~Anne~

Thank you everyone. Kat - yes, the house almost has an echo. I'm so used to listening for her, making sure she's not under my feet. And in the last few weeks, making sure she was ok. Now I don't have to leave a light on for her to make her way out in the night to go to the toilet. I don't have to take her outside to toilet when we first get up. I'm not tripping on her toys or stepping over her beds. She has three of them! I came home from work and she didn't smell me and come racing into the bedroom. She was deaf but even for a pug, she had a keen sense of smell. She always knew when I came home. The first one home, out of my husband and I, would find her sitting at the front door, in the dark and the cold, waiting for one of us to walk through. I won't feel guilty anymore that she did this. I've never know how long she sat up the hallway waiting, and I was always worried about her doing it, especially in Winter.

Thank you, everyone. Although she was small, and reasonably quiet, she had a presence and I miss that presence now. The house is strangely quiet and empty.

Anna, as always your words ring with truth and clarity. Thank you.

Thank you everyone. She's gone.

Dearnlea Sophies Choice - Olivia 14/10/2004 - 5/7/2016 After a short battle, my little Oliva has gone to the bridge to join Boofy, Monte and Molly. Olivia came to me on 10 August 2009 as a rescue, in the days when I ran Pug Rescue Sydney. I'd received a call from a vet in regional nsw asking if I could take her in. She wasn't in great shape and had a large stone blocking her bladder. She'd had surgery to remove a stone in a similar situation less an 12 months before. She was badly infected and appeared to have been that way for longer than she should have been. I had every intention of rehoming her when we got her right. She had the bladder operation and then underwent further surgery for her breathing. While she was recovering I fell in love. She stayed with me. She was the only rescue I took in that stayed. She belonged with us. She was naughty. Oh, so naughty! She was the only dog I have ever met that had a sense of humour. You could see that glint in her eyes as she laughed at her own antics. She never stopped. Until 9 weeks ago she was still chasing toys around the house and playing like a 6 month old puppy. She wasn't the prettiest of pugs, with a wry jaw and her tongue poking out, but what she lacked in visual, she more than made up in personality. Olivia was personality plus. Last year she became an only dog. I was worried how she would cope. The first few weeks after Boof died she worried me but she soon settled in to be a solo flyer. Now she's back with the boys, and with Molly our cat. My little girl is gone.

Olivia is continuing to deteriorate. Our vet will be visiting us tomorrow afternoon to give her, her wings.

How do you find out about breed club show days? You could try Dogs Victoria or the Maltese breed club. http://www.malteseclubvic.net/puppies-for-sale.asp http://www.dogsvictoria.org.au

Thanks PK, we don't have much by way of emergency vets here where I live. We have two vets and one of them does all of the emergencies. I have his mobile number. I only ever had to call him once, and that was when Monte went onto status just before he died, a few years back. David, the emergency vet, was in Sydney and couldn't help me! I really should ensure I know of the next option in case that happens again. At the moment, my husband and I are talking daily about when the tiem will be that we have to make the decision. I'm hoping we make the decision at the right time, and just like with Boofy last year, I'll have the vet do a home visit to do it. It's the worst appointment to make but I know it has to be done. .

Thanks Helen. She's being made as comfortable as possible but her condition is such that we're measuring days left, and there isn't time to get back up to Sydney to consult anyone else. I've been reassured she's not in any real pain, it's more that's she's feeling weak and unwell. She's still having good moments and when those moments disappear then it will be time. We've not long come back inside from laying in the sun on the grass. She had a bit of a roll and enjoyed it. It was only short - maybe 10-15 minutes but I could see she was enjoying it. The weakness and wanting to sleep is not overly worrying me, it's more that her breathing is more pronounced. Kirty, she's on prednisone, Losec (an antacid) and Carafate (a gastro protectant). The specialist had suggested we have her red cell count tested again on Friday but I just don't see the point. Yes, we will know if it's changed or lowered further, but it is just more tests and stress.

Ahh, ok. Thanks. As I said, I've struggled to understand why ever since I first heard of the issue. I agree with the bonding with each other more than you, but I think that can happen with any pairing.

I think competition and choice is good. Melzawalza - I'm not sure of the validity of the statement that PetRescue is well known to the public. Before I became just another person, and not a rescuer, I would have thought the same but my conversations with people about rescue dogs, in the last few years, have made me see otherwise. I don't think rescue is understood, nor do I think PetRescue is a platform that is well known. Although it surely is the most well known single source, because it is the only single source. The new one has a hell of a lot of catching up to do to get itself out there in the marketplace. . I'd like to see what the awareness percentage actually is. If I were a millionaire I'd actually undertake a huge amount of study, research and surveys to define multiple aspects of the rescue industry. One day I might just win the lottery. :laugh:

The sibling syndrome has always got me too. I've had numerous siblings over the years and never had an issue and I've known (and know) many others who have two from the same litter and they don't have any problems? it's only been the last couple of years I've ever enve heard of this issue. Genuine question - Why would siblings have any more or less issue than any other pairing? Surely temperament would play a far bigger role regardless of parentage?

Thanks everyone. We're not so good today. She's mainly just wanting to sleep. I got her to eat breakfast and she went straight back to bed after it. One side of her face is swollen a little more and her eye on that side looks sore. I think there is something happening underneath that I can't see. Her breathing is more pronounced too.

Eliminate the treats and snacks. Easy. I've had pugs most of my life and I've always managed to keep them on the lean side. I do this by not feeding anything but their meals. No snacks or treats. They know not to beg because they never get anything.

My advice always, to anyone wanting to buy a pug puppy, was to visit breed club show days. At the very minimum you will learn about the breed in Australia, meet a great range of breeders and see their dogs... sometimes even their puppies, and you'll get a broad range of advice. Think of the breed club show day as your first step and work your way from there.

Catching a few rays in the bedroom.

I'm so sorry, Boronia. I'm glad to read that he's happy and cruising. Enjoy him and spoil him. ❤️

Tootsie, while I understand the need to write about it on public forums, the only way you can change anything is to take appropriate action. If there is evidence that they are breaking the law (as has been stated in this thread, there are a number of Acts and regulations that the rescue is bound by) then report it. From experience, threads like this and narky social media campaigns don't do much to help the dogs unless it is combined with taking action along appropriate channels.

Thanks everyone. It's amazing how quickly it is taking over her body. It all started only about 8-9 weeks ago when I noticed what looked like a rash on her belly. The vet thought it might have been a contact allergy of some description. I searched the yard for suspect plants, and tried to think of what it could be. I'd not changed washing powders, we had no new rugs or carpets, her diet was the same and our routine was the same. I couldn't think of anything to pin it on. We came home with neocort, antibiotics and she had a shot of cortisone. Then she had an issue with her breathing a week or two later. We're still perplexed about this. I rushed her back to the vet but they couldn't find anything that would cause her to be breathing in the way she was. She wasn't struggling as such but she was breathing a lot harder than normal. More tests, X-rays and once overs. Meanwhile, her skin wasnt improving. The 'rash' was even more red and had spread a little more. Another injection of cortisone, more neocort, and antibiotics were prescribed. By now it was lightly showing on her chest and in her armpits. Another week or two later and it was very evident that the prescribed antibiotics, cortisone, neocort and bathing in malaseb was having little affect. Further testing was undertaken. Scrapes and cultures showed nothing. Lumps were coming up all over her body and her skin was by now blistering in places. A stronger cream was prescribed and she was put on prednisone and more antibiotics while a biopsy was undertaken. She was not eating well, was lethargic and obviously very unwell. It took 2 weeks for the results of the biopsy to come back. The progression of her disease has been lightning fast. From what seemed to be a simple skin rash 9 weeks ago to her condition today. It's hard to absorb.

If you can show evidence that they have breached the Companion Animal legislation you can seek to have the 16d exemption revoked. In having sad that, it may not stop them from rescuing. You don't need a 16d exemption to rescue. The kennelled dogs should be registered to them by now. There is a time limit of how long you can keep a dog unregistered, even if you have a 16d.

Thansk, that was really interesting. Unfortunately, the specialists have concluded Olivia's cancer has metastasised due to the changes in her liver and lymph nodes and her anaemia.

Does anyone have any experience with palliative care of a dog with epitheliotrophic cutaneous lymphoma? I'm unsure of what really to expect with Olivia. Today is a good day and she's eaten with gusto, which I'm ecstatic about! Her skin worsens by the day though and it has now spread to about 2/3 of her body. I'd love to chat with someone who may have been through it with their dog but, as its not common, it's hard find anyone. This is Olivia today. Her face is worsening by the day too and she has a large lump under one eye at is beginning to grow very rapidly.

We now have a conclusive diagnosis. Olivia has come back home for her final days. Her skin problem is actually cancer and it's invading her body. She's been diagnosed with epitheliotrophic lymphoma. The hospital rang this morning to let me know her red blood cell count had dropped even further. Her red cell count is down to 17%. She also has an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection in her ear that they're not sure how to treat. She's comfortable and sleeping a lot. I've bought heaps of favourite food for her. All the things she's never been allowed to eat - roast chook, ricotta cheese, flavoured yoghurt and even little sachets of puppy food and adult dog food 'with gravy'. Looking at her skin, and her energy levels, I'm expecting we're talking days and not weeks. I can take some solace in the fact that she's apparently not in pain, just not feeling well and she's very, very tired.

We've got good and bad results so far. Her red blood cell count is very low but the good news is it hasn't dropped any further. They were considering a transfusion if it dropped any more. She's off the oxygen and she's apparently a little brighter. She's also been on fluids and glucose as her glucose levels were very low so this would explain her feeling brighter . There are other blood results that are also not so great but most have improved. The bad news - an ultrasound shows her liver is enlarged. This could be from the prednisone she's been on for the potential lupus diagnoses, but the lymph nodes around her liver also show change and this they believe means there is a strong possibility of cancer of the liver. They're reluctant to do any aggressive testing as test results also show she's having problems with her blood not clotting so the ultrasound is the best they can do at this point. The meds she's been on for the skin issue is making everything worse and she's not able to tolerate them on many levels. This means if it is lupus, it's a possible death sentence unless we can find other solutions to treat it . If it's not lupus and it is something we can treat that won't kill her, or complicate the fact she may have cancer (in her liver or somewhere), then we can keep her going until the cancer issue gets her. It's a mixed bag.

I've driven her up to Sydney and she's been admitted to the ARH. She's on oxygen, in a closed in perspex cage thing, and they're testing her. I was getting too scared I'd lose her and rang my old vets at West Ryde and spoke with David. I wish I had spoken to him earlier. Anyway, I feel relieved she's in good hands. Fingers crossed for my miss muppet.