LENA
Female
DOB: SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

FOSTER UPDATE - NOVEMBER 16, 2025

Lena sailed through her knee surgery with flying colours 💛 and is healing beautifully. She had her first post-op check, and everything looked great. Her final recheck will be at the end of December, when they’ll take an X-ray to confirm her pins are perfectly in place.

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Next up, she’ll be having her medial canthoplasty in early December 👁️✨. This procedure will reduce the size of her eyelid opening and correct the inward rolling of her lids, helping prevent ongoing irritation to her corneas.

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Both her knee and eye issues are things she was simply born with — common in toy breeds and our brachycephalic friends — and not diseases ❤️.

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Overall, Lena is doing wonderfully. She continues to make it very clear that she sees herself as the Queen Bee of the household 👑🐝. And in celebration of her successful knee surgery, she’s been strutting around in her brand-new, very stylish harness.

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She truly is a little superstar in recovery 🌟.

 

FOSTER UPDATE - OCTOBER 30, 2025

Lena had her surgical consult on the 28th for her wonky left knee and will be having surgery soon. She has a luxating patella, which is not uncommon in toy breeds, and this can be corrected surgically. She was a big hit at the VEC (Veterinary Emergency Clinic) 💕 and we’ll be scheduling her knee surgery as soon as possible since the recovery can be fairly lengthy.

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She also saw the veterinary ophthalmologist on the 29th and will need surgery on her eyes called a medial canthoplasty. This procedure will prevent her eyelids from turning in and rubbing against her corneas 👁️.

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Lena continues to do well here, despite a brief bout of gastric upset. She still makes it clear that she thinks other dogs in her home and yard are a very bad idea, but she remains uninterested in other dogs out in the world. She’s made great progress in curbing her desire to chase moving vehicles 🚗, though this may be a behaviour that comes and goes.

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Lena is incredibly easy to handle and tolerates ear cleaning, eye drops, and nail dremeling with little to no fuss. She’s such a trooper and continues to charm everyone she meets! 💖

 

FOSTER UPDATE - OCTOBER 15, 2025

​Lena has settled in beautifully and adjusted well to our routine.  She’s been cooperative with
ear cleaning and eye drops (though she thinks the latter are silly) and is excellent for nail
trims. She has a very gentle mouth when taking treats and was an absolute star at her vet
appointment — calm for bloodwork, vaccines, and even leg manipulation. She has a luxating
patella on her left leg that will eventually need surgery, and some pigmentary keratitis in both
eyes. We’ll be following up with an ophthalmologist to discuss treatment options, likely
Cyclosporin or Tacrolimus. Otherwise, her bloodwork looks great and she’s a healthy girl.

Lena is beautifully housetrained and hasn’t had a single accident since arriving. She’s
affectionate, people-focused, and not shy about voicing her opinions. She’s done wonderful
with children and enjoys her walks in the parks, ravines, and neighbourhood. She’s mostly
indifferent to other dogs—she may “exchange opinions” if barked at, but hasn’t shown any
serious reactivity. A busy, loud dog park wouldn’t be her thing, but she handles park walks very
well.

She sleeps soundly in the big bed, prancing and dancing each morning in anticipation of
breakfast. She’s currently on a venison-based kibble, which has helped clear up her itch
ears, and she eats from a Fluff Trough to slow her down. She’s perfectly content being left alone
and shows no signs of separation anxiety.

While she’s living with another pug, she’d prefer to be an only dog. She can be a bit of a bull
if not supervised and doesn’t appreciate canine visitors to her home or yard. Out in the world,
she’s much more tolerant—unless a dog runs up and “yells” in her face, in which case they go
straight on her “Dogs I Can Live Without” list. 

At home, she loves toys but only shares them with her foster mom, not with the resident pug,
who she finds rather puzzling when he tries to initiate play. She’s improved greatly with her
triggers (like joggers and cars), and though she’s not a big scavenger, she has a strange
fondness for picking up cigarette butts and cigarillo filters —thankfully, she gives them u
easily when asked.

Overall, Lena is a delightful and easy companion, but make no mistake—she fully expects to be
the Grand Dame of the house! 

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FOSTER UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2025

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This little lady has been in care for just a week, and we’ve already learned a lot about her. Most of it has been wonderful, with just a few things we’re keeping an eye on as she settles in. While we have a fairly complete veterinary history, we don’t know much about her day-to-day life before coming to us.

Lena is completely house trained and has not had a single accident indoors. She takes treats with a very gentle mouth, is fabulous with all humans, and has been outstanding with children of all ages. She is comfortable in the car, seems to be crate trained, and has quickly decided that the big bed meets her standards—she now sleeps happily through the night. She loves her daily sniffy walks and is pretty good on leash, with only a little pulling that should improve with time and practice. At mealtimes, she eats well from a Fluff Trough, and a switch to venison kibble already seems to be helping with some missing fur and ear issues. She also enjoys chewing on lamb horns and cow hooves, and so far has not shown any resource guarding around them. 

Like any new arrival, Lena is still showing us different sides of her personality. She can be vocal at mealtimes, which may suggest she was fed from the table in the past. She is a confident girl who sometimes lets other dogs know her opinions. She has shown a marked unwillingness to have other dogs visit the house or yard and can get snarky with them.

While she has done well in her walks in parks, she can be triggered by barking dogs and will want to chase them.  She also thinks that chasing joggers might be fun and is disappointed that her foster parent thinks this is a dumb idea.

Lena has been to the vet just for a “meet and greet” visit and was happy to see everyone. She will be going back to the vet in the future to have some diagnostics on her knees, especially the left one. 

It’s still early days with Miss Lena, and as she continues to relax and feel secure, we expect even more of her personality will shine through.

 

 

Introduction - September 23, 2025

Meet Lena! 🐾💖

Lena is a 5-year-old black pug who joined Pugalug after being rescued from a difficult situation. Some very caring people stepped in to get her to safety, but with a house already full of dogs, they reached out to us to make sure she would find the loving home she deserves. We’re grateful they trusted Pugalug with her care.

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Lena wasted no time settling into foster life! She’s been enjoying zooming around the backyard with the resident pug—and the feeling is mutual, as he seems to really like her too. It’s been a joy watching the two of them bond. She also had a great first visit to the dog park where she happily met dogs of all sizes—as well as a toddler who she thought was a lot of fun. At home, she’s been eating well, sleeping soundly in her crate by her foster mom’s bed, and generally showing her playful, affectionate side.

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Like many pugs, Lena has a bit of a pushy personality—her foster mom jokes that it’s “shocking for a black pug girly!”—but so far she’s been nothing but easy peasy. She does have some medical needs that we’ll be addressing, including her patellas, teeth check up, and bringing her vaccinations up to date, but nothing urgent at this stage.

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Stay tuned for updates as Lena continues to settle in and begins her journey toward a forever home! 💛🐶🌟