The tales of two pernicious pugs and their doormat.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Swollen Face = Heart Attack for Pug Mom

This morning I wake up to a nice and bright day, full of opportunities to go to work and earn a living. I go outside, grab my pug, swing him around in the air while yelling, "Good mornin'!" - and then shriek in horror. My pug, lovely pug that he is, has a big face full of wrinkles. Today his face has doubled in size, and I detect a red undertone beneath his fur. I glance at the clock - 9:05. I've got 15 minutes to get to work. But work smork - my baby is in trouble! I don my Pug Mom cape and pack up the dog, rush to the car, and drive like a madwoman to the hospital.

Not to worry, says the jolly ol' doc. It's just an allergic reaction to something - we don't know what, but heck, he probably won't go into anaphylactic shock. Somehow, I'm not reassured. After a shot or two, I wait with the pug. And wait. And wait. The pug looks at me with red little eyes that seem to say, "Moooommm? Mooomm? You're overreacting, Mom. I'm bored, Mom. I wanna eat. Food, Mom! Foooood!"

Finally we're given the OK to go home, and we pack it up and leave. Of course, the hospital's number is on my speed dial in case the pug bloats up again like a balloon. We get home, I nearly cry from relief that his face has gone down to it's normal, un-football like state. I feel him half a chicken, he wags his little tail in greedy devotion to the Almighty Chicken, and then plops down on his bed and snores away. I stare at him. He's wiggling around in contented slumber, and my pulse is still beating away like a jackhammer. I think I worry enough for the both of us.

11 comments:

Tam said...

Ah, yes. Cassie has had that reaction after a bee sting. Liquid Benadryl is a life saver! I keep it on hand at all times with a oral syringe rubberbanded to the bottle. The vet gave me the dosage according to her weight over the phone. Call your vet and ask her/him what dosage you should give in an emergency. I give it at the very first sign of any swelling because I worry about her respiratory status when that happens because of their respiratory problems to begin with.

Pug Mom said...

Thanks for the tip - never would have thought of that. Fortunately, Babar hasn't had any health problems (but he's barely 1, so I'm hoping this good luck continues) - I will talk to my vet about the Benadryl dosage. Thanks for dropping by!

Andrew said...

I'm still not sure how I conspired to miss this adventure...

Jessie said...

Tam's right. I know that the ER vet I worked would say to give them Benadryl before coming in, just to make it easier on the dog to breath. Especially smushed nose ones. You don't get a whole lot, but enough. Of course, Wrinkles Butt hasn't had it happened. Go her. Then again, she goes outside of a grand total of 20 minutes a day, so you know. She's just happy sleeping on her pillows. *laugh*

Pug Mom said...

Jessie,

My pug is too curious for his own good. I swear, I can almost hear him screaming, "Oooh! Stuff! Moving! What's that? Smell! Must smell! Eat! Put in mouth!" He's horrible - I can't imagine what gave him the allergic reaction (can't be food, since he's been eating the same thing for weeks), but I'm just glad his face is back to normal.

Pug Mom said...

Mister Drew,

The pug hates me. I'm telling you. That's why he orchestrated to blow his head up like a balloon when I have no moral support nearby. Evil pug.

Jessie said...

There's no telling. Maybe he crunched on an upset ant. Goodness knows bugs = fun for animals. Why, I'll never know.

At least yours is still curious. Wrinkles just says "whatever" and rolls back over. You have to make her get up at 9am to outside to potty. She'd rather go pee on her paper instead. Quicker and easier to go back to sleep on mom's chair.

Kaoma said...

My pugs got a swollen head ATM with a enlarged wrinkles n sounds like she's having trouble breathing to. So scared but I'm watching her carefully :(

Lori said...

My pug was vaccinated Friday by a vet who makes house calls. 10 minutes after he left, I looked at Pooh, and her eyes were watery. No biggie, she cries alot when she dont get what she wants. I look at her less than 5 minutes later, and she is rubbing her face all over the rug. At this point, you cant see the whites of her eyes,.,just big black eyes are looking back. I call the vets cell, it goes to voice mail...i leave a message that something isnt right. I look at her again, and her face is swelling. I call the vet and he answeres. I look over at her again and no lie, her face is doubled in size and her eyes are swelled shut. she is panting heavily now. luckily he left me prednisone for another dog and tells me to immediately give her one pill and half of a benedryl also. Now she has lumps all over her back.....She was allergic to her vaccination. She is fine now...but she would have died without the prednisone. Just wanted to share

Lori said...

My pug was vaccinated Friday by a vet who makes house calls. 10 minutes after he left, I looked at Pooh, and her eyes were watery. No biggie, she cries alot when she dont get what she wants. I look at her less than 5 minutes later, and she is rubbing her face all over the rug. At this point, you cant see the whites of her eyes,.,just big black eyes are looking back. I call the vets cell, it goes to voice mail...i leave a message that something isnt right. I look at her again, and her face is swelling. I call the vet and he answeres. I look over at her again and no lie, her face is doubled in size and her eyes are swelled shut. she is panting heavily now. luckily he left me prednisone for another dog and tells me to immediately give her one pill and half of a benedryl also. Now she has lumps all over her back.....She was allergic to her vaccination. She is fine now...but she would have died without the prednisone. Just wanted to share

Anonymous said...

Hello im a first time dog/pug owner. i have a 4 month old pug puppy named PEANUT. just wanna share something. one night before dinner i checked her up inside her cage and saw that she vomited the food i just fed her an hour ago. i really didnt thought that it was serious until i got her out of her cage to cradle her in my arms. HER EYES and cheeks WERE SWOLLEN and i PANICKED! i tried calling her vet but she wasnt answering (one of the problems here in the philippines is that there are not much 24 hour vet clinics or a doctor on call that is near our place) while comforting my pug puppy i browse the net for what could have possibly caused it.. then i saw bug bites etc. i then looked at her cage and found a live COCKROACH stuck inside. luckily after a couple of hours her allergy is gone even if i didnt give her any medicines :)