A Note from Solid Gold Dancer's Mommy

Photo by Amber's Mommy

We received an email from Amber, Faith and Chloe's Mommy. She was also thoughtful to send us photos of Mimi whilst boarding with the Big Dogs.

" Hi there! How's Mimi now? Still exhausted from her fun outing last Sunday? Man, she had a GREAT holiday with us. We brought her to the training field to socialize with others. She did a bit but was abit scared and shy. Khoo Boo Gee adores her alot and wanted to kidnap her coz he loves pugs sooo much! Hehehehe... Then we brought her to our friends HUGE bungalow house with a huge garden and huge compound for all of our dogs and her to run up and down. She found a good friend there. She is a basset hound and they both were best friends. She also played in a pool and we also gave her a fast bath. She really had a good time, I thought she would be knocked out dead by the time we come back home but no ..... She still had energy to play & run up & down the house. Hehehe! She was just a cutie and we don't mind her boarding with us again but one thing lah, she needs to be brought out more coz she does not want to walk when she's put down to walk outside our home. And errr ... her toilet habits .... She hardly used her cage & peed & pooed everywhere in the house & peed once on the couch. But otherwise, she was a good girl overall. Okay anyway, I've attached some pics of her. Hope you like them. Have a nice day! "

Thank you for including Mimi in your fun social activities, puting up with Mimi's playfulness and also her unpredictable toilet habits. No wonder Mimi looked very dissapointed and bored when we brought her back !

Away from the City

Hi All, we are back ! Being the stressful people that we are with more responsibilities each day, it's time for a much needed downtime and dissapear for a holiday alone. Otherwise, we'll go c-r-a-z-y! For us daily chores, work, family commitments are all part of our hectic schedule and life here. Hardly remembered the last holiday we had which was way back in the month of April. Although we went away for 3 days (without Mimi), Mimi's interest was our main concern.

Before going on the trip, we had 2 options whether to send Mimi for boarding with Pug Mama Sally or the Big Dogs. After surveying both places prior to her boarding, Mimi adamantly chose to play with the Big Dogs - Amber, Chloe and Faith ! See what we mean in this video clip.

At first we were not sure if Mimi would get along with dogs three times her size but she was not afraid and had fun instead. Mimi's new friends are truly gentle and did not mind although Mimi innocently stepped over them.

(L-R) Faith and Amber checking out Mimi's stuff

Mimi wants to play and sniffing on Amber's furry tail

Mimi feeling at ease beside Chloe

We took a drive up to Cameron Highlands and only stayed for two days. However, on our first day, crowds, heavy traffic and tourists made the stay a little unbearable. The highland was much relaxing on our second day after most of the tourists have gone back. It was nice because the weather was really cold due to the rainy season and our time was spent hibernating in the huge and spacious room watching DVDs. Here's some photos we took as a reminisce of our stay.

Photos with DSLR

Mimi is not camera shy and stares right at the lens, so taking Mimi's photograph is easy. We try to use using natural lighting if possible as Mimi hates the flash since it irritates her eyes. Needless to say, we had fun using our new camera, although it did costs us quite a lot. Here's some photos we are going to send over for the annual calendar contest by ownedbypugs.com .The contest is free to enter and when the calendars go on sale, a portion of the calendar sales will benefit Compassionate Pug Rescue.

Welcome Mimi Girl

Hello,

My name is Mimi and I was 5 months old on 3 August 2007. I'm a black pug and my Kennel Club name is Asoka. I was 1 of 5 borned from a fawn pug Daddy and black pug Mommy. All of my brothers and sisters have found nice homes, 2 of them live nearby in Bangsar and I hear they travel to the United Kingdom with their Daddy and Mommy ... oooh lucky lucky them. My other 2 siblings have moved to a place far away.

I went to live with Coolboy and Nicejellybean a while after my adopted brother, Donut went to Rainbow Bridge at 2 years old. Actually, I would love to meet my Bro cos I hear he was a cool gentlepug, very playful, and a handsome boy.

When I arrived into this world I weighed 1.2 kg and was a blur little black pup with an odd smell. I now weigh over 4 kgs and looking prettier each day, especially since I got my first grooming last week. I have completed all 3 vaccinations and was pronounced a healthy pug on my last Vet visit.

I have a good appetite and always finish my food during mealtimes. I am working hard on avoiding my paws getting filthy whilst peeing and pooing which is a constant headache for my new owners. For fun, I play fetch with Coolboy, steal socks, find toys, rugs and toilet rolls to chew and learning to play catch-me-if-you-can. Some people wonder if I look more of a cat than a pug since my tail's down most times, my coat's shinny and smooth and I walk around mysterious like a cat. Or the black panther ? ... growl.

On a side note, my pretty face always appears real black on photoshots when taken with the old Casio camera, in fact like a huge black ghost because of my colour. Nobody could see my face clearly so my new Daddy bought a DSLR camera Nikon D40 with 6 megapixels, just to capture my cute face and post nice looking pictures for my Fans ! I am so touched.

Well, I hope you'll enjoy reading about all my adventures.

Lot of Licks,
Mimi Girl

Donut, We miss U ...

In Memory Of

Our Little Hero Donut
12 April 2005 - 3 July 2007



My little pug, Donut
All wrinkled but adorable face

You snort and sneeze

Snore and weeze beside my head

You're loved so dear and
You're always nearby my feet, you rest.
Wheverer I go, even to the bathroom,
You’ll always follow if only to be by my side

You want to eat my food eventhough I said 'no'

You'll stare and plead and insist for a bite

Rambutan, sweet potato, durian, bread,

Cheese, apples, oranges, mangoes
You’ll gobble down all in one bite

You love doing tricks for treats
You can say 'Hi Five'
Circle 3 times

Do Bow and Sit at my command

You'd sleep all day yet sweet, gentle and friendly

Playful as can be
Chasing poodles, play hide and seek
Catch-me-if-you-can and more

Donut, you're one of life's great treasures
Whose value is untold
For you are a special pug
With an extraordinary heart

To him it matters little so long as we are there.
This chubby bundle's waiting for us

Through cloudy days or fine.
We will always remember him lying
Stretched out beside us at our feet
Always by our side and his curly tail untwine.

Dear Donut

Day 1 - The day after your passing, we felt the emptiness and missed you so. Coolboy would cry just thinking of you. Endless tears rolled down his eyes whenever someone mentions your name. We are both sad and wonder for how long.

Day 3 - We brought home your ashes today and felt peace that we made the right decision to cremate. Somehow, a little sadness was uplifted today because you were near us in spirit. Coolboy is still feeling very sad and I grieved along.

Day 4 - Coolboy and myself went to Ipoh to visit a pug breeder. I was against getting a new pug so soon but went along to get my mind of the sadness surrounding us. We saw the puppies but did not choose one. After the trip I felt better but Coolboy insists he must get another pug. What do you think Donut ? Shall we take home another one so soon ? Both of us decided it's too soon and will wait a little while longer.

Day 10 - Coolboy made a special tribute and finnished the video today. The tribute was beautiful and touching. We miss you so.

Day 12 - Both of us visited a black pug today and I must say we are drawn to her - yes it's a female black pug. It's very unusual to find a black pug here in Malaysia and we are thinking seriously to take her home. She is a real cute girl but her tail was down all the time, which bothered us. Coolboy wants to adopt a pug quick and I wanted to wait a while as both of us are still grieving. It will not be fair to the other pug because whoever we choose right now will always be a replacement and treated second to our best, Donut. This did not feel right to me. (sigh) We have one week to decide.

Donut, our hearts have grieved for you so long that there are no tears left. Coolboy misses you a lot which is not surprising as you were closest to him. He would talk to you as if you were still around. While you are happily playing at the Rainbow Bridge, don't forget to pray for us and look over us like you always do. Take care, Donut.

Coolboy & Nicejellybean

Last Day

Nicejellybean: Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and support with us yesterday. I know that everyone especially who knew our Donut are very distressed with the news and I hope that what I am going to write will somehow alleviate some of the grief that all of us feel. I feel that this is the best I can do for closure.

3 weeks ago
We discovered Donut peeing everywhere on the floor which was something unusual for us as he always does his toilet duties in his cage. We took it lightly as we thought he was growing up and showing some signs of marking. Then he produced an occasional pee with blood which only happened around 2 times after which Donut’s urine became normal dark yellow. Hence we assumed he was fine again. The urine was stinky but we did not give it much thought.

1 week ago
We noticed Donut could not control his bladder and would give out tiny droplets of pee all over the floor.

On Monday, this week 2 July 2007
During the evening after Coolboy returned home from work, Donut was looking quite unwell and Coolboy immediately took him to his usual vet – See Veterinary Medical Centre but the clinic was closed. At home, he walked wobbly and slowly as though in pain. Even in this condition, Donut (Daddy’s Boy) wants to follow Coolboy wherever he went in the house. Coolboy carried him when he saw Donut could not manage himself. We also noticed that there was no pee coming out even though Donut tried his hardest to pee. Coolboy tried to assist by massaging his genitals and stomach as shown from the information gathered from the internet. Somehow, that did not work. His stomach contracted and dilated but Donut failed to pee. We then decided to seek a Vet first thing next morning.

Being cautious and guarded, that night I discussed with Coolboy about seeking other professional vet’s opinion as I did fear that Donut’s condition was not stable. I also wanted a Vet who is compassionate, who would act quickly and go all out to save the animals even when things look bad. Also I was apprehensive about sending Donut to See Veterinary Medical Centre.

On Tuesday 3 July 2007
The next morning, I went off to work and Coolboy took Donut to the Medical Centre at 10am. At the clinic, Dr. See tried to extract the excess urine from Donut by inserting a needle through his genitals. However, no urine came out and Dr. See concluded that perhaps Donut has kidney stones which prevented the urine from coming out. He did a blood test and arranged for an ultrascan for Donut in the afternoon which location was somewhere away from the clinic (not sure whereabouts). Meantime, Donut stayed in the clinic and he was placed in a cage.

At 11.30am Coolboy decided there was nothing left to do at the clinic, left Donut with the Vet and went back home. An hour later, Dr. See called Coolboy and informed Donut had collapsed. When Coolboy rushed to the Clinic, Donut had passed away. Dr. See informed that from his blood works, Donut suffered from kidney failure.

At 12.30pm, I received a call and the bad news from Coolboy. I immediately took leave from work. On the way to the Clinic, tears rolled down my face and my heart felt great sadness which I had never felt before. Upon reaching the Clinic, I could not believe that Donut had suddenly left us. When I saw his body, he was placed in a black plastic bag and it looked kind of undignified. I requested for a cardboard box and Donut was transferred into a box which was much proper. I carried him in the box and went back to home which was a short distance away.

At home, he was lying comfortably on his favourite cushion bed. Everything happened so unexpectedly and suddenly that we were in shock, at loss about what should we do next. We stayed with him at our apartment through the afternoon and evening not knowing what to do. Whether to cremate him or bury the little one? Whilst starring into Donut’s face, I cried again out of disbelief and a broken heart. I talked to him like normal and stroked his little face as if he was still there with us! I told him to wake up and screamed ‘wakey-wakey Donut’ hopeful that perhaps he might awake from his deep sleep and breathe again.

I am feeling we are at fault in this situation as I felt we did not give our best to our precious Donut ie the proper medical attention or that we should not left him at the Vet alone. I feel that there is a little bit more that can be done for Donut and we could have prevent him passing away by going the extra mile for him. That’s too late now and I’m afraid I’ll never forgive myself for this. We regret for not doing all the things we should have done for Donut and we have let him down.

By now, those who knew about Donut’s passing have either text or called us to express their feelings. Coolboy and myself cried each time someone mentions Donut’s name. Suddenly, Donut has left emptiness in our lives.

As we live in an apartment, we have no garden for a burial place. The only option if we bury Donut would be at Coolboy’s family house which I did not feel right as the family was not close to Donut. We arranged for our Donut cremation on 4 July 2007. It is really painful to imagine that some one we loved so much reduced to only fragments of bones and ashes. We felt Donut would want to spend his time close to us and not buried at a strangers’ garden. By cremation, we could have him close to us for the moment which would make Donut happy. Tina and Julie offered for Donut to be buried at their garden which was a nice thought and I do not mind as Donut would be with people who loved him. I could visit anytime too. Perhaps later, we’ll arrange a burial for his ashes.

For the benefit of other dog lover, we would like to share the reason why we lost our baby, so other can prevent this ASAP. Donut is believe to have Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) for couple of days which resulted in acute kidney failure as his can't release all the toxin in his urine.The problem is Donut is still very playful and didn't lost his appetite at all for past few days. He still pee, not a lot and although the urine color is dark yellowish, we didn't paid much attention then. He only showed his pain on Monday afternoon. When we send him out for vet visit on Tuesday, it was too late. His last kidney functionality reading (Can't remember the actual TERM) Urea is 200+, where a normal pug reading should be below 60. The creatinine level was 2+ (normal < 1) Later the Vet told us, Pugs are quite strong on witholding their pains as they want to please their owner every minutes they have with their owner. It's our fault that we didn't paid much attention to the fellow we love so much, else...

Though Donut was with us for only a short time, he touched so many hearts with his cute face, playful manner and most of all his sweet gentle nature. Total strangers were captivated by him when met for the first time. He was truly special to us. Let us take comfort that he chooses to go in his own will and that the Lord is so kind to relieve him of all pain and suffering. Donut has gone to the Rainbow Bridge among all the special friends where they run and play together at the side in Heaven. He must be enjoying himself there. One day we will meet again in a joyous reunion and cross the Rainbow Bridge together.

I hope we’ll all feel better and always remember Donut close in our hearts. Only God can guide him through the rest of his journey now. Farewell and be brave my little fellow.

Forever loved and dearly missed by Coolboy, Nicejellybean, Pugsquaders and all those who knew him.

Good Bye Dear Donut

Donut passed away today at 12:30pm, due to kidney failure. It's our fault that we didn't discover the problem earlier and that we did not tried our hardest to give Donut the best care. We'll always remember the memories of Donut, the mischievous and naughty pug.

During this period we are feeling sad and wondering what we have could done for Donut to prevent him passing away. Then it's too late now, isn't it. We wish Donut rest well, and thank you for all the good two years plus of happiness you brought to us. You are the best companion we could ever ask for.

Bye, dearest Donut.

Donut feeling sick

Coolboy: Tonight, Donut did not look quite his usual perky self. He was gloomy, walked extremely slow, did not pee or poo the whole day and his curly tail was down. He also vomitted food once. So we knew something is wrong. As the Vet is closed for today we 'll send Donut to see the Doc in the morning. Hopefully, it's nothing serious.

Donut and Rambutan

Nicejellybean: Being a fruit loving person, I tend to buy fruits whenever I am at the local supermarket. It's now the month of June which is the time of the year that we see lots of seasonal fruits that are available once a year. During this time, the fruits tend to be more juicier and sweeter too. In the pics below, I am eating the rambutan (the hairy red ones). Donut cannot resist and gets all excited wanting a bite.

Dog Olympic Day 2007

Coolboy: We woke up earlier than usual on a Sunday morning to join an annual doggies event sponsored by www.puppy.com.my at Central Park, Utama. This year's gathering saw a bigger turnout than last year. We saw furkids of different breeds dressed in their Sunday best and there were many activities organised making this event a nice outing for everyone. We circled the park grounds 3 times and along the pathway, Donut had great time getting-to-know other pugs, poodles, bull maltese, silkys etc. This event was also a good opportunity for Donut to practice his social skills by meeting other furkids in an open space environment.

The Long Coat Gang

This is Dao Dao, an old friend

Donut's new pug friend, Bo Bo

Hello there .... am not afraid of you

A toy poodle ! Donut likes chasing after their cute pom-pom tails.

Nicejellybean: Due to the intense heat, we decided that the weather was getting too warm for Donut and we left the park grounds after an hour or so. As usual, Donut became a tired little pug after this outing. He was 'down and out' by the time he reached home.

All Wrapped Up

Donut: Today, Coolboy made fun of me. He bundled me up in his t-shirt and laughed at my funny face. It's his way of playing with me, I guess but honestly, I don't know what he's up to.

Toenail Update

Donut: Oh look, I see a tiny nail sticking out from my paw. I wasn't sure whether my toenail will ever grow back after the Vet pulled the entire toenail out. Nicejellybean feels it's a bit weird that my paw has four instead of five toenails !

Ouch! I lost my toenail

Donut: Just a few days ago, I managed to hurt my right paw. I think that somehow, I was walking too quickly along the pavement and the fifth toenail on my paw broke ! All of us did not realise what happened until Coolboy noticed there was a lot of blood stains on his shirt. Apparently the blood was oozing out from my broken toenail. Yucks ! Anyway, we went to the Vet straightaway and the Doc pulled out my broken toenail. The next few days I walked with a bandaged paw and felt quite uneasy. The Vet took off my bandages 4 days later minus one toenail. Overall, I feel fine but I wonder, does my toenail ever grows back ??

Where to board Donut ?

Nicejellybean: Since we could not bring Donut along our trip to Hong Kong, we have to send him off to a boarding place for a week. Instead of his usual boarding place at Pet Tales, we decided to put him in a newly opened petshop called Fur's & Things. We checked out the place a few days before our trip and quite liked the establishment. They let their pets loose during the daytime and the shop had a large space for Donut to roam around for the whole day. Also, the play area was air-conditioned, pet friendly and well maintained ie. clean and tidy.

Anyway, after we picked him up after our trip, we are glad that he did not display any unusual temperaments. We were concerned that he could not adjust to his new surroundings or was not treated well at this boarding place. We were told during his boarding, Donut had good apetite and ate all his food up which was so unlike him ! I guess he was quite ok with his stay at this temporary accomodation.

My Sad Face

Nicejellybean: Just to let everyone know that Donut has a grumpy, unhappy and bored look whenever we leave the house for work. When alone, Donut pitter patter around or play with his own soft toys until he gets bored or Donut goes to sleep in his comfortable bed ! However, he gets all excited when we come back in the evenings. He waits patiently by the door and do his jumping jack when he sees us coming through the doorway ! This photo was taken from the door as we are about to go out.

The Cute Sad Face

Good Morning Donut

Nicejellybean: When we woke up this morning, we found Donut in an awkward and funny situation. In the middle of the night, Donut crawled under the blanket for warmth and comfort. We saw that only his paws was sticking out of the blanket and he did not even respond when we called his name. Ha! Ha! he is such a cute sleepyhead.

The cute sleepyhead !

Donut is half awake

I am so so excited to go out !

From Across the Globe

Nicejellybean: We received our first christmas card of the season in our mailbox today. It was a christmas greeting card and a sweet note from Kara, Alan, Kritter and Rascal of Texas, USA. What a nice surprise ! Thank you.