Sweet Roxie

Sweet, gentle Roxie has left our care on February 24th and is now running free across the Rainbow Bridge. She was surrendered to rescue in December 2011 with a body broken down from too many puppies and too much food. We put her on a diet and therapy to aid in her mobility, but suddenly last week she began to fail. She spent several days at our wonderful vet’s, and they tried, but tragically she succumbed to kidney failure and pancreatitis. Her short time with us was filled with the loving care from her foster mom and pug brother and sister. She truly became part of their family and she will be deeply missed by all of us at CCPR. Roxie was one of the sweetest pugs we have ever met – always happy and full of love and joy. This is not how we imagined your journey with us would end. Goodbye Little One.

Rescue doesn’t give up

Introducing Panda. Panda came to rescue on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving.

While everyone was out grocery shopping and making plans to meet up with loved ones, our dedicated volunteers were out to rescue a little lost pug in Northern California. Panda had been neglected for sometime and everyone else had given up on this little girl; we couldn’t. Panda needed our help and she needed it fast.

Unfortunately our animal shelters are beyond full and the holidays are a time when pets show up at shelters in droves. Panda was out of time. Looking at her shelter card, you would have thought she was a 10 year old brindle pug. However, once she was in our care and had a visit to the vet, it was clear she was much younger than 10 years old. In fact, her teeth are so clean and free of tarter that it’s possible she is under 2 years old.

Panda got off to a rough start in life. Her skin has turned black from poor nutrition, neglect, and opportunistic fleas and mites. She has a bad case of flea dermatitis and the beginnings of mange.

Flea preventative  was applied along with antibiotics and medication for the mange. Panda also received a nice, long bath. It could have been the first one she’s had in months. She was filthy.

Now that we’ve controlled the fleas, we can begin working to bring back her skin and coat. Panda is very affectionate and sweet and will make a wonderful companion once she’s healthy enough to be adopted.

In addition to skin scrapings, antibiotics, flea and mange medication, Panda will also need to be spayed, vaccinated, and tested for heart worm.

December 10, 2011 Update: Panda went back to the vet to confirm that we are making progress against the mange and we are starting to see some tiny sprouts of hair growth. We are also *very* pleased to announce that Panda tested negative for heart worm. We were worried that this girl, in her condition, might be battling internal parasites as well. Luckily, that is not the case and Panda is on the road to recovery.

December 20, 2011 Update: Panda has been adopted!  Her new family will continue her treatment for mange and keep us updated with photos, which we will post and share. We are so happy that this little girl will now be given the life she always deserved.

Dollar Matching Fundraiser for Emi !

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our $1,000 fundraising challenge. We made our goal and your donations have been doubled by our Pug Angel.

Thanks for filling the “pug bank” and helping us save these little lives. We are so grateful. 

Happy News! Emi was adopted by a wonderful family who read about her story on The Daily Puglet Blog. Emi will soon call New York home. We are so happy for Emi’s second chance at life. We are overwhelmed by the love and support from so many people across the nation. What a wonderful story for the holiday season.

Thanks for being a part of it and for caring about a little lost, injured pug from Bakersfield CA.

Now let’s go save some more!

Emi – our beautiful blessing

Emi (pronounced ee-me) was found in Bakersfield. She was saved by a good Samaritan who happened to be driving by when she witnessed this little girl being tossed like a ball and swung by her limbs from boy to boy WHILE adults stood by and watched. She has a severely injured eye, luckily no broken bones. We are very concerned about her condition. She was covered in fleas and ticks and ate a meal like it was her last. Well, not her last because she is now with us, in the loving arms of rescue.Realizing she needed immediate medical care, Emi was flown to the bay area by the amazing Wings of Rescue team; which is a group of private pilots who help dogs get from remote areas or shelters to larger cities where they will have a better chance at life.Emi’s wonderful foster mom took her to the ER vet yesterday because she was vomiting and shaking uncontrollably. Emi’s xrays indicate she may have an intestinal blockage. Emi’s condition is not good. She is staying overnight in intensive care where she is receiving fluids and medication. Emi is not keeping food or water down and we are praying she will stabilize soon so that she can begin the process of recovery. Once she is stable, we will schedule her eye removal surgery and exploratory abdominal surgery may be necessary as well.  

Until Emi’s medical problems can be diagnosed, we anticipate her vet bills to be immense. Please open your hearts and help us give her all the love and care she deserves. Without your support, we could not rescue these littlest angels ♥  

Update 10/30/11: Emi has been diagnosed with Parvo. We are treating her aggressively with antibiotics and hoping she will pull through. Please pray for Emi.  

Update 11/1/11: Emi is responding to antibiotics and fluids. She is staying in isolation and her bills are mounting. We are thrilled with her progress and are praying for a complete recovery. We are so thankful for all the love and support we have received for Emi. Please keep it coming.  

Update 11/3/11: Emi has been taken off IV fluids as her prognosis and chances of survival are very good. She is bouncing around like a puppy should be and was allowed to go home to her loving foster family. Thank you all for your donations and support. Emi’s medical bills to date are $1,600 and she still needs to have eye and spay surgery. Please donate towards Emi’s care if you can.  We are a small rescue and every dollar counts. Emi sends you pug puppy kisses and is so thankful to have a second chance at life.  

Update 11/4/11: We had been waiting for Emi to regain her strength from her bout with Parvo but her injured eye could not longer go unattended. A rush visit to the vet confirmed that it was indeed time to remove the eye. Luckily Emi’s white blood cell count had increased and she was taken into surgery that night. She is in recovery now.    

Update 11/5/11: Emi is back home with her foster family. She is eating well and is starting to return to her puppy self. This girl has a ton of spunk and is a true survivor. We are amazed at her resilience and zest for life despite what she has been through.    

Update 11/8/11: Emi is loving her new life with regular meals, lots of walks, and fun with the other pugs in her foster home. Emi was retested for parvo and was negative. She will have her sutures removed next week and receive the remainder of her vaccinations at that time. We are so thankful to everyone who donated in Emi’s name and all the volunteers who gave their time to help Emi get to / from vet appointments.   

Update 11/15/11: Emi will go to the vet tomorrow for her final visit before she is adopted. She will fly to her new home with her new family on Thursday 11/17. We are so happy and excited for Emi’s second chance at life. We couldn’t have saved this fiesty little girl without the support we received from all over California and beyond. *Thank you*

Here’s a video of Emi and her new brother, Benny:

The Story of Luke – A Life in the Balance

Poor sweet Luke came from a local shelter, the circumstances of how he came to be there are unknown to us, but it is obvious that he had been the victim of abusive owners. He was frightened and distrustful of people. The natural friendliness and loving nature of the pug had been beaten out of him. His spirit crushed. He was adopted from the shelter though, and the new owner took him to their vet to have him examined and vaccinated with the free voucher which the shelter gives. Overwhelmed and terrified, he snapped at the vet trying to examine his teeth. When his new owners learned of this they abandoned him at the vet’s office. Luckily for Luke, the vet called us. He was taken in by a wonderful foster, and within a week had blossomed and come out of his shell. He followed her everywhere and his natural pugginess came flowing out. He has become a loving, mellow, wonderful little eight year old boy. The foster has seen no aggression from him and every day he grows more trusting and confident. He was able to go to the vet to get his dental, but something went terribly wrong. He has not recovered from the surgery like he should. He has been at the ER vet for several days with liver and kidney issues. His life now hangs in the balance just at the brink of starting anew. We are doing all we can for him and our wonderful vets are giving him great care, but the costs are mounting and the strain on our resources is enormous. We are asking for your help, people have failed Luke his whole life, we don’t want them to fail him now. His story has been so sad, but he was writing a new chapter, a hopeful chapter, a chapter without abuse, abandonment and neglect. He was ready to leave the past and embrace the future, please help us give Luke the chance for a long and happy ending to his story. Even a small donation makes a huge difference in the life of a pug like Luke.            

Luke was not able to stay with us, and crossed the bridge on Saturday night.  His will to live and strength gave out. We did all we could. He died in the loving arms of his foster, knowing he was loved at last. They became very bonded in the weeks in her care and we are grateful to Sandra for giving him the time to believe in the love of a human.

Thanks to everyone for their donations towards his care and your supportive words.  In rescue, we just never know what these little babies have endured, underlying health issues and what may lie ahead in their care and treatment. As a new rescue, we are in need of volunteers and help so we can continue to stay our mission – to help pugs.

If you have any interest in finding out more about becoming involved, please contact us at: info@helppugs.com ( there are many different ways to help us, help pugs – Hug your babies for us !! )