Sadly Winnie found herself in a shelter along with the others in her dog family after their person died. The others were younger and were adopted leaving Winnie alone, grieving,  and scared. In came Old Dog Haven to help her. She obviously had not been eating in the shelter and continued to eat poorly in her new foster home (in spite of being a pug!). As a result she became quite thin. She was very sad and continuously searched for her person on walks. He/she apparently drove a pickup because every one Winnie saw parked along the way meant an abrupt halt to the walk, an intense and hopeful stare at the door, and a determination to wait until her person got out. Eventually, with time, she settled into her foster home and came to the conclusion that this is now where she should be. She ate, gained weight, and began looking like a pug again.

Winnie also clearly missed her housemates and worked so hard to get one of her new pack to let her snuggle. She initially focused on the little shih tzu as the one she wanted to buddy with (in spite of the fact that her previous pals were all larger than her), but it took some time before GG the tzu would have anything to do with poor Winnie. She persevered however and eventually was at least tolerated in the same bed. Winnie tried with each of the others in the family and ultimately her best friend and snuggler became the other pug closest to her age.

Medically Winnie was noted in the shelter to have a heart murmur and she badly needed a dental (always expensive in a pug). She was seen by a cardiologist, had an echocardiogram, and was cleared for anesthesia. She will have annual exams to monitor her heart. Getting those teeth taken care of also increased her enthusiasm about eating. On x-ray it was found that she has a markedly deviated spine which can be seen when looking down at her from above. In addition she has a very long soft palate, and, altogether, breathing is an effort for Winnie. This limits her exercise tolerance and she has to stop every few bites when eating to catch her breath. We are hoping surgery to shorten her palate will improve this for her and put her at less risk for serious respiratory illness in the future.

Winnie is very grateful to Old Dog Haven and their very generous donors for helping her at a time of need, for helping to mend her broken heart by giving her another loving family, and for providing her with the needed medical care that we hope will allow her to live a longer and healthier life.

Update:  Sadly, after more than two years, Winnie’s family had to say goodbye.  She was a very special girl and very much loved.