Due to popular demand, I'm posting photos of Igor, the blind pug. The photo to the right is a bit blurry because he is in the process of doing a high five, which he does because he thinks he is going to get food (note to new pug owners: pugs will do anything for food). Igor learned how to do this all by himself–I'm not kidding–years ago. Assorted family and friends were sitting around the dinner table with the pug on the floor next to me (he knows who the sucker who will feed him is) and I looked down at him and said, "Give me five, Igor," and he did. I'm not kidding, that really happened. It is his one and only trick, and it is a good one.
Igor started going blind a couple of years ago, due to cataracts. Pugs do tend toward eye problems because their eyes are so bulgy. You can get cataract surgery for dogs, but he is not the best candidate for it, as he has had breathing problems in the past. One New Year's Eve day he had to spend an entire day in the oxygen room at Dove Lewis, the emergency hospital here in town.
Our vet calls him the King of Pugs because he is, well, huge. He used to weigh nearly 50 pounds but now he's down to his fighting weight of 45. Its not fat, its muscle! (The average weight for a male pug is about half that.) But his father was very big, much as he is. Here are a couple other photos of him:
He gets around amazingly well in his blindness, he uses his head to bump into things and tell where he is. Also uses his paw to reach out and feel the edge of a step he knows is there, such as when he is attempting to get off the back deck.
All I can say is, if you have ever thought about getting a pug–do it. They are the best dogs in the world, comical, sweet, endearing, great companions. The best dog a writer could possibly ask for.
C.J. Harley
Aww. How cute! I love his blue bandana. I personally love Beagles and Doxies.
Charlotte
My son’s girlfriend has a Puggle–half Pug, half Beagle. He is the sweetest thing ever, a close second to Igor.
Angie
I love my pug too! She has the buggy eyes and a couple of teeth that escape her lips on one side which gives her real mobster character. She tries hard to be a lap puppy but she’s just a tad too big. She has a curly tail and ‘outie’ snout due to some chihuahua heritage. She’s sweet!
Charlotte
Angie, it is always great to hear from another pug lover. Sometimes I think we are an obsessive cult!
Cyn Kitchen
Hey Charlotte:
Believe it or not I was on Google trying to find information for how to tell if my dog is going blind, and I ended up here! Why? Because my dog is a pug, and I guess the combo of words I used brought me here! Anyway, I need to just take her to the vet, but I was hoping I might find some hints on how to tell for sure on my own.
I agree that pugs are fabulous animals. Love your fat boy. Mine is a diminutive female named Charlee, but she really thinks she’s a Rottweiler, and we loathe to burst her bubble. Hope you and your writing are going well!
~Cyn
Charlotte Dixon
Hey Cyn,
What a great surprise to find a comment from you! It is so funny how search engines work. Hope your writing is going well also.
Igor went blind pretty gradually and now we think he’s almost 100% blind. He does his head bumping thing, where he rams into a wall to tell where he is. Also he puts his paw out ahead of him to feel for a step. These are the two main things we noticed as he started losing his sight.
Pugs rule! And so do pug people, of course.
Charlotte
corrective eye surgery
So cute! having an disabilities is not a simple matter,let us be identify the need for specific procedure and be responsible for conducting the procedure safely for this.
jayn
Writing and Running | Charlotte Rains Dixon
[…] friend. (Oddly enough, much of my life seems to stem from offhand comments. I got the beloved pug when one of my son's friends said, "You should get a pug." Guess that is not an […]