loss too.

To the dogtor we went. My mom was totally aghast to hear the dogtor say I had Demodetic Mites, sometimes called mange.
"how can that be?" she said." I take good care of my pugs !!!"
The dogtor explained to Mom that it has nothing to do with quality of care, but everything to do with a dogs immune system. All dogs  may have some of these mites but a normal healthy immune system can handle them. Sometimes if a dogs immune system is weak these mites can take over.   This can happen to puppies because their immune system is immature, or to older dogs who for some reason have compromised immune systems. And let me tell you, once they take hold, they can be nasty little buggers to get rid of.

So the last few months have been a series of medications and baths and holistic soaks and skin scrapes and more baths and soaks and more medicine and food supplements to help build my immune system. I got worse before I started to get better.

Three weeks ago the skin scrape showed NO mites! Yay! The dogtor was pretty sure we had it whipped. She even teased mom for worrying so much. Mom was not as sure and did not like being teased.  then a week ago mom noticed a red spot on my left eye.  We saw a different dogtor this time and Mom asked her to do a skin scrape and she found one mite. Only one - but that is one too many. So more medicine. And I have ointment for my eye.
*update on eye at end of post*

 I am really tired of baths and I really don't like the skin soaks. But other than being kinda funny looking and sometimes getting itchy, I have been doing well. I have continued to grow (I am taller than Hazel now) and gain weight. 



I am a very happy girl. It doesn't bother me how I look, Mom & Dad love me just the same.
I know that my friends still love me too.    Mom is kinda self-concious about my condition - and she does not know some people might react. So I have not been going to training class so we can concentrate on getting me better.

I am OK but it has been really stressful on Mom. She brushes me everyday and looks me over for signs of improvement. It goes very slow. The dogtor says it could be months for my skin and hair to return to normal.  It worries Mom - how can she tell if I am really all better if I don't look better. She is such a worry wart, that Mom of mine.

From Mom- 

Originally I thought we would get past this and no one would ever have to know the battle we have been facing. But this has not been a fast or easy fix. And I must admit it has had me on an emotional roller coaster. I cry, I worry, I want Mabel to get well and stay well. Mabel is right - I am a worry wart.  I am thankful that this does not pass dog to dog so Bailey & Hazel are fine. Mabel has handled all the treatments like a little trooper. It is me that has struggled. I drive myself crazy looking for signs of improvement and that is going excruciatingly slow for me. She is a wonderful, sweet, smart little girl. I feel she is getting the short end of the blog - for lack of "fun posts" to share. Not fair to her.  I guess we all know life isn't always fun or fair. 
But now I have laid our problem out there for all to see. Now you will know why she may look odd in some of the pictures that I hope to take more of and I won't be wondering if anybody notices. We do hope to start training class again in a few weeks and we have bought a new "ride" for Bailey & Hazel so we can go for walks that we all need. We will show it off when we get it put together.
If any of you have had experience with this and can offer any advice or insight that might help us - please feel free to contact us at pugranch2 AT msn DOT com

love from the PugRanch momma

UPDATE - Yesterday we had a recheck on Mabel's eye. The injury has not healed much and the vet does not want it to lift her cornea. I also had her look at a small bump that had appeared on Mabel's leg, she said it looked like a benign hemangioma.  So today she is at the vet.  Under anesthesia the vet will laser off the bump, remove?? the damaged tissue on her eye, stitches if necessary. She will do another skin scrape and give Mabel a special shot to help boost her immune system.  Please keep Mabel in your thoughts today and I could use a few hugs too -



We are the PugRanch Kids
Bailey, Hazel & Mabel




50 comments:

  1. Oh dearest sweet Mabel I am sending you loads of POTP and healing licky kisses. I do hopes you get betters soon and will be keeping ALL my paws crossed fur you.
    Lots of luffs and hugs to Mom, we totally understand your worryings, my peeps are just the same.
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  2. Oh no! Mabel! Yu get well soon! An big hugs frum My place to yur place - hugs to all of yu.

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  3. Hari OM
    POTP POTP POTP..... gracious peeps, so glad you have reached out!

    Mabel - we love you any way you come and you keep reassuring mum!!!

    MUM - my dear, you write as if with shame; hold your head high darlin' for you have a wonderful little girl and whilst this mite has been a might 'nuisancsical', never fear reaching out to Blogville!!! May POTP POTP POTP now envelop you and Mabel (and the support crew) for a speeding of improvements.

    Blessings hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx (xxooxxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo &*>)

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  4. Oh poor Mabel!! Sending you so much pug love! You need to meet our doctor; she's the pug whisperer and can fix anything!!
    Hugs to you!!

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  5. Oh Mabel, we do understand. When our Rusty and Tucker (RIP) were rescued 14 years ago, they both suffered from the same thing, Tucker a little worse than Rusty because he was actually sick as well from the mange and the treatment and almost didn't make it. But they both pulled through after weekly treatments at the vet's, medicine, medicated baths, and lots of patience. (The treatments at the vet's office were harsh and we almost lost Tucker). After about 6 months of care, they both pulled through and never had another problem. Talk to your vet about the dangers of the treatments though. I'm sure the treatment for mange has improved since 2002, but questions were raised when both Tucker and Rusty contracted cancer in their later years. At the time of their treatment, cancer was a possible side effect of that particular treatment.

    Sending you lots of POTP for a quick recovery from the itchies! And...sending some love too.

    :)

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  6. Bless your heart and bravery. WE will keep you in our thoughts and all our prayers today, you and your mabel have had a bumpy road, but I read somewhere when a pup and her mommy goes through trials it just brings them all the closer. We hope everything goes well today, and remember Hair always grows back, you are such a great mommy for Mabel, I fink Greta did just fine when she found her for you..............another person may not have been as concerned as you were. Hugs from all of us to you and yours....stella rose and momma

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  7. Oh boy! Glad those mites are all gone. They thought I had mange once but it was allergies. Sending good vibes to you Mabel. You will be home before you know it
    Lily & Edward

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  8. Oh, you are all in our thoughts and prayers. I know about having lots of itchies but not the demodetic mites, though Ma was sure when I had one of my flare ups that is exactly what the vet would say I had. And she was embarrassed to even take me to the vet for fear that would be the diagnosis. Thankfully it wasn't but it is nothing to be embarrassed about. We know you take great care of the Pugs at your Ranch and we sure hope Mabel gets better right quick!
    Oz

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  9. Dear Mabel&Mom, I cross my paws as hard as I can that efurrything goes well. I hope for good news when the dogtor removes the bump and I send POTP for your eye. For me you are the fabulous and beautiful pugranch girl and I'm sure the fur-prob is solved soon too. And that evil mites will run away to tim-puke-too and they never ever come back to you. Please give your mom a big hug from me, I know how bad we feel when one of our furkids has a problem.... this fears can eat our soul....:o(

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  10. Oh Mabel, I wish you'd said something earlier! You know Blogville can help you through the worst times! Did you know I had demo when I was a pup? When I furst came to my foster home, I had such a bad case of demo that I had NO fur at all except a little on my head. I'd been kept outside, too, and with no fur to protect me from the sun, I was in pretty bad shape!! It took a while to get me back in fighting shape, but I haven't had a single problem with it since then. Lots of my LBR cousins have fought demo too, and they've all pulled through eventually! Just keep your chin up, keep fighting, and try not to scratch. :) You can do it!!!

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  11. MABEL DARLIN' SWEET LITTLE PUG FRIEND. WE ARE SO SORRY YOU HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH ALL THIS. BLESS YOUR BIG PUG HEART. I'M SO GLAD THE SKIN CONDITION IS IMPROVING. WE SURE ARE SENDING YOU A TON KITTY KISSES AND MOM HUGS TO YOU AND YOUR MOM AS YOU HAVE YOUR EYE PROCEDURE TODAY. I KNOW YOUR MOM IS WORRIED 'CAUSE THAT IS WHAT MOM'S DO. I'M GLAD THERE IS SOMETHING THEY CAN DO TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGS MADI AND MOM

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  12. PS JUST SAW AUNTY YAM'S COMMENT SHE IS VERY VERY RIGHT....NO SHAME
    I HAVE A VERY YOUNG FRIEND WITH TWO CHILDREN 9 AND 5 YEARS OLD. SHE JUST SENT ME AN EMAIL IN HORROR THAT HER SON HAD LICE...SHE SAID THE SAME THING YOU DID MY CHILDREN ARE KEPT CLEAN...BUT AS I TOLD HER THERE IS STUFF OUT THERE WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER....
    KEEP US POSTED. OH AND THIS YOUNG FRIEND HAS TWO PUGS LINDY AND STELLA....
    CECILIA

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  13. Mabel, you sweet girl! So brave! There is no shame in a medical condition - 'course you know that. We're sending POTP your way and sneding hugs to your mom. By the way, we think jyour spots are cute!!

    -Ruby and Otto

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  14. Mabel and her Mum: We are keeping all 12 paws, 2 arms and 2 legs (plus eyes, bol) crossed for you and lots of POTP. It is no shame that you have this problem!! We all have problems some of the time -- mum has been embarrassed when she fell, hit her forehead and had a black eye (way before my time) and everyone asked her who had hit her -- she had to keep reassuring peeps that she was clumsy!!! Also, this last eye injury has caused her to have to explain over and over again what happened!!! So again POTP POTP PORT and luv and kisses to you from us

    ttfn and toodle pip

    Cookie (mum, sixpence and tigger III)

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  15. My parents had a beagle with mange. She didn't always have it - she got it when she was old, old, old. Oddly, the vet didn't offer any treatments. My guess is because the dog was so old. There is no shame in medical conditions, but I do understand why you didn't say anything.

    Lots of hugs and prayers to you all. I hope everything goes well and that Mabel recovers quickly.

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  16. poor little Mabel - that is a lot for a young pup to go through - and the big question is why is immune system down? We have our paws crossed and hope they can find a solution soon

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  17. We don't know a lot about mange, but we do know that it can be a long battle BUT a battle that can be won. Mom says she bets there is a "list" group or support group out there that could offer a lot of advice and help. Hang in there, Mabel and Mom - and we still think you are adorable.

    Woos - Ciara and Lightning

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  18. Dear Mabel and her Mom
    I am doing the best juju dance I know how to do. I am confident that this will all pass soon. Frankly, I still think Mabel is a beauty.
    I supposedly had that kind of mange as a puppy but it never was that severe. Now Mommy is not sure I had it at all since my tummy will still get black in spots. Usually when I am wandering through long grass or after a bath with certain soaps. She thinks it may be a skin allergy. It corrects itself in a couple of days.
    Love Noodles

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  19. oh no...we can understand why your mom worries. Mine would worry too. Hopefully this all works and you get better ok Mabel? We have our paws crossed for you here.

    Wags
    Oreo

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  20. Oh, poor Mabel and poor mom! We had a problem with this when Rita first came to us. She had to have daily baths (man, she was NOT a fan of that) and stand there with the shampoo on for 10 minutes. Since Rita is a shepherd, they were worried she'd have that... oh gosh, I forget now. There's a thing that makes a lot of shepherds be unable to take the medicine that helps with mange, so we had to wait to start the Rx until they could test her - and then the lab lost her sample, so we had to start over again. It was a LONG process so I got frustrated and looked up any possible home remedies online. I remember I found one which involved hydrogen peroxide, but I forget the other ingredients. (Sorry - mind like a sieve. I'm sure you could find it online if you wanted to try that.) I started using that on her, and she seemed to clear up pretty quickly. Right around that time, we got the okay to give her the medicine so I'm not sure if the home remedy alone would have done the trick, or if it was the combo of the two. Anyway, sending good thoughts that she'll be all better in no time!

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  21. Oh sweet furends, we've got all our paws and hands crossed here!

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  22. Oh Mabel!! Oh sweet gurl! I am sorry you've been goin' through this! I hopes you don't feel self conscience abouts your furs...we all have something! That's what Ma says. No body is pawfect, and that's a good thingie! I just hopes you are feelin' okays, and your eye is okays too. I'm sendin' tons of POTP and healin' vibes and lots of Airezens!
    I'm also sendin' 87 pitchers of Margaritas to your Moms...☺
    Kisses and {{{hugs}}}
    Ruby ♥

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  23. Oh no :-( Sending you lots of Golden Healing Thoughts. Have you tried immune system supplements? Ask you vet and make sure it will not affect to any of the shots given to Mabe;. Sending you Lots of Golden LOVE <3

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  24. Hi...Bella came with demodectic mange. She came with medicine....sheep dip poison, really, that she had to take every day for weeks. That sort of got rid of most of it, but she needed a further couple of needles. That was 5 years ago and she's never had the problem again. Though annoying, there is a good prognosis. We'll keep our paws crossed and send POTP.

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  25. Oh poor sweet baby girl and mom, sorry that yall are going through this. I'm keeping my paws crossed and sending healing prayers.

    Aroo to you,
    Sully

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  26. Wow you all have had quite your share of hard times! We hope and pray everything gets better real soon and stays that way! We'll be thinking about you!

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  27. Oh no! We are so sorry to hear about this! Our mom had a brother whose dog had mange and they had to keep taking the dog in to get "dipped". It was quite a lot of work to get all the treatment. We are sending out POTP and will list you on the POTP blog for extra powerful POTP!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  28. We are sending POTP to you. We hope u get better soon. blogville is family. I hope someone has good advice to help you thru it. We are always here to listen.

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  29. Sending you hugs and POTP. My first dog, Loki, had a lot of immune issues (different from Mabel's) so I understand the battle. Know we are hear for you and let us know if we can do anything to help. Hugs.

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  30. Oh Mabel we have our paws crossed tight that you can get through this problem and feel better soon.

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  31. You are all in our prayers!!!

    Love, Gampy

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  32. We are sending POTP times four and our Mama is sending LOTS of virtual big hugs to your Mama!!
    ((((((HUGS))))))
    Mama Beth, Dory and the Boyz

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  33. Mabel - you have the bestest dog Mom EVER. She is doing all she can to make you and loves you unconditionally, even on bad hair days.

    You are blessed to have her, and she is blessed to have you, who loves her just as much.

    POTP headed your way from the Johnson household.

    Lin, Ezekiel, Abby Lab and Rebecca and the grandpeeps.

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  34. Sending POTP... Our Angel K had the same kind of mites as a puppy. However, we had a pretty easy time fixing it. I hope that your luck turns very soon, and that the eye and bump are not big deals.

    We are thinking of you... sending our strongest potp!

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  35. We are so sorry you have been going through this. We know your Mom must be terribly worried. We know you are a tough girl Mabel and can handle this. POTP to you all

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  36. Oh Mabel and Mom we are so sorry you are going through all this and were so worried. Hey Mabel, you look like the Puffs right now with your light and dark areas :) Hope all went well today, I always get so worried when they mess with the Girls eyes too. Sending luvs and {{hugs}} and POTP your way!!!!
    Marty's Mom

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  37. I am so sorry that Mabel is having problems. I am also a worrier and I understand. I will pray for both of you. Mabel is a beauty no matter what happens and I hope she will be all past this very soon. Ziggy is crossing paws and sends love and hugs.

    Anne and Ziggy

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  38. {{HUGS}} I know that is so scary, but Paisley also had that as a puppy. Hers cleared up and there is no trace of it. Stay tuff little Mabel. ♥ (& Mom)

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  39. Dear Mable's Mum..please take heart..these things do worry us and as much as it is lovely to have fun posts some of us do have true concerns about our pets..i have two very reactive dogs..gentle to humans and our cats but cannot be near other dogs..to read their posts you would think life is a big laugh but it upsets me that they cannot enjoy canine company other than each other..many of us have issues with our pets and this world here online is a way to showcase the loving side of them..i do not care what someones pup looks like here in blogville..i know they are ALL loved and they have their quirks and illnesses and other issues..but the bottom line is we all care..so please accept our POTP know that nobody here judges..and as for the mange..well our wildlife get it here..just from immune issues..i get skin nasties from my immune issues..so i do understand...please hug your sweet Mabel and yourself..loves Fozziemum xxx

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  40. Oh dear what a tough time you have been having.
    Sending healing hugs to both Mabel and her poor frazzled Mom.
    All the best,
    Gail and Bertie.

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  41. Dear Mabel and mommy
    We are sending you POTP and good thoughts,,, Blogville is circling around you,, and will stay right beside you all the time you are healing..
    I know how mommys and daddys worry,, and you are the baby,,
    You will get better,,, because we are expecting a miracle!
    love
    tweedles

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  42. Its not your fault,,, you have done everything possible to help little Mabel! We all understand ,
    Thank you for trusting us to help you carry this.
    we love you all.
    tweedles and moms

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  43. OMD! You have been dealing with this alone?!?! Blogville friends are the greatest and do not judge. I hope Mabel's surgery went well today. Praying for comfort for both of you! POTP *ear licks* Noodle

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  44. Hey, a big warm hug for mom and lots of wishes for a quick recovery for Mable!!!!!

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  45. Hi Mabel! I'm so sorry to hear you've been having to go through all this. It always does seem like the problems come in waves. We at Pug Slope are rooting for you and are sending you oodles of good pug juju from the Midwest. Please be sure to give some cuddles to your mom because she worries about you and wants you to get better. It sounds like she is doing all the right things to get you back on track! Thank you for sharing your story with us.

    -Love,
    Sid.

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  46. Paws crossed that you start feeling better Mabel. You are so cute even with your skin issues so tell Mommy to break out that camera for a photo shoot ;)

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  47. Mabel sweetie.... you always look beautiful to me (fur or no fur, spots or no spot).
    I got my paws crossed tight and am sending Up loads of prayers 4 U.
    Hugs,
    Ranger

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  48. We read about poor Mabel and poor you on POTP, and we hope her surgery was successful. I understand how hard it is when your pup is suffering or dealing with any difficult condition, and we're sending many healing Havachon hugs your way. From Daisy the Havachon (raisingdaisy.wordpress.com)

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  49. What a tough journey. Lots of paw prayers that things improve for all of you soon.

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