Sid wanted to use today’s mug-shot to prove that he’s not just some shallow, flash-in-the-pan matinee idol.

From Sid’s tech notes:  “Dear Mom.  Please use a grainy film to reflect the gritty, grimy reality of the pug’s existence, and shoot it in black-and-white, because black-and-white means it’s art.  Also, please keep in mind when framing the photo that the secrets of the universe lie within the depths of my nose flap.  But don’t make that point too overt – let people “get it” themselves when they stare into the depths of my nose flap.  Duh.  I’ll accept payment in treats, thank you very much.“

Okay, after yesterday’s public freak-out (Thank you, everybody, for your kind and supportive comments!  What would we do without you??), I’m going to focus today on the good aspects of Sid’s allergy treatment thus far, while Sid focuses on Jimmy-ing for carrots:

The no-nonsense Jimmy

First, it’s been almost a month and a half since Sid has had any prednisone, and it’s been almost a month since the Carls Jr wart colony was removed from his face.  The only wart that the vet didn’t remove was a wart that we nicknamed “Petra” – Petra was a majestic structure growing on the surface of Sid’s tongue (If you don’t recognize the actual Petra just for being an amazing wonder of the world located in Jordan, then you may recognize it from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” – I like to imagine that there’s a wart version of the holy grail stashed inside the Petra on Sid’s tongue…)  Well, guess, what.  Not only has Sid developed no new warts since the last bunch were removed, but Petra has disappeared!!!  PROGRESS, PEOPLE!!! 

The “How YOU doin'” Jimmy

Secondly, for not being on prednisone, Sid’s skin looks fantastic and he really isn’t scratching too much.  I think that the discovery of the yeast allergy during his skin allergen test really solved a HUGE source of his discomfort.  He’s just wrapping up a 28-day regimen of Fluconazole, and will now go into a maintenance dosage.  Also, we’ve gotten anti-yeast ear drops, face / skin wipes, and shampoo, so we can attack the yeast topically as well.  There are still some obvious spots that are irritating him, and he still gets some scratch-attacks, but he seems pretty comfortable throughout 80% of the day.

The too close for comfort Jimmy

Next, after administering the first two doses of the allergy shots, Sid’s had no severe side effects.  In fact, I don’t think he’s had any side effects at all.  Considering what a weirdo Sid’s immune system is, we’re amazed.  The vet gave us a print-out with all of the signs of severe side effects to look out for, so I was pretty much expecting him to swell up like Violet in Willy Wonka within minutes of receiving the first injection.  (No, becoming a gigantic blueberry is not listed as one of the side effects, but I wouldn’t put it past Sid to come up with some new and horrible reaction to the shots).  In fact, I don’t even know if he’s noticed what we’re doing – all he cares about is the fact that he gets a treat when we’re done.

Oh, and speaking of things that are good – PUG NECK SCRUFF!!  I can’t imagine doing these shots on dogs that don’t have a spare tire of neck fat to grab onto.

The Post-Jimmy-Success Smile and Sit!

So, yes, it’s going to take time to get used to this new routine, and to get used to jabbing a syringe into the neck of my beloved boy (?!?!), but when we focus on the positive, and focus on the minor successes we’ve had so far, it’s clear that in the end it’ll all be worth it.

So, we’ve officially started Sid on his allergy shots. He’s allergic to so many things that we have two different vials of serum and two concurrent dosage schedules that we alternate between. It’s very complicated. Right now, he gets a shot every other day, alternating between the two serums, increasing the dosage incrementally as we move forward, until early September when the schedule just starts getting CRAZY. Then it’s four days between shots, nine days between shots, six days between shots…Brian and I spent an hour the other day putting together a calendar to help us stay on track through the end of December.

But, after completing the first two scheduled injections, I think I’m going to need to add “Jenn Spa Days” to the calendar, or perhaps invest in a bulk supply of valium. Do they sell valium at Costco? Maybe I just haven’t had to do a lot of stressful things in my life, but, great holy moley, sticking your beloved pug with a hypodermic needle is STRESSFUL.

Did you get out all of the air bubbles? Did you remember to warm up the serum-filled needle by rolling it between your palms? Ack!  You didn’t warm it up – what happens if you inject cold allergen serum into his little body? 

Did you hit a vein? Oh, man – you didn’t think you hit a vein, but after you removed the needle there was blood in it – did you just inject allergens straight into his blood stream? What happens if you injected the allergens straight into his blood stream?  

Are you inserting the needle straight into the wad of Sid’s neck scruff that Brian’s gripping so that the needle is parallel to Sid’s body so as to not hit anything important? I mean, you think you did, but could it’ve been a 10 or 15 degree angle?  What happens if you insert the needle at a 15 degree angle?  Did you just inject allergens into his spine?

Why won’t he stay still?!

AM I HURTING HIM???

This is gonna get easier, right??