Petunia came into the shelter as a “stray”: a sickly, sad pug. She sat in the shelter laundry room, as an unadoptable dog ,until Old Dog Haven was asked if a home could be found for her. A foster family with a great love and appreciation for the breed was happy to take her in. Once in care, Petunia was spayed, she had a hernia repair and a badly needed dental. With some bathing and a good diet, her hair came back and she looked as good as she seemed to feel. Petunia made great friends with the other pugs in her foster home. You could find Petunia most of the time cuddled up with at least one other pug. Pugs do like to stick together, after all. Petunia especially loved her foster dad and it was very sweet to see them together. She was part of the group of dogs who’d hang out in his office during the work day and in the evening she would join him and the other pugs (and a couple non-pugs) on his chair during “TV time”. Unfortunately after a few months, Petunia’s health started to fade. She started to suffer from neurological deficits often seen as pugs age. A little over a year after coming to her foster family they could tell her time with them was winding down. Early one morning Petunia woke with a terrible cough she’d never had before. Petunia’s heart was weak and the her vet found a mass in her throat and x-rays showed a mass in her lung. More than likely the masses she had were a consequence of not being spayed early enough in life. Her family was very sad to let her go but so grateful for the time they got to spend her her.