Derby got down to 11.4 lbs before we got him turned around, but thank goodness he is now on the road to recover. After we did extensive blood work on him, we found that his pancreas wasn't working properly. Consequently, he was not digesting his food. He really was literally starving to death. We have been giving him Pancreatic enzymes before every meal and feeding him a special intestinal dog food. We also ran an extensive intestinal parasite test. It revealed that he had two types of nasty bacteria in his intestines. He just finished his second round of intestinal antibiotics and hopefully that has taken care of that problem. If not, worse case scenario he will be a dog that has occasional loose/runny stool. He has also been to see our Holistic Vet and they gave him digestive supplements and 5 B-12 injections. As you can see by his "after" photo, he is doing great. He is now up to almost 20 lbs. They say he may have Pancreatic enzymes added to his food for the rest of his life, but that is a very simple thing.

Derby will be neutered in a couple of weeks and then this loving little buddy should be ready to go. This incredibly sweet four-year-old old pug buddy is literally starving to death. He came into rescue because his owner loved him but could not afford to support her family and continue to help him. She had taken him to two different vets and spent hundreds of dollars, but Derby had not improved, so she brought him to us to save. It’s hard to see in the photos because he is black, but when you see him in person, you can clearly see every bone in his body. He looks like a pug skeleton covered in black pug hair. Derby is a normal to bigger size pug and weighed a healthy 25 lbs. before his troubles started. Now he weighs 14 lbs. He has lost almost half of his body weight in just a few short months. Unfortunately Derby’s owner had not had him on heartworm preventative which also would have protected him from intestinal parasites. For sure he had lots of hookworms, our vet saw those but lots of other nasty parasites often don’t show up in fecal tests. Consequently, first we have started him on a major de-worming protocol. He is also receiving dietary supplements to promote good bacteria in his intestines. We have already done blood work. At this point, thank goodness, his organs have not been damaged. There are many things that can cause this kind of weight loss. So, if we do not see improvement within the next 2 weeks, we will know it is not just worms. Then we will start the extensive (and very expensive) testing to determine what Derby’s problem is and get him whatever help he needs. Obviously, he can’t afford to lose much more weight. Please include Derby in your prayers. If you are able, please become his foster angel and send a donation today to help us help Derby.

In spite of his condition, he could not be a more loving pug if he tried. He is a very good boy in a bad spot. He gets along with everyone and everything. As, I am typing this, he is sleeping stretched across my lap. For now, I can not recommend him to a home with children under 5. He loves them (his owner had a toddler he adored) but he is so ravenous that he will bite (not nip) fingers if he even thinks there might be food in them. Hopefully, this will pass once we get his condition under control.