Saving Sophia

Sophia's Blog moves to Curly Tail Pug Rescue!

2009-03-14T13:58:00.006-04:00

i have run into so many people that recognize me from my work sophia, the spina bifida pug puppy. so many people are incredibly supportive and follow our experiences blogging about sophia. lots of people have written asking for information and updates.

since sophia has come into our lives, i have launched a pug rescue with my partner, kristin balch. our rescue is called Curly Tail Pug Rescue. i run the NYC branch and kristin runs the Boston branch....we work together as great partners and friends. with our 2 main branches so spread out, we are able effectively to cover several states (NY, NJ, CT, MA and parts of RI / NH). sophia was definitely a huge source of inspiration to us and has become a Curly Mascot if you will. She is an important symbol of our work and attitude towards rescue.

developing & running the rescue, fostering lots of ill & special needs dogs, building the website AND posting on her blog is a bit much to say the least!

i created a page on our website expressly for her called Curly's Saving Sophia. we want to keep people posted on her progress, using her cart and upcoming surgery (happening this summer). we also do not want to detract from the many other dogs who come into Curly Care that truly need lots of medical attention as well. there are so many that need so much. moving her blog, to a page on the website, seemed to be the best solution.

please continue to follow her story and the story of many others at www.CurlyTailPugRescue.org

thank you for supporting us, sophia and all of the needy pugs out there!
drea, kristin & the gang at curly tail

Sophia Got Her Wheels!

2008-12-29T22:49:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay in our December blog post....Curly Tail had a major puppy mill rescue and we have been busier than ever.

We do have great news for Sophia!!! She got her wheels this month!

We uploaded videos of her 1st days in her wheels....check out the YouTube link on the right. The videos are sideways b/c I didn't realize that in all the excitement. But Sophia loves her wheels and is getting really used to running and playing in the apt, hallway and indoor pug meet ups. In the next few weeks, we will venture outside!

Sophia has her information updated on our rescue website as well. We will be making a page just for her....stay tuned!

Thanks for supporting Sophia and the rescue pugs...

Happy Holidays!
The Gang At Curly Tail

Sophia's Surgery & Medical Update

2008-11-18T15:53:00.005-05:00

Sophia has recently been to the Animal Medical Center of New York (AMC) where she met the gang from Eddie's Wheels, a bunch of wonderful therapists, and was fitted for her first set of wheels.

The cart is integral to Sophia's development because her little legs and back need to straighten out. This is important to prepare her for her upcoming surgery. Her surgery will close the dangerous bubble on her back but requires a metal plate being put in its place.

We need Sophia as healthy and as strong as possible for this surgery to be a success.
Because of a holistic diet and a variety of supplements, Sophia is thriving. She is almost 5 lbs. and getting stronger by the minute. She has been infection free, without any medication, for almost four months ---a feat most doctors did not think was possible!

In order to prepare her little body for the surgery that she needs, Sophia receives physical and hydrotherapy on a daily basis.

We feel very strongly about Sophia having this surgery, getting her a cart, and receiving the therapy she needs. We want people to know there is hope for puppies like Sophia.

Anyone who has met Sophia believes she has the right to live. She definitely has the will to live. We are doing everything in our power to make that possible, which includes getting her the surgery she needs.

Curly Tail Pug Rescue - NYC to Boston

2008-11-05T15:23:00.011-05:00

Curly Tail Pug Rescue

"We find beauty in the most
incomprehensible places and otherwise
homely faces. It's our gift to see beyond
the dirt, terror, sadness and defeat to
find the true soul that lies within....
we are a rescue."

Curly Tail's Mission is to rescue healthy, abused, abandoned, homeless, unwanted, sick or injured Pugs. We rehabilitate them and place them into loving, permanent adoptive homes from NYC to Boston, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.
Please help us Save Pugs!!

Halloween Dog Parade

2008-10-26T18:44:00.002-04:00

We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the newly renovated Tompkins Square Dog Park for their annual Halloween Dog Parade.

Puppy Love Kitty Kat was gracious enough to sponsor Sophia's fund raising efforts by allowing us to join their table at the festival. Their table was full of yummy organic treats & toys from their new pet store at 429 E. 9th Street in NYC....Sophia's favorite pet store in the East Village. We raffled off a free photo shoot donated on behalf of Sophia by Ixianna of PETOGRAPHS.

The winner of today's raffle is Alana Boyer who bought lots of raffle tickets with almost every penny of her allowance!

Sophia met lots of wonderful people and supporters from all over the city...including the wonderful animal advocate, Bernadette Peters of Broadway Barks. Sophia sends thanks from the bottom of her tiny heart for all those who contributed to her care.

Sophia's Social Calendar

2008-10-22T13:38:00.012-04:00

Many people and organizations have been extraordinarily supportive of Sophia and her tough road ahead. She has been invited to attend many fund raisers and gatherings in her honor.

These are some of the upcoming events that Sophia will be attending:

10/26 Tompkins Sq. Park Halloweek Parade - We will be with Puppy Love & Kitty Kat

10/26 Old Westbury - Fall Dog Festival

11/8 - Curly Tail Pug Rescue Meeting

11/9 - Meeting with Eddie Wheels for Sophia's Cart
Supporters of Sophia come to visit and meet her

11/15 - Curly Tail Pug Rescue Dinner - Fund Raiser

11/16 Thanks 'n' Giving to Pugs in Need- NNJPE charity event!

(Please email us if you would like information or web info for any of the above listed events.)

Sophia's Theme Song

2008-10-01T10:27:00.008-04:00

Upside Down by Jack Johnson - Lyrics

Who's to say
What's impossible
Well they forgot
This world keeps spinning
And with each new day
I can feel a change in everything
And as the surface breaks reflections fade
But in some ways they remain the same
And as my mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stoppin' curiosity

I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's song
I don't want this feeling to go away

Who's to say
I can't do everything
Well I can try
And as I roll along I begin to find
Things aren't always just what they seem

I wanna turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's song
This world keeps spinning and there's no time to waste
Will it all keep spinning and spinning round and round and

Upside down
Who's to say whats impossible and can't be found
I don't want this feeling to go away

Please Don't go away
is this how it's supposed to be

Trying to figure out a game plan....

2008-09-19T10:18:00.032-04:00

As many of you know, Sophia is a rescue puppy being fostered by me in NYC. If you haven't been following her story, please scroll down to earlier posts.

Sophia's biggest threat to survival is infection. With paralysis and her being 100% incontinent, she is prone to recurring UTIs which are more complicated in her case. I didn't think UTIs were that big of a deal when they 1st told me but......

Because of her disease and internal deformity, UTIs can VERY easily spread to her kidneys causing kidney failure. The same type of infection can cause Sepsis which is the following:

Sepsis is a serious medical condition with all characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state. The body may develop this inflammatory response to microbes in the blood. The related layman's term is blood poisoning.

The bubble on her back is incredibly dangerous because it is prone to bacterial infections. Because that bubble is filled with spinal fluid, an infection there would go straight to her brain, causing Meningitis and effect her Central Nervous System. This would cause soaring fevers, severe pain throughout her little body and she would not likely survive.

We are looking to alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, to keep Sophia's immune system strong and ward off such infections. We are trying to get her to her 1st birthday so that she may have that surgery she so desperately needs.

Acupuncture, 1x/week for 6 mos only, will cost $2400. This does not include her daily care, diapers, antibiotics and vet visits. This part of her fund raising campaign is to be applied to her preventative treatment, daily care & immediate needs.

Sophia's Surgery Update

2008-09-19T10:18:00.030-04:00

As many of you know, Sophia is a rescue puppy being fostered by me in NYC. If you haven't been following her story, please scroll down to earlier posts.

Update 9/19/08- Sophia and I went to the AMC to visit the neurosurgeon and get the final details of her surgery. The doctor explained that just "closing" her dangerous bubble is not an option. If we do that, her bubble will just continue to reform and come back over & over again.

Instead, a metal plate would need to be implanted in the bubble's place to keep it from coming back. Her tiny body will continue to grow over the next year which would mean several of these same surgeries and plate replacements until she is fully grown.

Our objective is to get her to her 1st birthday and have the surgery then. We will not put her through several surgeries. The risks are too high. We do not have the funds. And we are not keeping Sophia alive to have a life of surgeries. This chip-in is to cover the expense of that surgery.....removing the deadly bubble and implating a metal plate in its place.

Our Visit at AMC in NYC

2008-09-16T23:20:00.009-04:00

Everyone's generous donations and support in Sophia's 1st fund raising effort will be directed to her MRI and the amputation of her tail.

We need to do an MRI to understand the true deformity in her tiny body and know how to prepare her against infection in the upcoming year and her future surgery. Her MRI will cost $1700.

We need to amputate her tail b/c she is 100% incontinent and her tail being tucked in her diaper is a dangerous source of bacteria and infection. Ultimately, all the doctors (she has seen 4 of them so far) say infection is her greatest danger and will eventually led to her early passing. She will always be in a diaper so in order to try and keep her infection free, we need to amputate her tail. Her amputation surgery will cost about $1500. Her xrays and vet bills have cost almost $700 already.

Sophia's Supporters....THANK YOU!!!!

2008-09-13T09:57:00.014-04:00

Sophia wants to thank all of her friends and supporters from the bottom of her tiny little heart!

We went to the vet again and she has grown from 2.6lbs to 3.1 lbs since she has been with us. She is growing and getting healthier by the day which will help her pull through her very dangerous surgery.

She has all of you to thank for her progress so far!!

Sophia

2008-09-06T15:11:00.006-04:00

Please help pug puppy Sophia, Please Donate for her Surgery

2008-09-02T20:34:00.011-04:00

Please help Little Sophia!!!

Sophia needs surgery so she can live a life safe from infection, further paralysis and possibly death. Her surgery will cost thousands of dollars.

She has a bubble on her back where her spinal fluid has collected. It is the equivalent to a soft spot on a baby's head. If that bubble is ruptured or bursts, she will suffer excruciating pain, further paralysis and possibly be subjected to infections as deadly as meningitis....if she survives at all.

Please help her live the life she deserves to live - one that is safe, pain free and full of love!

Sophia Comes to Live With Us!

2008-08-30T17:07:00.002-04:00

Sophia is an adorable apricot little pug puppy who is 8 weeks old. She was diagnosed with Spina Bifida.

Multiple vets suggested putting her down!! Her new vet says she is 75% perfect pug puppy but is suffering from paralysis in her hind legs. Otherwise she is a fiesty, happy, little puppy who needs a forever home.

She will need surgery in a few weeks....more details to follow. She will also need a cart in about 8 mos and needs to wear a little diaper.

If you are interested in adoption or would like to contribute to Sophia's medical treatment and her upcoming set of wheels, please email: pugrescuenyc@gmail.com