Rambo In Memory Pug Forked River, NJ

Recsue costs are extreme. An online gift card to Chewy is appreciated! It's very difficult to find special needs pugs a forever home. Our hearts are heavy Rambo sadly has crossed the Bridge at age 13 a special pug that has been Pug Planet's MASCOT! He has been with us since a puppy & rescued w/a sister at approx. 8 weeks young. They were found in a box on the streets of Philadelphia! This little guy has been through so much!! He has front arm deformities and no real elbow joints. He cannot get around like a normal dog and cannot do steps. He needs to be carried. Rambo has a long story we hope you'll read about his courage, strength perseverance and love!! Rambo wasn't named Rambo for nothing! ~We make a commitment to pugs like Rambo who are unable to find forever homes that can care for special needs pugs. We had to delete a lot of info posted through the yrs due to space allowed. Rambo was abandoned as a pup 7/29/08 In addition to having a thyroid issue to deal with. He also developed a staph infection on his neck we are treating. He does seem better now on the thyroid meds! 3/15/12 Rambo's stitches are out and therapy begins! 3/1/12 Rambo was happy to be home on Tuesday night. He cried several times through the evening. On Wed. he made it through w/o any cries. He cannot have any activity except for bathroom breaks for the next 2 weeks. During these 2 weeks he will receive a strong antibiotic and 2 pain meds that also help w/ inflammation. Inflammatory med will continue for the next month. Ice packs 3x a day will also be applied given he tolerates it. Like the other knee he had surgery on in October this one also has pins. The stitches come out in two weeks and therapy begins for the next 6 weeks. Part of his therapy we will gradually try to get him to walk 1-3x per day. He cannot play, run or jump and no stairs though his abilities are limited due to his elbow luxations anyway. Play time will be hard to avoid and his other pug buddies certainly don't understand. It''s hard for everyone but obviously we all want what's best for Rambo! In his 3 years of being with us since he was abandoned he has amazed us with his strength, courage and unconditional love. Every one that meets him is amazed how happy he is, good spirited and has no idea that he is different from the other pugs. Rambo always has a smile on his face and kisses to give to all that meet him!~~~~~ UPDATE: RAMBO HAS HIS 2nd of TWO KNEE SURGERIES SCHEDULED FEB. 27th!! Pretty soon he will be able to stand up on both back feet again! He did so well having his first knee done in October ... Oct 10th-Rambo had one of 2 knee surgeries. He stayed overnight in the hospital and is home now. He had pins put in his knee. Stitches will come out in 10-14 days. Then he starts therapy. 2 Pain meds 3x a day & an antibiotic .In a few months he will have the same knee surgery on his other knee. Long road for him but he's Rambo! When Rambo saw the orthopedist it was not his hip as was originally thought. Although it does have arthritis it is not what is causing Rambo problems and he is in no pain from it. The problem is his knees!! Yes both knees! The right is worse then the left. The are called "trick knees" or luxating patellas. Both his knees pop in and out but the right does not pop back in like the left does. So the plan will be to start with Rambo's right knee to surgically correct it. He will have a long recovery. Surgery involves deepening the knee cap groove and realigning the knee cap with the groove. Typical recovery time (for dogs walking normally on the front legs) is approximately 2-3 months. It might take Rambo a little longer given his front leg issues.UPDATE 8/11: Rambo had been having trouble with his left rear leg and first thing we thought was Legg Perthes. He had the surgery on his left side and is fully recovered from that. So we had some X rays done and it showed bad arthritis in his left hip joint. Eventually he will need surgery on the left hip to clean out the joint.-1/19/11 just had his annual vet visit and vaccinated.~ Rambo is an amazing little guy so happy and playful. He loves people and other pugs. He is just a little over 2 yrs of age now and has been in our foster care since he was just a little abandoned pug puppy. You should see him get around despite his front arm deformities. He acts just like a normal pug and is in no pain at all. He gets around well especially when its time to eat or get a treat! ***UPDATE 6/12/09 I just had my First B day! ***** 8/28/09-Hi there-4/1/09 Hello everyone! Iam getting around much better now. You should see how fast I can boogie around by myself! My hip continues to get stronger w/ every passing day. ~~~2/28/09 RAMBO IS HOME FROM HIP SURGERY! We just got the little guy back from the hospital last night. He did great and was so happy to see us! These first 2 weeks are restricted to just doing his "business" outside. The following 4-6 weeks w/ be physical therapy. Staples will come out in 10-14 days. He is on 3 meds right now antibiotics and 2 for pain mgmt. He ate dinner when he came home = typical pug appetite! :) We'll be posting Rambo's progess through the next 6 weeks. 2/26/09 Rambo saw the orthopedist this morning and it is confirmed he does have Leg Perthes Disease. The blood supply is compromised and there is a fracture as a result of this genetic disease. The orthopedist took him right into surgery this morning. He will need to create a hip joint for Rambo as well as fix the blood supply and remove any diseased tissue. More bad news is Rambo's other side has hip dysplasia. Do to his obvious challenges of his front legs this would be a separate surgery for Rambo. The surgeon wants to see how he does after a month of the first surgery. So yet another long road ahead of us in rehab & physical therapy. Rambo had done so well w/ learning to walk on his hind legs I wish you could have all saw the strides he made. This is the 2nd case of Leg Perthes Disease we have had in rescue. Last year it was a puppy named Romeo and he is doing amazingly well. VIDEO OF RAMBO & his sister SCARLETT. Copy & paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkpY1huD2oI ~~FEB. 13~Poor Rambo .After he had been neutered and the cone removed he was not using his rear legs like he was used to. He was really getting the hang of walking on his rear legs and stood on them a lot. Everyone who saw his progress was amazed. After several weeks and not much improvement we made an appointment to see what was up. Unfortunately this little guy can't seem to catch a break ! X Rays showed that one side of his hip joint is not in socket. This did not result from any fall or injury. Dr said it is genetic and may be Leg Perthes Disease it will require surgery and a lot of rehab to get him walking and to use a doggie cart. Despite another major setback he is not in any obvious pain. Rambo is strong willed, happy and loves everyone. Rambo was neutered. He is now 11 Lbs of puppy love. We had 2 emergency's where the incision opened up on him. The 2nd time we brought him to the emerg. vet he was sedated and they stitched him up. Just finished w/ antibiotics and they the stitches should come out in a few more days. Good News his elbow swelling has gone down considerably! He is getting around amazingly and learning to walk on his rear legs more and more w/ each passing day! He's such a great little guy and has no idea he is "different" from the others. ~ 10-25 -We have been having trouble w/ one of Rambos elbows and fluid accumulation since the last orthopedic visit/exam. Unfortunately he is not a candidate for surgery. If the elbow continues to build up fluid he will need a drain placed in it and hope that any infection does not occur. He gets around fine and is not in any pain . He had his final set of puppy shots last week and will be neutered next month. 10/4-We had a pug event last week many got the oppt. to meet these precious little pups and saw how happy and beautiful they are :)Next week we are going to see another orthopedist. We have also consulted w/ a trainer that specializes in disabled pets. Scarlet & Rambo had their 2nd set of puppy shots the other day and they have grown. Rambo a bit over 2 Lbs. now 8 Lbs. and Scarlet almost 2 more Lbs. now at a little over 6 Lbs.9/19/08 UPDATE Scarlet & her brother Rambo went to the orthopedist. Their deformity doesn't really have a name . Essentially what's going on is that their elbows (2 in each) are dislocated and cannot physically be put back in proper place due to muscle contracture and fibrosis - which came first, the dislocation or the muscle contracture is impossible to tell. Unfortunately, the deformity cannot be corrected surgically. Although we were not prepared to hear that we are looking into getting carts for the pups so they can scoot about. We may need a few carts due to them only being 12 weeks of age and 6 Lbs. each. Rambo and his sister Scarlet were found abandoned in a box to fend for themselves. Although Rambo & Scarlet appear to look like normal pugs but BOTH pups have a serious deformity on their front legs. Definitely a genetic flaw. This leaves the pups unable to walk on their paws so instead they are crawling on their forearms w/ their butts high in the air to get around. However they are not in any apparent pain. They have learned to get around pretty quick. They wag their tail and love to play. I think we can all gather that the person who had most likely abandoned the pups was a backyard breeder.