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Jan. 5th, 2018 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogThe shelter in Evanston has three elderly pugs who were owner surrenders. I don't know what their story is in full, but whether from lack of concern or lack of their owner(s)' means or abilities, they were not well taken care of. They smell bad: not just their breath, but all over. They're quite overweight, though I often let that slide as I consider an obese pet to be in much better circumstances than an abandoned or starved one. Other than that, the two 8-year-olds are typical happy pugs; that is to say, they are genetic disasters who could not survive on their own and who, fortunately, are not self aware enough to be upset about what humans have done to them. (One of the most wonderful things about dogs is how they can be in the middle of an awful situation and still be *so happy* just to *be*. It's inspiring.)
The 13 year-old, though, beyond the smell and poor diet, is blind and deaf. The poor thing must be confused and terrified. At least she has her two friends with her. But she's not just blind. Her eyes are...I don't know. Necrotic or something. They bulge disturbingly from the sockets. I don't know if she can even close them. They don't look like eyes; they're a matte reddish-brown across most of their surface, with bits of something resembling crusted mucus on parts of them. Her eyes move a little bit from time to time, but they are clearly not functional. I worry that she may even be bumping into things with them as she perambulates around.
Especially at first, she was hard for me to look at. Her eyes are like a claymation demon's from a horror movie. At the same time, I felt tremendous care and pity. After the walks were done, we took the three pugs into the front foyer to spend some time with them. I carried the blind one out and sat with her in my lap. She was terrified at first, shaking in my arms. I sat with her and stroked her back, head, and chin, telling her she was a good dog and that I was going to take care of her tonight. She probably didn't hear anything, but maybe the vibrations helped. She eventually settled down a bit and seemed to enjoy the petting. I slowly got used to looking at her face as she raised her head for scritches. She even licked my chin a few times as I tried not to think about her eyes that close to my skin.
I took a few pictures of her, thinking that I'd post them and talk about why the kind of inbreeding and trait selection that gives rise to some breeds makes them so unhealthy, but I think they may be too disturbing for people to see unexpectedly so I won't do that here. Instead, here's a link to the Adam Ruins Everything piece about purebred dogs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv10_WvGxo
Pugs are adorable; I won't argue that. (Well, the ones that don't have horrifying defects or illnesses, anyway.) But their noses are so bizarrely upturned that not only can they barely breath, but they have a crevice of skin between it and the rest of their face that can build up ick in it and get infected. Please think about the lives some of these dogs have if you're thinking about what kind of dog you want.
The 13 year-old, though, beyond the smell and poor diet, is blind and deaf. The poor thing must be confused and terrified. At least she has her two friends with her. But she's not just blind. Her eyes are...I don't know. Necrotic or something. They bulge disturbingly from the sockets. I don't know if she can even close them. They don't look like eyes; they're a matte reddish-brown across most of their surface, with bits of something resembling crusted mucus on parts of them. Her eyes move a little bit from time to time, but they are clearly not functional. I worry that she may even be bumping into things with them as she perambulates around.
Especially at first, she was hard for me to look at. Her eyes are like a claymation demon's from a horror movie. At the same time, I felt tremendous care and pity. After the walks were done, we took the three pugs into the front foyer to spend some time with them. I carried the blind one out and sat with her in my lap. She was terrified at first, shaking in my arms. I sat with her and stroked her back, head, and chin, telling her she was a good dog and that I was going to take care of her tonight. She probably didn't hear anything, but maybe the vibrations helped. She eventually settled down a bit and seemed to enjoy the petting. I slowly got used to looking at her face as she raised her head for scritches. She even licked my chin a few times as I tried not to think about her eyes that close to my skin.
I took a few pictures of her, thinking that I'd post them and talk about why the kind of inbreeding and trait selection that gives rise to some breeds makes them so unhealthy, but I think they may be too disturbing for people to see unexpectedly so I won't do that here. Instead, here's a link to the Adam Ruins Everything piece about purebred dogs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv10_WvGxo
Pugs are adorable; I won't argue that. (Well, the ones that don't have horrifying defects or illnesses, anyway.) But their noses are so bizarrely upturned that not only can they barely breath, but they have a crevice of skin between it and the rest of their face that can build up ick in it and get infected. Please think about the lives some of these dogs have if you're thinking about what kind of dog you want.
