These calendars are hot of the presses! They are $20 and every dollar of that goes directly to cover the veterinary costs of the rescue pugs in Austin. You can see all the pugs who need forever homes at www.pugrescueaustin.com.
Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing a calendar or adopting a pug at kristen@pugrescueaustin.com. Below is the front cover. These make great Xmas gifts!
Enjoy!
Below are some puppy pictures that Diana Lott took of Mya’s puppies. They are now two weeks old and any day now should be opening their eyes. They are thriving and also their color is lightening up quite a bit.
Rufus
Rufus and Carny
Rufus and Carny
Albert and Vozie
More pics coming soon!
On Monday night, Mya was really restless and was beginning to nest. She’d been eating but not as much so I should have taken that as a sign. Her temps were still well over 99 degrees and even spiked to 101.5, and I had texted Signe that info.
At 11pm, I was laying on the couch with my pugs just out there to monitor her and sleep. I heard a scream and thought may be a bug bit her and then I saw the sack coming out. She wasn’t panting or screaming anymore and pushed most of the sack out really easily. I delivered the first baby (a girl) at 11:02pm. Signe and Diana were on there way, as well as Melissa, so I closed my eyes and tore open the sack so the puppy could come out. Mya was not interested in doing this herself, and it was somewhat gross to me. The puppy was breathing and I sucked out some stuff in her mouth. I massaged her a little per Signe and she was squeaking but still attached to Mya as the placenta hadn’t come out. Signe got to my house, jumped in the whelping center, and pulled out the rest of the sack and placenta. She tied off the cord and got the pup to start nursing. We also had the heating pad going to keep her and Mya warm.
The next puppy, a boy, came at 11:52pm and Signe did the same (tied off the cord and stimulated the puppy to nurse). Mya quickly delivered the third puppy at 12:07am, another male. She zonked out after this and we just let the puppies nurse. The fourth puppy came at 1:28am and he was a smarty pants so we named him Albert Einstein. He took to the teat really well and started nursing.
Mya ignored the puppies until about 6:30am when she started licking them and keeping them warm. She was still struggling with the last one. She started pushing again at 9am but by 9:50 hadn’t produced anything so I put her and the pups in the car to go to WL. She began to deliver in the car and a foot popped out of her. WL was ready and waiting for us but the puppy, now named Lennon, did not make it. He had a large cleft palate and some other deformities and most likely couldn’t have survived even if he lived through delivery. This was especially hard on Mya. She hadn’t screamed or cried since the first puppy and she was screaming and writhing in pain with the last one because he was coming out at such an unnatural angle. It broke my heart to see her cry out in such pain.
She stayed at Westlake Animal Clinic Tuesday afternoon to be monitored and make sure the rest of the gunk comes out of her. Westlake is keeping an eye on the puppies too. I picked them up at about 5:30pm on Tuesday.
I want to thank everyone who helped me out on Monday, I was freaking out! Thanks to Signe for your cool head and all your knowledge. Thanks to Melissa for the stories and compassion towards Mya. Thanks to Diana for taking pics and staying til after 5am so I could get an hour of sleep. Thanks to Angie for the heating pad, extra towels, and the sucker thing. Thanks to Dr. Jeannie Thomason and Dr. Kim Bloomer for tons of advice on natural whelping and nutrution tips for Mya, a raw fed pug.
We named the girl puppy Carny because she went on a carnival ride dangling from Mya until she could fully push her out and Signe was able to grab her. We named the first boy Rufus, the second boy is Vozie after Dr. Voelzel, the 3rd boy is Albert since he’s so smart, and the last boy is Lennon since he was taken from us so soon.
Below are some pics of Mya and the pups.
Here she is after 3 puppies were born. Photo by Diana M. Lott.
Close up of one of the puppies being held by Signe. Photo by Diana M Lott.
Dolce and Gabbana not sure what to make of the puppy. Photo by Diana M Lott.
After delivering 4 puppies. Photo by Diana M Lott.
Photo taken today (09/02/09) at my office by me. She and the pups are here so I can monitor them and still go to work. This is the first time I’ve seen her smile in over a month.
On Saturday, Kibbe, Monti, and I drove out to Bastrop State Park (about 40 minutes east of Austin) to hike Lost Pines Trail. This is so far the prettiest hike I have been on since moving to Texas. The 8 mile hike takes you through “Lost Pines”, a famous isolated timbered region of loblolly pine and hardwoods. Most of the trail is covered in pine needles and heavily shaded–another reason this hike was so enjoyable–much cooler than Pedernales Falls.
The only down side is the trail winds, twists, and disappears some times in the thick forest. Using my trail book and trail maps, we were able to reacclimate ourselves, but if the park ranger had told us the right spot to start (there are two trail heads), things would have been a little easier. We did not do the complete 8 miles because we kept getting turned around, but we were out there for about 3 hours so we probably did 5 or 6 miles. We all (including Kibbe) want to go back and do it again this year since the trees were just amazing.
The hike itself was very secluded. There were many elevated points so it was a nice mix of aerobic and cool down walking. Below are some pics of the Pine trees.
This is the view of the trail head where we should have ended the hike instead of starting it here.
The first slope of the trail. The ground is covered in fallen pine needles.
Cool trees throughout the trail.
The best tree I found on the hike.
This is the spot we picked to take a quick break to eat, enjoy the scenery, and rehydrate.
Kibbe getting a drink from Monti.
Overall it was a great hike, not too far from Austin, with a nice breeze and lots of shade. I’m looking forward to doing it again later on this year.
Mya was rescued on July 16th from a shelter in Killeen, Texas. She’s only 10 months old now. When we rescued her she showed signs of demodectic mange–a common occurrence in young pugs with poor immunity.
From www.thewholedog.org:
“Demodectic mange, is also called “demodicosis” or red mange and is actually a microscopic mite of the Demodex genus. Three species of Demodex mites have been identified in dogs: Demodex canis, Demodex gatoi, and Demodex injai. The most common mite of demodectic mange is Demodex canis.
Demodex mites feed on cellular proteins, systemic yeast, dietary yeast and/or sugar in the system.
When the immune system is not mature yet (puppies)and/or it is suppressed, it may not be able to keep the mites under control. They begin multiplying out of control and attacking the dog. Dogs infected with demodectic mange are immunodeficient. In other words, they are not able to naturally fight off or keep under control the mites as a healthy dog would due to a compromised immune system.”
Knowing this information, I refused the traditional veterinary protocol which is antibiotics, medicated baths, and Ivermectin oral shots.
The first step in treating mange holistically is to starve the mites. As stated in Dr. Jeannie Thomason’s article on Demodectic Mange, mites feed off of sugar in the diet. So, I put Mya on a raw diet consisting of raw meat and bones. Mainly she ate chicken necks. In addition to her chicken necks, she received multiple supplements. She ate colostrum, Great Life Pro + Enzymes and Probiotics, colloidal silver, and salmon oil. All of these things combined to boost her immunity, keep the mites from repopulating, and improve her overall health. Mya went from a meek and emaciated pug to a playful, mischievous little girl.
Second, we needed to treat her skin. She was missing fur, red, and raw on her legs, mask, belly, tail, and feet. I first gave her an essential oil bath. I used Animal Scents shampoo from www.youngliving.us. I let the oils sit on her body for about 10 minutes before doing a rinse. She was no longer red and itchy after that. From then on, I’d do essential oil rinses every 2 or 3 days as needed. I’d fill the sink with some warm water and about 20 drops of lavender and tea tree oils. Then I would just scoop the water/oil mixture onto her body and rub into her skin to sooth and kill the mites. Tea tree oil is a natural bug killer and antiseptic. Lavender is calming and soothing to the skin. She had just a few open sores under her arms and in between her toes. I dabbed at them with colloidal silver ever 2 or 3 days.
Within 2.5 weeks, almost all her fur had come back and the mange was gone. Then we had a new problem–Mya was pregnant. After probing her at the vet’s office, we were able to determine that she was about 53-55 days into her pregnancy, meaning she’d been bred before we rescued her. We could see 5 puppies, all with heartbeats, spines, and intestines. We could not tell if they were pug puppies.
It is here that I patted myself on the back for standing up and treating her holistically. The Ivermectin used in traditional mange treatment could have killed the puppies or caused birth defects. This is why holistic and natural methods of treatment are so important and useful. The traditional method, while it may have been successful in treating her mange, it would’ve caused damage to other parts of her body as well has her babies. By treating holistically, we cured the mange and boosted Mya’s immunity, thereby helping the babies thrive inside her. I treated her entire body, not just her mange. That’s the fundamental thought behind holistic treatment. Treat the whole person or whole dog and not just the symptoms or part of the body with damage. It also should be noted here that traditional mange treatment is expensive and can take up to 6 months to cure depending on the severity of the mange. Mya’s case was a less severe case but still cleared up within about 2-3 weeks.
She’s due any day now so I have a makeshift whelping center in my kitchen/dining room area. I’m tracking her temperature every 4 hours or so. When it dips below 99 degrees and remains there, that means the babies are coming within 12-24 hours. Hopefully she delivers this weekend when I’m home and ready instead of next week when I will be at work during the day. She has yet to start nesting, another clue that the babies are coming.
Below are some pics of Mya with mange, post mange, and pregnant.
Mya the first day at my house. You can see where she’s missing splotches of fur on her legs. Her belly was completely red and raw. Her tail was also missing most of its fur. Also, her hip bones, spine, and all ribs were visible and jutting out of her skin.
This photo is two weeks later when I brought her to my office. She has all her fur back and has gained some weight. This is before we knew about the puppies.
Mya on Monday, August 24th, looking very pregnant in her makeshift whelping center.
Mya on the same day, looking very worried about everything.
Mya this morning, full of babies, and not a fan of the rain.
A couple of weeks ago, Monti, Rebecca, Kibbe and myself hike the Pedernales Trail in Pedernales Falls State Park. It’s an 8 mile balloon loop trail that was partially shaded but mostly open and very secluded.
We started the morning early, getting to Monti’s in South Austin around 8am. We had SOYsauges and orange juice for breakfast. We all made sure we had the proper gear and supplies. We each had about a gallon of water (I had more for Kibbe), a few snacks for a break midway through, hats, sunscreen, and poop bags. I also packed a bowl for kibbe, ice to keep my back and the water cool, a mini dog/human first aid kit, my trail book, camping knife, compass, and multitool.
Pedernales Falls is about an hour west of Austin and we were on the road by around 9am. We got to the trail almost exactly at 10am. After checking in and paying the entrance fee, we drove to Wolf Ranch Trailhead. The trail was pretty level the first 2 miles and we just enjoyed the scenery. Around mile 3 there is a natural spring, Jones Spring, where we stopped and took a break under some cedar trees. The spring was just about dry so we couldn’t even dip our feet in.
From there, the trail winded in and out of shaded areas, over creek beds, through rocky scrambles and finally to a steep bluff. At the bluff, we headed to the right, passing an old historic homestead and rock wall. At mile 6, we took another short break, mostly to rehydrate, give Kibbe a break, and rest before the last two miles. The last two miles followed the path around Wolf Mountain. We were 300 ft up and the skyline was absolutely amazing. You could see trees for miles and it was breathtaking. We stopped and took a few pictures, one of which is seen above.
Finally we looped back to the primitive camping area and found ourselves at the parking lot. Victorious, we toasted with sparkling water and some air conditioning. We all got nice tans that day and Kibbe carved another notch in her hiking belt.
Below is a picture of Kibbe, post-hike, tired and out of breath but still smiling. Her expresssion says it all.
The dazzling Kibbe was professionally photographed for the 2010 Pug Rescue of Austin calendar. The shot was taken by Diana M. Lott. It completely captures her essence as a dog. As Diana put it, she looks like a cartoon character of herself. Her blue eye looks wonderful and you can see how happy she is. Diana is a great photographer and was totally patient with all of the rescue pugs and pug mixes I had for her to shoot.
Hopefully Kibbe makes the calendar so that people know how great pug mixes can be as pets as well. Lots of people contact the rescue looking for a full pug and we’ve steered them to mixes, and they are so happy that we did. Mixes are generally healthier and can handle the Texas heat much better as they usually have snouts. Our full pugs are still the stars of the show with their friendly and clownish personalities.
I think I might have this picture blown up and framed so I can always have a reason to chuckle on a bad day. The calendar will be ready in September or October. Feel free to contact me to purchase one! All proceeds go to the pugs’ veterinary care.
I apologize for the grainy image but this pic was too cute to keep to myself. Dolce is on the bottom and Gabbana is using his head as a pillow. This perfectly sums up their relationship as brother and sister. Dolce will go to the ends of the earth to keep her clean, comfortable, and protected. Gabbana most likely doesn’t even realize she’s laying on Dolce, probably thinks his head is a soft pillow. I need to find the human version of Dolce!
Since the temperatures have been in the triple digits for the past three weeks, Kibbe and I have had to hike sans puglets. It’s a great chance to bond over our love for climbing the dried up waterfalls, rock beds, and boulders. I find that Kibbe really enjoys the puzzle of climbing. She has to make choices, check for rock sturdiness, and maintain her balance at all times.
She is great at ascending the rocks and boulders but still apprehensive about going back down. She manages as long as I go first. This week we are hiking Balcones Woods, Walnut Creek, Great Hills Trail, and St. Edwards Park. Each trail is between 2-5 miles of hiking, with 300 ft elevations throughout.
We are training to hike a 17 mile trail in South Austin in August. It’s a day hike where the most important aspect is staying hydrated because it will still be in the triple digits. Kibbe will have a backpack on her so that she can carry her own water, water bowl, and food. I will have the same minus the water bowl. I told her about it on our hike yesterday and she’s pretty stoked–can’t you tell?
Taz was an owner surrender from Leander, TX. He was being left outside all day and night. When we rescued him he was covered in fleas and very stinky. A little medicine and TLC and he is a new dog! We think he may have some hearing problems, but he can see your facial expressions and hand gestures and he knows what you talking about. He has not had one accident in the house. He has a great appetite and he gets along with dogs and cats. He’s just always happy. His tail is always going. You wouldn’t know he was 13 years old by the way he runs around. To adopt Taz, contact Kristen at fragile118 at yahoo dot com.
