Our lives have been blessed by knowing and loving Mary. Mary came to us from DFW Pug Rescue in Texas. She had been alone in the shelter, abandoned by her owners. When DFW Pug Rescue reached her, they found a 10-year old, female brindle pug with a cancerous tumor the size of a golf ball on her left shoulder.
She had a case of heartworms so severe that it was almost beyond treatment, and was totally deaf, partially blind and suffered from the side-effects of a stroke. DFW Pug Rescue took Mary in and gave her medical treatment that took months to complete. When we met Mary, she was lost in her own silent world, not interacting with her surroundings, and just content to have a safe place to rest and food to eat.
On the trip home to Colorado from Texas with Mary, she began having problems with chronic urinary tract infections that persisted for many months. Eventually she was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease and began medication that managed her symptoms. As time went by, Mary began a miraculous transformation into a loving, happy girl thoroughly fascinated with her surroundings. Through all her medical concerns, she remained as happy as can be, following me everywhere and watching every move I made.
When she was feeling silly she would dance around in the kitchen and play with me as I would tickle her lips! She turned into a real cuddler – loved to be held on her back and when I rub her forehead above the good eye, it would make her fall asleep and snore loudly. She stole my heart.
She became even more interactive with us, not only following my every step, but also had to be actively involved in anything I was doing. She learned the “Pug-Purr” when I would rub her head…what a wonderful sound of pure contentment! She continued to dance in the kitchen and also learned how to roll around on her back to play.
Could this be the same Pug that couldn’t interact and was lost in her own silent world?!? Each night she treated us to the “The Mary Show” were she would chase our youngest rescue Pug, Waylon, around the room, playing and barking at him with her funny, loud “abba-abba” bark! She even came very close to getting the zoomies!
On March 14, 2006 Mary went into respiratory distress, suffered a seizure and we rushed to the emergency room. She underwent x-rays, bloodwork and an EKG. The overnight ER veterinarian saw what she suspected was a non-cardiogenic edema in Mary’s lung. She was cared for overnight in the hospital in an oxygen crate.
The next morning Mary’s care was transferred to the daytime veterinarian who is an oncology specialist. He repeated the x-rays using a different technique and was able to see that what looked like edema on the original x-rays, was in fact a mass. He performed a biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis of lung cancer. After day-long consultations with the oncology doctor and our own veterinarians, it was determined that Mary would not be able to withstand surgery to attempt removal of the carcinoma. We were able to spend a treasured 45 minutes with her in the comfort room at the hospital before we sent our beloved Mary to the Rainbow Bridge. She left this world in my arms, surrounded by the love and prayers of her forever family.
I will forever be grateful for the wonderful people at DFW Pug Rescue for uniting us with the blessing that is Mary. The lessons she taught us will leave us forever changed. The love we shared will never end. It is with hope and faith that I look forward to our reunion at the Rainbow Bridge.
I love you,
| Mary |
| 15, Mar 2006 |
| Michelle and Kodi Charvat |