It's been 4 weeks...

It doesn't seem like it's been a month since Emma passed away.  It hurt so much watching her go through what she did. It's been very difficult to grieve properly. Just when I started to think I was doing better, something triggers the memory of my poor baby going through such a bad time.  This blog is part of my way of coping with what happened. To type it all out and make people aware of what happened and how it can be potentially prevented in future breedings is the best way to try to help the breed. In one week, this blog has had 769 views!!!  Because of you passing along and sharing my blog, you are helping educate people about PDE. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

"In Loving Memory of Emma" Facebook Contest.  Please vote & share daily through 5/2/12.

Emma's Pug Dog Encephalitis Story ~ 

March 23rd was a Friday evening.  My niece & her 18 month old daughter came over to visit.  Normally Emma would want to play with her, but she was standoffish that night.  She wouldn't play with Meeko (my 9 year old Pug), her tail was uncurled, acted stiff and her back was huntched.  I knew somthing wasn't right because it was not like her at all.  It was worse the next day, she was having difficulty raising her neck to look up so I  phoned the vet who made an appointment for Tuesday since she was still eating, drinking and using the bathroom.  

First thing Monday morning (3/26) I called the vet because she was worse.  She ate very slow and acted like she couldn't move the right side of her neck & was very sluggish.  The vet saw her and treated her for a neck strain.  Her urine tests came back as everything being fine and since she was eating and going potty ok, she didn't think there was a blockage.  She mentioned PDE, but I didn't think anything of it because I just knew it was just a pulled muscle or something simple.  She was prescribed Prednisone and Tramadol, which seemed to help a bit.

On Tuesday her tail was curled again, she was trotting around and making her normal puggie noises she makes.  Thursday morning she wouldn't eat and started showing symptoms again.  Friday morning she lost control of her right side and would tip over when she tried to get a drink of water.  She lost her balance quite a few times and her right side was leaning sideways.  She couldn't stand up to use the bathroom and rolled out of her bed several times.  Her chin/face was twitching and she was a little disoriented. Back to the vet we went!  She was puzzled by her symptoms and I lost it when she mentioned the symptoms resembling PDE.  They kept her for the day to take xrays and bloodwork.  Her dosage of prednisone was upped and gave her pepcid to try to get her to eat in case the meds were upsetting her tummy.  

The xrays came back normal and the bloodwork was sent out so we'd get the results back on Monday.  Saturday morning (3/31) Ems wasn't feeling well at all and only ate a few bites of kibble along with her prednisone.  My poor baby had 7 seizures in 25 minutes.  I rushed her to the vet   They had to give her 2 doses of Phenobarb (anti-seizure medication), Valium and Mannitol (reduces swelling of the brain). Her vet didn't give up hope on her and tried so hard to save her.  He was able to look at the bloodwork online and it showed an increase of white blood cells.  He was hoping it was a form of meningitis, which could've been treated.  If not, it was more than likely those three nasty letters - PDE.  Emma showed all the signs of it. 

I kept thinking back to Monday when the vet mentioned PDE as a slight possibility, but it wasn't significant at that time.  I was in complete denial because after all, in my eyes it was just a neck injury.  All that week I kept telling myself and saying to my husband, "She's ok, she isn't having seizures, it can't be PDE".  That day it became more of a reality that this is what may have taken my precious baby girl's life.  I completely lost it.  That evening the vet started her on Metronidazole & Baytril, antibiotics that treat bacterial infections, in case it was a form of meningitis or toher infection that could be helped.  He took her home with him that evening to treat her and she went into acute respiratory failure and passed away about an hour later.

I'm attaching 2 photos of her.  The first is the last photo that was taken of her on 3/31/12.  The other one is from 3/20/12, just 11 days earlier.  As you can see, she lost a lot of weight in that short period of time. 

The cause of Emma's sudden death

This email/post is not an easy one to make. My stomach has been in knots since Emma’s illness first became serious. It’s hard to not wonder if there was anything more I could do for her and if it was my fault that she passed away. I received a phone call from the vet’s office Thursday morning while I was at work. Emma’s ashes were ready to be picked up and the results of the necropsy were in. My heart dropped to my stomach, I was shaking, wanted to throw up, was hot, nauseous and all that goes with my nerves being shot at that very moment. I finally was able to put it in God’s hands and I said the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, hold me in your arms during this extremely difficult time of waiting and learning the results of the necropsy on Emma. I have prayed for you to guide the veterinarians to do all they can to come to a conclusive finding. I pray for an absolute answer that is in the best interest of everyone involved. God, please give me the strength to accept the results as they are and guide me in the right direction that I need to take after the results are revealed. Whether it be something other than PDE or PDE itself, I will rely upon you to help me through this. Thank you for blessing me with my friendship with Lois. Her shoulder to cry on, listening ear and advice has provided me with comfort. Lord, please protect those who need protecting and help those who need to be helped. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

All day I had been so nervous and on pins and needles. I was finally going to find out what happened to Emma. When I walked into the office I was handed her ashes and sat down to wait for the doctor to finish with another patient. You’re not going to believe what happened next. While sitting there a lady walked in with a Pug!! Her name was Pika and she weighed in at a petite 15 lbs, just like Emma! A sense of calmness came over me and I know that was a sign from my baby girl that things are going to be ok and I need to move forward.

Dr. Jolly took me into a room and immediately revealed that Emma’s death was absolutely caused by Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE). I took a deep breath and shook my head in an agreeing way. I knew in my heart that it was that awful disease that took her life so suddenly. Now that it’s officially been confirmed, I will be educating others and getting the word out about PDE. I’ve researched PDE a lot these last few weeks and learned that PDE can possibly be prevented! In June 2010 there was a breakthrough in the research of PDE and a test became available to find out the risk of a pug being susceptible to PDE. Even though it is not a diagnostic tool, it is a test for breeders to find out if the Pugs they’re using in their breeding program have the high risk susceptible markers. This allows a breeder to select pugs for breeding that have the lower susceptible markers instead.

It is imperative that ALL PUG BREEDERS test their breeding pairs for these markers. Any reputable breeder who is dedicated to the betterment of the breed knows about this test and is using it in their breeding program. A Pug should NOT have to go through this and NO ONE should have their heart broken because of this.

Unfortunately the test was not available before Emma was born in 2006, so there was no way to know if she was at a high risk of being susceptible to PDE. Once it’s confirmed that a Pug has succumbed to PDE and brought to the attention of the breeder, it is the responsibility of the breeder to notify all of their purchasers of the case of PDE. There is no way to predict if a Pug will have PDE, you can only be aware of the signs and symptoms. At that point, all you can do is hold on for dear life because you’re in for one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make sure all breeders do not breed two high susceptibility risk Pugs together.

What YOU can do in Memory of Emma!

Learn as much as you can about PDE and share it with other Pug lovers.

Before purchasing a Pug, ask the breeder if he/she is testing their breeding Pugs for the susceptibility to Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE). If NOT, politely decline to purchase from them and refer them to UC Davis Veterinary Medicine for information on the test. http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/PDE.php

Encourage everyone you know to NOT purchase from a breeder who does not test for the susceptibility to Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE). 

If you have questions feel free to ask.  I’m up to a respectful educational discussion. I have compiled a list of local breeders who do and do not test for PDE susceptibility markers. You may contact me if you’d like to see it. I’m in Washington State. I’ve included some breeders in Oregon and Idaho.

Use this email/post as an educational tool as much as you can.  Feel free to copy this and distribute as you see fit.  All I ask is that you copy as I have written it and note that I am the one who wrote it. 

Subscribe to and share this blog that I created in Memory of Emma. http://www.mypugemma.blogspot.com

Hug and snuggle your precious Pugs for me today. You never know what tomorrow brings.

Mindy Elie

puggedbymeeko@gmail.com
Facebook ID puggedbymeeko

Saddened by the loss of my Pug Emma

My precious little Pug girl was taken from us exactly one week after her symptoms first started. Words cannot express how thankful I am to have such wonderful supportive friends and family.

Your posts, emails and phone calls mean the world to me.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

I received Emma's ashes and the results the necropsy Thursday evening (4/19/12) and will post soon.