JoJo , 2 years old, was surrendered by a dog officer in February 2008. Even though JoJo was young
the dog officer felt rescue was the best place for him because of his multiple health issues.
JoJo was removed from a home situation and while exact details of that situation are not known by
PRoNE, he was filthy and very thin, bordering on being emaciated, and he had diarrhea and his mouth
was full of plaque and his teeth were in poor condition. Additionally JoJo’s skin was coming out in
patches and he had dark reddish markings all over his body. He also had bi-lateral luxating patellas
(which meant he needed surgery on at least one and possibly both knees) and he needed to be
neutered.
Rhode Island volunteer Heather and her husband Forrest picked JoJo up from the dog officer and took
him directly to the clinic where Forrest is a veterinarian. JoJo was promptly given a thorough bath,
heartworm tested, and had a fecal test and skin scraping to try to determine the cause of his diarrhea
and skin condition. Despite his obvious health concerns, JoJo, in typical pug fashion was simply happy
to have some attention and affection.
After being moved to the home of longer term fosters Tammy and Rob, JoJo started his journey to
recovery. He was observed in the foster home and underwent further testing which determined that
JoJo’s skin condition was in fact ringworm. The vet recommended that JoJo recover from the ringworm
and his terrible overall condition for at least 30 days. Tammy and Rob were instructed to “put some
weight on JoJo”. This is not usually a difficult task with pugs as they tend to run a bit “pudgy” shall we
say. However, JoJo would not gain weight even though he was a ravenous eater. He also developed a
respiratory infection and an infection in his groin, both of which were treated with antibiotics.
Additionally, JoJo continued to have diarrhea and vomiting which, after aggressive blood work, the vet
determined was most likely a side effect of the poor nutrition he had during the first two years of his life.
The foster home also discovered that JoJo liked to eat rocks so that was something to keep in mind for
his future home.
Eventually JoJo was well enough to undergo surgery. In one long day he was neutered, had the worst of
his two luxating patellas fixed, and was given a dental. JoJo came through surgery with flying colors but
was in obvious pain when he went back to his foster home. After a couple of days JoJo was nearly
back to his usual hyper, precocious self.
In May JoJo went to his forever home with previous PRoNE adopter Richard of Eastern
Massachusetts. Richard is a long time PRoNE supporter and has adopted three dogs from PRoNE
over the years. He adopted “old men” Jake and Rufus in 2002 and both of these sweet older pugs
passed away in the last year after living out their senior days in love and comfort. That is an
understatement – they were the most spoiled pugs ever!!! Richard adopted a super-sized 7 year old
pug named Ollie after the loss of Rufus. When Jake passed away this year Richard was devastated.
As fate would have it, when Richard was visiting the vet with Ollie (the same vet Rob and Tammy use),
one of the vet techs mentioned that he should meet JoJo and even though Richard wasn’t sure he was
ready for another pug he could not help himself. He called and his fate (and JoJo’s!) was sealed.
We don’t know about you but we think a photo tells a thousand words and the big word that should
accompany this photo is JOY. PURE joy… another New Beginning for JoJo, Richard, and big brother
pug Ollie.
the dog officer felt rescue was the best place for him because of his multiple health issues.
JoJo was removed from a home situation and while exact details of that situation are not known by
PRoNE, he was filthy and very thin, bordering on being emaciated, and he had diarrhea and his mouth
was full of plaque and his teeth were in poor condition. Additionally JoJo’s skin was coming out in
patches and he had dark reddish markings all over his body. He also had bi-lateral luxating patellas
(which meant he needed surgery on at least one and possibly both knees) and he needed to be
neutered.
Rhode Island volunteer Heather and her husband Forrest picked JoJo up from the dog officer and took
him directly to the clinic where Forrest is a veterinarian. JoJo was promptly given a thorough bath,
heartworm tested, and had a fecal test and skin scraping to try to determine the cause of his diarrhea
and skin condition. Despite his obvious health concerns, JoJo, in typical pug fashion was simply happy
to have some attention and affection.
After being moved to the home of longer term fosters Tammy and Rob, JoJo started his journey to
recovery. He was observed in the foster home and underwent further testing which determined that
JoJo’s skin condition was in fact ringworm. The vet recommended that JoJo recover from the ringworm
and his terrible overall condition for at least 30 days. Tammy and Rob were instructed to “put some
weight on JoJo”. This is not usually a difficult task with pugs as they tend to run a bit “pudgy” shall we
say. However, JoJo would not gain weight even though he was a ravenous eater. He also developed a
respiratory infection and an infection in his groin, both of which were treated with antibiotics.
Additionally, JoJo continued to have diarrhea and vomiting which, after aggressive blood work, the vet
determined was most likely a side effect of the poor nutrition he had during the first two years of his life.
The foster home also discovered that JoJo liked to eat rocks so that was something to keep in mind for
his future home.
Eventually JoJo was well enough to undergo surgery. In one long day he was neutered, had the worst of
his two luxating patellas fixed, and was given a dental. JoJo came through surgery with flying colors but
was in obvious pain when he went back to his foster home. After a couple of days JoJo was nearly
back to his usual hyper, precocious self.
In May JoJo went to his forever home with previous PRoNE adopter Richard of Eastern
Massachusetts. Richard is a long time PRoNE supporter and has adopted three dogs from PRoNE
over the years. He adopted “old men” Jake and Rufus in 2002 and both of these sweet older pugs
passed away in the last year after living out their senior days in love and comfort. That is an
understatement – they were the most spoiled pugs ever!!! Richard adopted a super-sized 7 year old
pug named Ollie after the loss of Rufus. When Jake passed away this year Richard was devastated.
As fate would have it, when Richard was visiting the vet with Ollie (the same vet Rob and Tammy use),
one of the vet techs mentioned that he should meet JoJo and even though Richard wasn’t sure he was
ready for another pug he could not help himself. He called and his fate (and JoJo’s!) was sealed.
We don’t know about you but we think a photo tells a thousand words and the big word that should
accompany this photo is JOY. PURE joy… another New Beginning for JoJo, Richard, and big brother
pug Ollie.
| JoJo |