Introducing...the Bug
 

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.

Bless your heart. There will be a special spot in heaven for you. Good luck with Bug.

I am excited to see her!
You are a wonderful person for caring as much as you do about her!
Your little bug has a heart of gold to survive what she did!
And I love the name bug! I call my little girl buggy all the time.

Welcome to you and the Bug. I am sure she is a sweetie:)

Awwww. What a sad and heart-warming story. You are such a sweet soul to even have taken her and given her at least these past 2 years of pure happiness. It's understandable that she's timid and acts the way she does...even if she had an awful experience her first few weeks of life, it can sometimes have even longer effects and take longer to wear off...I'm sure in time she'll realize she is safe and she will no longer need to be in the shell she's in.

Sounds like she's on her way to becoming healthier and strong since she's gaining weight...that's a start.

Good Luck with her. Can't wait to see pics of her....I'm sure she's beautiful as she is!!!

Your little Bug sounds so precious! She is a fighter, that is for sure! Don't feel bad about showing off her picture. She is beautiful in her own way!:)

Welcome to Yorkie Talk!:D

There is a special place in Heaven for both you and Bug.

I have a rescue who answers to Bug, too. I hope you find out what's wrong with her, and I look forward to her pics.

Welcome to both you and Bug. She's such a lucky little girl to have found you for her Mom. Bless you! Can't wait to see her.

awwwwwwww what a sweet story. I wanna see da buggie girl!!!!! I bet she is precious!

Bless you for saving her life!

Welcome to YT!!

Welcome to YT

Here is Bug at her healthiest. She actually looked like Yorkie for a short time.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...d/bugclose.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...erspective.jpg

Here her hair is getting think and scraggly again, and her weight is clearly down. You can see that her neck is pretty much hairless!

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...erafile246.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...erafile258.jpg

And here, the crypt keeper returns...poor baby...she stays oily all the time from the Omega oils, but I can't bathe her more than once a week or her skins dries out. You can see that the hair on her head is so thin that you can see her skin!

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...erafile279.jpg

Any suggestions for improving her coat or appetite will be greatly appreciated.

Of course bug is beautiful...she is a yorkie. They come in all sorts of shapes, size and colors and we love them on here. Looking forward to hearing more about you and bug. Love to see some pictures of her.

Your love for each other makes her the most beautiful baby anywhere...always remember that.

I'm sure she is absolutely gorgeous. How could she not be, with such tender love and care? We love all furbabies just the same, regardless of what they look like.

Welcome to YT! :) Post those darn pictures, will ya?

Hi and welcome. Bless you for saving little bug and for sharing your story with us. You captured my attention from the start and now I am anxiously waiting to see pic of the little girl you rescued. You are obviously a wonderful caring person and I hope you stick around and post more.


Hugs

Thank you for all of your kind words. I submitted a post with links to photobucket, but it hasn't appeared yet as it's awaiting approval from an admin before it will show up.