The P! True Story: Coco (The End)

With surgery, there was a little hope to save the left eye and his vision. Right after surgery began, Coco's mom received a phone call.

"Coco is not doing very well with the anesthesia... I'd rather remove the eye and wake him up immediately". That was the worst scenario that Coco's mom had imagined, and now she had no choice. The oftalmologist had a chance to close the right eye a little bit to avoid more ulcers on it. After picking him up at night, Coco's mom spent many hours petting him. She felt so bad for him...

A little bit after midnight she went to sleep. Then she remembered that it was her birthday. Instead of a celebration, all she had in mind was to find a new vet for Coco. And very soon, because his monthly cortisone shot was due in a week.

Some friends recommended a vet close to the house and her work - it had to be that way because she knew that in case of an emergency Coco would need assistance right away. At least she was used to that. The new vet was a young woman who had previously owned a pug, a one eyed dog and was a good friend of Coco's internal medicine specialist. What else could one ask for?

Two weeks later, Coco's mom still felt very sad about him loosing one eye. She had a prior commitment to spend Thanksgiving with a relative that lived across the State. And she couldn't cancel it. She knew that she would have to trust this new people someday, so she left Coco in the new vet's boarding facility during the weekend. On Monday morning, a phone call woke her up. Coco's right eye was not good. The new vet had spoken to the oftalmologist already but it was not getting any better. Coco's mom had to run again to the specialist's clinic (which, by the way, was very far away).

Coco's mom was desperate. What was wrong with this little dog? He was only one year and two months old. Why was it always like that with him? Emergencies were more part of his life than regular walks around the block. It wasn't fair for him. It was clear that he was suffering. What was the best choice for him (not her)?


She was lucky to be surrounded by these incredible professionals. They didn't let her think about "that" option. It wasn't necessary to go to that extreme. Coco was going to be fine. All of the doctors that had seen Coco before spoke to her and explained that even though things were difficult lately, things would change.

The oftalmologist suggested a procedure to try to save the right eye. Vision was already lost. The ulcers were hurting Coco a lot and they wouldn't heal completely because of the cortisone he was taking to treat his addison's disease - which he would need for the rest of his life. The oftalmologist was still waiting for an answer as to what to do.

"Just remove it".

And that was the best desicion Coco's mom could have ever done. She now has a very active, healthy and happy pug, who will give her life purpose with his unconditional blind love.

The P! True Story: Coco (#5)

Good news for Monday. Coco was fine and his mom finally got a referral to an internal medicine specialist as suggested by the vet's tech. Coco's vet was still on the moon...


The specialist heard Coco's mom carefully. He knew right away: "it's addison's disease. He was probably on a comma on Saturday."

What a relief to finally know what was going on! After the required tests, the specialist explained that Coco could lead a normal life with treatment and avoiding stress as much as possible. Not hard at all.

Soon after, he was back to his own mischievous self.


Unfortunately, Coco developed eye and skin problems alternately during the next six months. The skin cleared after a very long treatment but the eyes... If it was not the left eye, it was the right one. With the corneal ulcers Coco had to use a cone and avoid the sun. It was a hot summer in Miami and this restriction meant no Petco classes or plans for outdoor fun.


Coco's mom was starting to feel frustrated. It seemed that with this little dog, no short, medium or long term plans could be made.


Coco's mom scheduled a vet appointment on halloween and the ulcers were better. They went to South Beach at night. She had never been there for halloween, and it was so much fun! The place was packed with disguised people and dogs, so they spent a good couple of hours just enjoying the view.

The day after, she saw an article on the newspaper about a past pug halloween party... how could they miss it? She didn't know about the pug meetup - or any meetup at all - and she wanted to join so bad but she preferred to wait for Coco's condition to be stable. After all, he had to be hospitalized twice after the diagnosis. Apparently, his electrolytes levels would take a while to adjust...


It was early November and Coco's left eye still had an ever-growing ulcer. His mom would take him every single day to the vet. One day she realized that this person had long given up with this dog. How could she be so blind and not notice this before? She had been losing her time for so long, putting Coco's life at risk. This was way too much. And then she remembered... there was an oftalmologist at the specialist's office. There she run. Too late.

The P! True Story: Coco (#4)

By the end of winter, Coco was prescribed three preventive drugs for whatever disease the vet supposed he had (two different diseases, actually). Coco's mom was not happy with the vague diagnosis, and had thought about getting a second opinion for a while. But Coco's condition was so variable that keeping him steady became more important at the moment. And the new prescription seemed to work. At least for three weeks.


The symptoms came back, this time faster than ever. He dropped weight incredibly soon and his mom spent - once again - the whole night awake trying to keep his body as warm as possible. In the morning, Coco couldn't move. He was as cold as ice. He stopped breathing.

Coco's mom used to revive piglets that were drowned during birth in an intership back in college. Apparently, she reacts really quickly - almost unconsciously - to emergencies. Don't ask what method or technique she used. She just knows that it worked.

It was a warm Saturday and the vet's office - only 5 minutes away from home - was about to open. Coco was hospitalized immediately but, since it was a weekend, no visits were allowed. What an awful and uncertain weekend.

The P! True Story: Coco (#3)

As days went by, Coco felt sick again. This time, he wouldn't eat. He lost weight and one day woke up with his hind legs inmovilized. Now, what could that be? The vet had no clue for this one, though it was clear that Coco needed some nutrients through the IV. He was hospitalized for two days, and both days his mom visited him during her lunch hour. Altough she wanted to cry, she didn't. Coco was glad to see her and he needed to be cheered up, too.

When she picked him up after his release, she couldn't believe her eyes. There it was, the playful and happy puppy running in circles around her! Running in circles? The legs were just fine.

For the next three months, hospitalizations were common in Coco's life. Although the vet took all sort of tests, he wasn't clear why his electrolytes levels would drop suddenly. Coco's mom did a lot of research but the symptoms were so vague... even the vet didn't know what type of specialist could help.

In between hospital visits, Coco was a very normal dog. He got up to date with his shots and went right away for a stroll in South Beach. It was a very cold day, but he enjoyed it a lot. He met lots of people and dogs and was impressed by them all. He was impressed by the pool, too.If they only knew what was about to come...

The P! True Story: Coco (#2)

Day by day, pug and owner got to know each other. Coco seemed to be learning quite fast, and was soon house broken. She sensed that he could learn much more and registered him to a Petco puppy class for the next month. There was still time to get Coco ready with all the required shots, before the first day of class.

She really wanted Coco to be a social dog but also wanted him to be up to date with all his shots before starting to go out with him. In the meantime, she was learning of all the places and things to do that were pet friendly in this city.

They planned lots of things together. Well, she planned them and Coco agreed with a bark and a smile. He was a very playful puppy and loved to bite things and run in circles. His mom was dazzled.

Two days before the first day of class, Coco felt sick. He threw up twice and went to the vet right away. After some x-rays were taken, the vet concluded that he might had eaten a toy or something. Weird, for a puppy whose toys were twice his size and that was contained in a small area when left alone at the house. Coco missed the first day of class, but the trainer agreed to start with him a week after.

Coco didn't feel well for some days after that. After work, his mom just wanted run to the house and take care of him. This place was starting to feel like home, if she could only be greeted with a playful puppy instead of a sick one...

The P! True Story: Coco

Unce upon a time, there was a girl (well, not that young) sitting in an icecream store trying to choose a flavour to soothe her blue mood. She missed her family so much, she would recall old memories of them almost every day. In fact, after living in Miami for 4 years, she still couldn't feel like being home.

A question brought her back to reality. "What would you like for Christmas? you still haven't told me". That was probably the eleventh time she heard the question in a week. Still, she couldn't find something she would want for a gift, since what she wanted the most was to share the season at home with her family.

Suddenly, she noticed that the man next to her was holding something in his arms, something she had never seen before. It was a very special moment, until she had to let go of the little paw in order to let the man leave the store.

"What is that?"

"It's a Pug."

"I want a pug for Christmas, then".

She didn't know that to get a pug at a petstore was not a wise idea. But she had no choice. Two weeks later she had already entered the store and seen Coco.

The first month at the house was the time to adapt. She had owned many dogs back in Peru - and rabbits, cats, horses, sheep, chicken, quails, etc.- but all of them were outdoor pets. She never had any responsibility, either. Coco was the first one to depend completely on her. And that was such a challenge!