Our first big outing was two days later at the PetSmart grand opening just around the corner from our home. We toured the store, the hotel, and the veterinary clinic, where we met Roxie's first vet, "Dr. Chris" (Dr. Chris Brouwer). She was his very first patient in Michigan, and he would be her regular doctor until he left to pursue a specialty in radiology. Although he was no longer her vet after that, we kept in touch, and he would always be her very special friend.
We enrolled Roxie (and ourselves) in puppy training (positive-reinforcement) and later we attended an intermediate course. We learned basic skills (for politeness and safety) such as sit, down, stay, park-it, leave-it, come, and front, as well as fan-favorites: high-five and spin-me-round. She also learned important manners like walking on a leash, proper greeting methods, and sitting as her way of saying, "Please may I have that delicious-looking cookie in your hand?"
We believe in positive-reinforcement training over any other method — the "Alpha Dog/Dog Whisperer" method is crap (pardon the language). During a holiday visit, my mother commented that she noticed Roxie did things we asked because she wanted to — unlike other dogs, who did things because they were afraid not to.
Roxie was crate trained for security, safety, and potential emergency purposes. We never used it as punishment. She was rarely left home alone, but once she was sufficiently housetrained, Roxie had complete run of the house; however her soft-sided crate was always "Roxie's Room," and was available to her 24/7. She often napped in it — when she wasn't snuggled in our king size bed, or during the few odd times the cat decided to camp out in the crate (we never understood that).
Our home is a second-floor condominium, and Roxie conquered the stairs like a champ right from the start. (It was also important that she not be afraid of commonplace things we would encounter out in the world. She was fascinated by the vacuum cleaner.) She never left our home without wearing her collar or harness and leash. She learned she had to sit before a door would open, and never went through an open door without permission. (Our pets are microchipped and never leave the house without wearing external identification, because you never know what might happen.)
Because she was brachiocephalic, we carried ice water in
Roxie's special roller-ball bottle and used her Cool-Collar ice packs
on summer days. One Fourth of July, we were at the lake and lost power
during a big thunderstorm — which meant no air conditioning in the
house. I spent two nights with Roxie in car, doing crosswords to stay
awake, running the air conditioner every 15-20 minutes to keep her
comfortable. We did whatever it took for her.Roxie loved everybody, including her "big sister," Aby McBeal — our 14-year-old Abyssinian cat. Aby was less enamored with Roxie. It only took two years for Aby to tolerate the pug in her house, but that did not dissuade Roxie from attempting to broker peace every day. She would nicely ask Aby to, "Please play?" and was only slightly discouraged when snubbed. Roxie would excitedly "race" Aby to the kitchen in the morning for breakfast, even though Aby griped every time. She would sit next to Aby in the morning sun streaming into the living room, and would sit with her on the balcony watching the world go by on nice days (Aby has a cushion to nap on, and Roxie could not fit her puggy head through the rails, so it was a safe activity for them to share).
Our first cats, Tabitha and A.J., passed away at 13 and 17 respectively. We feel A.J. would have loved playing with Roxie had he lived to meet her.
We
originally fed Roxie Canidae dry food (crunchy for cleaner teeth!) When
doctors determined she suffered from food allergies, we put her on a
restricted diet, and made "Roxie Fried Rice" for her (ground turkey,
brown rice, spinach, egg, and chopped apple) every three weeks, packing
it into 21 1-cup containers for daily meals (half for breakfast, half
for dinner). We supplemented this with vitamins and minerals missing
from a home-cooked diet, as well as treats like fresh green beans,
unsweetened applesauce, and healthy natural dog cookies (always read the
ingredient list!) This diet also helped her maintain a much healthier
weight, since a pug's food-motivated nature can often lead them to pack
on the pounds.Medically, Roxie was a bit of a "special needs" pug. We visited "Dr. Chris" regularly — and then "Doc Martin" (Dr. Katie Martin) — for Roxie's annual exams and teeth cleanings, as well as many visits for health maintenance (mostly pedi-pedis and anal gland expression) and other concerns about her well-being. She received daily medications to combat her skin, digestive, and UTI conditions. We had enrolled her in the Banfield Wellness Plan — which (thankfully) saved us nearly $9,800 in medical expenses over her lifetime. (We're not sure we want to know how much we actually spent if we saved $9,800…)
The night Roxie left us, we took her to Dr. Brouwer at BluePearl. It was only fitting that he be able to also say goodbye. She was very special to him. Before we left, he asked if we wanted clay pawprints. He not only made two for us to take home — he made one for himself and another for Dr. Martin. That's how very loved Roxie was. She touched so many lives.
Roxie was one amazing pug. She loved everyone she ever met, and everyone who met her loved her right back.Roxie was the light of our lives. I cannot adequately express the amount of happiness and delight she brought us every single day — even as she and the cat joined forces every morning to coax me to get up and feed them breakfast, she brought me joy. At the end of every work day I looked forward to "going home to hug my doggie." We loved her with every fiber of our being — in sickness and in health — snorts, snores, belches, farts, and all. She was our precious girl, and left us far too soon.
We had always planned to find Roxie a little brother or sister. Although we are currently grieving Roxie's loss, we are determined to provide another pug with a safe and loving home. We feel Roxie would want that and, when the time is right, she will guide us to the right one, and she will be there with us all in spirit.
