The Pug That changeD my life
Having a pet is a wonderful thing until you out live them.
SEE MY PUGS COMPILATION VIDEO BELOW
After taking Mojo to
a couple of different doctors I walked away with medications and a Pug that
could not breathe much better then when I started. Mojo did manage to live
about 14 months after the initial doctor visits. Afterwards I
stopped bringing Mojo on my bike rides as he would have issues keeping up with me on the bike.
Since late 2020 I only took him on regular dog walks. Even these walks were
still around 25 minutes with some climbing. Towards the last months, I picked up
a doggie carrier which I wound up using twice.
In the Final Days I Tended to Walk Laps Around My Pug
I started walking laps around my pug at Oceana high school. He would follow me back and forth in about
while I lapped him a few times. In the upper Oceana parking lot I would walk in a circle on the perimeter while Mojo followed me as best as he could. In his last weeks, he wound up doing more sitting then walking. I had just picked up another truck a Dodge Mega Cab which he only had the chance to ride in about 5 times, bummer. His breathing had become more agitated the day before he passed away.
8:30 PM
Running a google
search with his symptoms I had only confirmed my worst thoughts. We do
not have much time left based on a few articles that I read.
10 PM
At around 10 we had brought mojo in since his breathing was becoming louder and more stressed. I gave him some
cough medicine. At this point we took one of the last pictures of him.
I held Mojo in our kitchen trying to give him some cough medicine and I was shocked when
he has no reaction, after the medicine was administered. He usually resists the medication, not this time. As I think of the last few hours I wipe my eyes as they start to fill with tears.
Alex and Sophia start to gather and they can sense that something is not right.
Mojo was sitting with his neck stretched, struggling to breathe. I noticed this the day before. I decided to document this since I loved the pug so much. When I release my hold on Mojo in the kitchen, he walks slowly into the living room and seems kind of lost. Thinking he might step towards the stairs, I follow him, I pick him up and carry him to his bed in front of the television in the living room.
As soon as I place him on his bed he sits down, he looks at me and licks my hand and then lays
down. I have carried him and put him on his bed many times. He normally sits up and wants to see what everyone is eating. Never have I ever felt that this was the best thing for me to do. Right after he licked me I felt his energy leave his body when he laid down.
10:20 PM
I sit down with my legs crossed right next to him. I pulled the bed onto my legs, just enough so that I can hold Mojo with both hands. More tears come as I write this. At this point the whole family is standing around him. Mama even comes out of the bedroom from watching Chicago fire. Everyone steps forward to pet him one last time and wish him well. Mojo’s breathing is slowing down. More tears come.
11:05 PM
He only has a few more minutes with us, I am certain. I think to myself what will happen. I watch his face and his tummy to confirm that he is still breathing. His eyes eventually stop moving.
Bye-bye, my pug. I
love my pug.
I sat with him for another 30 minutes afterwards as the tears continued. We were all around him when he passed away, he was with his family. I am grateful for the time he spent with us.
I love my pug.
The videos and images in the video are only a small part of the time we spent together. The pug entered my life at a time when I was not doing so well. His goofy personality, curly tail and strange noises made a huge difference in our family’s life. Every time I would touch his tail he would straighten out his curly tail. Little kids always smiled when I showed them this little trick.
Downhill pug
Mojo had gotten the nickname downhill pug because he would always be chasing me down some very
steep hills. While I rode my bike, his little paws were in overdrive keeping up with me. Of course, he had to follow me up the trail too. The amount of time I spent on the trail with this little guy either hiking or biking was huge. Where-ever I went he would follow. Many times I would race on my bike through Boy Scouts in Pacifica and wait for Mojo towards the bottom of the trail. Day or night he would always choose the correct trail.
Many people get LED collars for their dogs so they can be seen. I would place work lamps on his neck so that the light would light up the path in front of him so he could see the trail. Mojo got a new light every 5 to 6 months. My pug had a lot of miles under his curly tail. We did night hikes 2 to 3 times a week for a number of years. People were amazed that a pug would follow me up Montara mountain to the intersection elevation 900 feet. Furthermore, he would climb all the way up to the top of Crack 1300 foot elevation. At the top of the Crack I always gave my pug some of my energy bar and water. We both needed the boost. Off-course you get stronger at what you train at, which was the case for my pug. he was like the energizer bunny, he kept going and going and going.
In the above video Mojo is coming down Mile trail with his little legs. We did this trail every week for a number of years. Day or night it did not matter, exercise and staying in shape was what mattered most.
He was a strong pug. He did not like hot days so I normally took him onto the trails around 5pm when it was cooler. Once we got separated at Oceana high school coming down from the top. He wound up at the upper soccer field while I wound up at the parking lot by the swimming pool. Thankfully somebody found him immediately and gave me a call on my cell phone, we wear only apart for about 30 minutes.
Working from the woods while everybody is heading to the beach and to the park to be with friends I would seek isolation and exercise. Working from the woods with my laptop and pug became one of my favorite activities. So much so that the private time allowed me the privacy to focus and create my book Live Free or Die Hard.
If you got this far thanks for watching and reading to this point. If you know someone that has a pug or a dog in a similar situation feel free to share this with them.
