Eye Ulcer, Dog boarding..Angry

[ownfl4g]

Hi,

I would like to get your guys take on the two issue I have at hand here. My pug Eddie, who is 2 years old, was staying at a local dog boarding resort here in town while we were out for mothers day weekend. They have a very strict pickup time between 5-6PM and due to an accident on the road I called and asked if being 20 minutes late would still be OK which they quickly shot down reffering to some rule that could result in a revoked kennel license if people pickup after 6PM. I was already ticked off at this as they wanted to keep him another night for me being 20 minutes late, so I had my mother who lives around the corner go and pick him up....this is where it gets worse.

Eddie was at her house for about 15 minutes before I got there and noticed immedietly that his right eye was swollen, red, crusted over, and that he was obviously in some pain. I took him straight to the vet to have it checked out because of the countless threads and articles I have read about pugs and their eyes...the severity of the problem was obvious to me.

I gave the kennel the benefit of the doubt by asking my mom (who is also a great dog owner) if anything had happened at the house and she swears NO. I asked the VET who said she can tell his eye has been injured like this for atleast a day or two and that it hadnt started melting yet and only was a couple layers deep but needed attention ASAP.

I called the kennel and explained what I observed upon picking him up and they told me that he looked great all weekend and that they do physical checks on the dogs between all the shifts but to please keep them updated on his status.

I CANNOT believe that his vision and ultimetely his eye is in jeaprody because they failed to call me or take him to the Vet. I completely understand that accidents happen especially with pugs big eyes but the fact that they couldnt tell he was in pain and had crust all over his eye (which I am willing to bet they cleaned off before he was picked up).

Eddie is on all three of the eye drops and some oral pain medication, I just did the all night every 2 hours deal and have a follow up Vet appointment at 9AM where they may refer him to an eye doctor.

My question is this, am I asking too much for a dog kennel to observe the eyes of each dog after play time or atleast once a day? Shouldnt they have contacted me immedietly especially considering the severity of eye problems.

And could the damage have been limited if I were able to get him into the vet at first signs of trauma?

[Snifter]

Sorry to hear about this.

Given that my pug was boarded at an emergency VET last year for treatment and they did nothing about a load of eye goop he developed under their care, I am not sure what to say about what one should expect of a kennel. IMO, no, you are not asking too much for a dog kennel to check on physical welfare and yes, if they notice anything is amiss they should contact you immediately.

It is likely that the problem would have been less bad if Eddie had got immediate veterinary attention.

What condition was the eye in when your mother collected Eddie?

I assume you will not be using this facility again. If you go elsewhere you should explain at the outset the issues pugs have with eyes and get their confirmation that they will be extra vigilant.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

I highly recommend, whenever possible, contacting your local breeder, pug rescue or pug meet-up group and networking for someone to babysit your pug(s) when you have to be gone. I feel much better that a pug is in a home and a pug savvy home than in a kennel or even a vet.

I babysit peoples pugs all the time when they go on vacation and it is always after someone contacts the rescue looking for someone to watch their pug. Pugs are so different than other dogs with special needs and concerns that having someone who knows the breed well is a big advantage.

I hope his eye gets better soon and there is no lasting damage.

Take care,
Lisa

[ownfl4g]

I am already on the same page as you, he will only be taken care of in home from now on. I just got back from the vet this morning and the ulcer has worsened and is now "melting", I took their advice and took him over to the animal eye doctor and they are going to take care of him for the day and administer the medication.

I called the kennel to ask for the owner but she was away, the lady on the phone swore up and down that his eye was just fine and they didnt notice and redness or anything. I want to believe them but I had multiple vets speculate that he had injured it days prior to me bringing him in. Not only that but my mother thought Eddie seemed a little off when she picked him up, he is usually much more excited and upbeat when people approach him (even now when hes sedated and in pain the tail starts wagging like crazy).

[Snifter]

My friend's pug recovered from a melting ulcer some years ago and retained her sight, but it was touch and go. Eddie is best off with the specialist. I hope all goes well for the poor chap.

[Lu Ci and Ri Ki]

I am so sorry this has happened to Eddie. Will be praying for his complete recovery.

[pugtown]

I'm not sure what "melting" is but my pug had a "bullseye" down to the last layer of cornea. It happened quick and at home. One minute he was fine and playing with his brother and the next, squinting and goopy and cloudy. And eye drops did not help. Only cornea flap surgery did. He recovered and has vision in that eye along with a scar. That was 3 years ago.

[CountryPug]

I'm so sorry this happened, glad he is seeing a specialist. See if the vets can put there findings in writing, make copies and send to the kennel. Maybe if you put a little fear in them, they will offer to help with the vet bills. Prayers that his eye heals up nicely.

[mishoga]

I'm freaking out. Was away at sons college graduation this weekend and had no choice but to board them at vets. Let me also add that when I got there to drop them it was them they informed me of extra mandatory fees . Not happy about that but that is another story. Cost me $250 for less than 48 hours.
Anyway. Let me pups out to bathroom at 5:00 a.m. As usual and when they came him my boy barreled over my girl and she shelled. I thought she actually hurt her leg but I guss she was disoriented. It seems something happened to her right eye. She kept it mostly closed for the remainder of the morning. Was excited for her walk, eat her breakfast no problem. She's been very mellow all day.
She has opened her eye but it is still irritated and when my boy banged into her by accident she helped.
I'm nervous as he'll that something is wrong and quite honestly feel like my vet will charge me a lot of money even if something isn't major. It hasn't even been a month and already I've spent $500 plus there.

What do I do? We were so happy my son returned home for good and can now bond with the babies and now this.

I'm also pissed that I brought my girl in because of excessive itchy and he said it was flea bite allergies and gave an antibiotic shoot with a steroid shot, cost $158 and tried to sell me his food which I might add first crude protien was 30% and it was very expensive. I'm a little turned off.

What to do. I'm just worried about my precious girl

[ownfl4g]

I would recommend taking the dog to the vet immedietly becuase if it is an ulcer and it gets worse and worse you could be looking at surgery. Otherwise it seems that you can get eye drops and pain medication for about 100 dollars and hope that it works.