Originally Posted by BuggieMom (Post 1753142)

Where to start? I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, and looking at all of the members beautiful yorkies, I didn't feel particularly compelled to introduce my scraggly, dreadful looking little Bug.

In September, it will be 3 years since her rescue. It all started with a phone call from my mother in Florida. Apparently a young girl down there had been breeding Yorkies (and some other small breed as well) in a filthy trailer. The story goes that her father died unexpectedly (he had been sick with cancer but she didn't expect him to die...ah...youth). Anyway, the girl stopped at a neighbor's house (a lady my mother knew from work) and said she had to move back to Ohio. She gave the woman a key to her trailer and left.

When the woman went to the trailer to retrieve the animals she found several dogs living in horrilbe conditions. The trailer was filthy and full of fleas. There were litters of puppies under beds and behind dressers. The living puppies were crawling over their dead littermates and trying to nurse from their malnourished mothers!

The woman had no trouble finding homes for all of the dogs and puppies...except for one...the one who is now my Bug. Little Bug was approximately 8 months old, and had been a "gift" for the dying father, who apparently didn't feel up to taking care of a new puppy...in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the poor man didn't even know he had a puppy (he obviously didn't live long after receiving her).

When I heard about this poor dog that nobody wanted my heart melted. I put my then 19 year-old daughter on an airplane to retrieve her asap.

What she found when she arrived was a tiny tiny tiny little 8 month old Yorkie (under 1 pound), who was anemic, severely malnourished, almost hairless, and barely strong enough to raise her own head.

Flash forward...within about a year she was up to 2.8 lbs, and healthy, with a decent coat of hair...Flash forward another year...and she is back down to 1.8 lbs of skin and bones with a terrible coat.

She's been to two very good vets, and there is nothing wrong with her! Her heart is freakishly strong (they always expect her to have heart problems when they first see her, but she doesn't). Her thyroid is fine, her sugar is fine, and her liver is fine! I started her on Innova Evo a couple of weeks ago, and when I took her to the vet last week, she was up to a whopping 2.1 lbs.

Her new vet thinks she may have an absorbtion problem, so I have added Prozyme to her daily regimen (along with Omega oil, and nutrical).

She's really more of a project than a pet. I know that sounds terrible, and I do love her, but the poor little thing doesn't act like a dog. She is afraid of her own shadow (unlike many of your dogs, she KNOWS how small and vulnerable she is), she hates to eat, and she hides from the world most of the time. The only time she isn't hiding in her tent bed, or hiding under the sofa, is when she is sitting on my lap.

So this is my poor ugly little Bug. She's not beautiful like the other little ones on this site, but she is a tender, sweet little soul with a heart that simply doesn't give up.

I'll post some links to photobucket so you can see for yourselves in a minute. I haven't figured out how to attach pictures on here yet.

Originally Posted by BuggieMom (Post 1753142)

Where to start? I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, and looking at all of the members beautiful yorkies, I didn't feel particularly compelled to introduce my scraggly, dreadful looking little Bug.

In September, it will be 3 years since her rescue. It all started with a phone call from my mother in Florida. Apparently a young girl down there had been breeding Yorkies (and some other small breed as well) in a filthy trailer. The story goes that her father died unexpectedly (he had been sick with cancer but she didn't expect him to die...ah...youth). Anyway, the girl stopped at a neighbor's house (a lady my mother knew from work) and said she had to move back to Ohio. She gave the woman a key to her trailer and left.

When the woman went to the trailer to retrieve the animals she found several dogs living in horrilbe conditions. The trailer was filthy and full of fleas. There were litters of puppies under beds and behind dressers. The living puppies were crawling over their dead littermates and trying to nurse from their malnourished mothers!

The woman had no trouble finding homes for all of the dogs and puppies...except for one...the one who is now my Bug. Little Bug was approximately 8 months old, and had been a "gift" for the dying father, who apparently didn't feel up to taking care of a new puppy...in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the poor man didn't even know he had a puppy (he obviously didn't live long after receiving her).

When I heard about this poor dog that nobody wanted my heart melted. I put my then 19 year-old daughter on an airplane to retrieve her asap.

What she found when she arrived was a tiny tiny tiny little 8 month old Yorkie (under 1 pound), who was anemic, severely malnourished, almost hairless, and barely strong enough to raise her own head.

Flash forward...within about a year she was up to 2.8 lbs, and healthy, with a decent coat of hair...Flash forward another year...and she is back down to 1.8 lbs of skin and bones with a terrible coat.

She's been to two very good vets, and there is nothing wrong with her! Her heart is freakishly strong (they always expect her to have heart problems when they first see her, but she doesn't). Her thyroid is fine, her sugar is fine, and her liver is fine! I started her on Innova Evo a couple of weeks ago, and when I took her to the vet last week, she was up to a whopping 2.1 lbs.

Her new vet thinks she may have an absorbtion problem, so I have added Prozyme to her daily regimen (along with Omega oil, and nutrical).

She's really more of a project than a pet. I know that sounds terrible, and I do love her, but the poor little thing doesn't act like a dog. She is afraid of her own shadow (unlike many of your dogs, she KNOWS how small and vulnerable she is), she hates to eat, and she hides from the world most of the time. The only time she isn't hiding in her tent bed, or hiding under the sofa, is when she is sitting on my lap.

So this is my poor ugly little Bug. She's not beautiful like the other little ones on this site, but she is a tender, sweet little soul with a heart that simply doesn't give up.

I'll post some links to photobucket so you can see for yourselves in a minute. I haven't figured out how to attach pictures on here yet.

Originally Posted by ryorkies (Post 1784093)

I just finished reading this complete thread and I just can't stop crying.
What a beautiful and uplifting story and one that I will share with those I love.
God bless you for taking little Bug in and giving her the kind of home that she ( and all dogs ) so deserve.
Somehow God knows just the right path ....

Originally Posted by BuggieMom (Post 1784183)

Thank you all for the kind words and support. To update, Bug has been on Innova Evo, Prozyme, Omega X, and Nutracal supplement for about 3-4 weeks now.

One thing I can say for sure is that her appetite is wayyyyyyy up. She actually begs by her empty bowl, which I have NEVER seen her do in 3 years of having her. Of course I give her more anytime she asks, but I can't leave a full bowl out all the time because Oliver (fat cat) LOVES her food and gobbles it up the second I turn my back. Instead, I give her about a tablespoon 5 times a day (she can't fit more than that in her tiny tummy at one sitting).

She also feels heavier, and less fragile when I pick her up, but I don't have a scale to weigh her on. I'll find out what she weighs when I take her back for her checkup in mid-March.

Her hair seems to be filling back in as well. It started looking really scraggly, so I took her to Nessie's groomer (my Westie girl) to see if she could do anything to "clean up" her style. She told me that I should go ahead and save myself the 30 bucks by cutting off the dead scraggly stuff on her head myself.

There were a number of reasons she suggested that besides the money. She felt that Buggie was so terrified just by the groomer handling her that the "end product" wouldn't be worth putting her through the trauma. She said anything she did to her at that point would look like a "hack job," because her long scraggly stuff just had to come off one way or another. Once it grows back out, and there's enough of it to actually groom, she will let me assist to make the experience less frightening for her.

So, I'm attaching a picture I snapped for you all this evening. It's not a very pretty picture because she hasn't had a bath since last Thursday. She looks even fluffier (a relative term, I know) right after a good bath, but I think you can already tell that despite her horrible hair cut, the hair on her head is filling in...or it could be wishful thinking:)

Originally Posted by tmatherly (Post 1784175)

You win the prize for the post of the day! Welcome to YT:)

I read every response...I think we can safely crown Bug the new "Sweetheart of YorkieTalk":D :wavey:

Originally Posted by KathyinCali (Post 1783956)

I think Bugs is precious. I love her eyes :)