Today, Tricia took Gizmo and Gadget to the vet. We take them to Metairie Small Animal Hospital — they see Dr. Martin. Tricia took them for just a simple, routine visit, but there were two outcomes from this visit — one surprising and another not-so-surprising. First, as we already knew, Gadget’s a bit hefty. Today, he weighed in at 26.1 pounds. Now, that’s big for a Pug, you say. And yes, it is big for a Pug. However, both Gizmo and Gadget were bred to be show pugs, and they’re both champions.
Their body frame is different than many Pugs you might see around — it’s somewhat bigger, with thicker bones. Moreso than Gizmo, Gadget’s frame is VERY stocky. It’s just how he’s built. I know this is the old, “I’m not fat, I’m just big boned,” argument that’s been told over and over again. However, it’s really true with Gadget. Even though he’s 26 pounds, he only stands to lose a few pounds. Under 22 pounds for Gadget would be REALLY underweight for him! Anyway, the outcome for Gadget is that we’re going on a diet. Both of the boys will be getting two smaller meals per day, and their caloric intake will be monitored. We’ll also feed them such that they eat small enough meals such that we can put two plates of food down, they’ll eat (and finish) the food, then we’ll pick things up. We’re going to stop the “here’s a plate of food, eat it whenever you want, we’ll refill it tomorrow sometime” routine.
The SURPRISING news, however, is that Gizmo has a small tumor in his mouth!!! If you look in his mouth the right way, it appears as though there’s a mass of tissue right above one of his teeth. It’s like his tooth is coming out of a little ball. The vet seems to think that mouth tumors aren’t good things, but right now we’re hoping that either it’s just a benign growth or that we caught it early enough such that it’s not a big issue. We’ll find out in a couple weeks when they both go in for teeth cleaning (and Gizmo gets a biopsy)
Regardless of everything that went on at the vet today (they even got shots!!), Gizmo had a GREAT time, and both Gizmo and Gadget LOVE all the attention they get at the vet from everyone who “just wants to squeeze” them because they’re “like little teddy bears.” (especially Gadget)
The picture is of Gizmo, Gadget, and Dr. Martin. Gizmo’s on the left, and he just looks incredibly happy!
P.S., the moral of the story is that you should TAKE YOUR DOG TO THE VET! You never know what he/she will find!