Everything you ever wanted to know about Bernie Puggles...

Many of you know I entered a scrapbook page this year at the North Carolina State Fair that I was privileged enough to have won a second place ribbon for, and it featured a puppy named Bernie Puggles. I have had many ask me about his story and background, so I thought I would take a few minutes to share it here.

Bernie was the only male in a litter of seven puppies that a friend of my friend’s rescued from a local pound. They were brought to the “red barn” to live until they were able to go to their adoptive owners. My friend, Tonya, invited me to come out to visit these sweet cuddly critters over the summer, and I instantly fell in love with them. We started giving them all names (Moo-Moo was my favorite) when we noticed this one who was sticking to himself and making some odd noises. When he tried to sleep, he was not able to get comfortable and he just kept moaning and tossing to and fro. When I went over to pet him, I noticed how swollen his face was, his nose felt clammy and there was blood and gooky stuff coming out of his eyes. He was so swollen in the face that I remember making the comment that “he looks right puggily” and at that moment, we got his first name “Puggles”. Tonya ended up taking him home with her that night and he was miserable the entire night. They eventually took him to the veterinarian to find out he had a disease known as Puppy Strangles, which is something like shingles in humans. Puppy Strangles causes scarring on the face but it also affects the overall immune system. He immediately had to go on medication and could not go back to the barn and be around his sisters for fear of picking up other infections due to his low immune system; infections that if he caught could ultimately lead to his death.

Bernie was a very, very sick little boy, but he was in great hands being taken care of by his Mom. As time progressed, he continued to be on the medication but it was cut in half, and he continued to improve day-by-day. I was able to babysit him and his “half-sister” Lizzie over the July 4th holiday. Not only was Bernie getting better, he was getting to be a wild, rambunctious boy. The only downside was the medication he was taking made him constantly use the bathroom. We already know that puppies are going to be using the bathroom more frequently than older dogs, but when you’re on medication that makes you go even more, I might as well have walked around with a bucket chasing the poor boy. Sadly, all of Bernie’s siblings were sent off to their adoptive homes and he was never able to see them again nor has he ever been back to the barn. We all fell in love with him, but, how could you not love such a precious little face?

Recently, Bernie and I took a field trip where I brought him up to my house to let him run one weekend to get some of his wild energy out. What a good boy he was! Even though he is still in his puppy-destructive stages, he will stay right with you and he loves to sniff! He enjoyed his visit up to my house about as much as he loved the car ride there and back, which was an adventure when you have a dog come flying thru the air to land in your lap while you are driving – Bernie the Daredevil he is!!

Discussion soon arose as to what would happen to Bernie now that he was off his medication – should he go to some adoptive owners, would Tonya keep him or did I want to keep him? Sure, I wanted to keep him, but at this present moment, I did not have room for him because Zoey has sole reign over the big outdoor fence. So, when I entered Bernie’s page in the Fair, Tonya and I both realized that if he should be fortunate enough to win a ribbon, one of us would have to keep him. Once we realized he had won second place, we agreed that we should share “joint custody” – Tonya would be the Mommy and I would be the awesome, cool, I’m-going-to-spoil-the-mess-out-of-him Auntie! And, Tonya was one proud Mommy of her boy winning a ribbon because from what I have been told, Bernie and his ribbon went on a mini-tour after the Fair.

Recently, Bernie underwent his “surgery” to become a brand new man. Tonya did this in an attempt to see if it would help calm him down (that would take a miracle!), but, bless his heart, while he did great during and after the surgery, now, he is back on a different medication to deal with his tummy issues (he obviously inherited that from his Auntie!) This sweet little boy has been through a journey in his short few months of life. Needless to say, he has won Tonya’s heart since she is keeping him, and he’s got me wrapped around his gigantic paws! And even though he still does have his scars on his face, he is such a handsome fellow and he surely knows it, too!

Oh! And where did the name Bernie come from? Well, I’m still trying to figure that out myself – that was Tonya & Gary’s decision, but he’ll always be my puggily, little Bernie Puggles!

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