Thank you for all of the great juju!  Your positive stories and comments really helped us stay sane and semi-relaxed throughout the weekend.  We dropped Sid off at the vet this morning for his teeth cleaning and wart removal, and in a few short hours he’ll be coming home.  He’ll be a little woozy, but his breath will be fresh and his face and mouth will be wart-free!  Perhaps, if he’s feeling up to it, we can get his take on this whole situation sometime tomorrow.  I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say about the fact that he couldn’t have breakfast before we “abandoned him” at the vet…

So, Carls Jr. (son of evil wartlord Carl) has been opening up new wart franchises all over Sid’s face and inside his mouth.  I’m sure you’ve noticed them in some of the photos from our trip – they’re huge.  Just in the past week, about five more began sprouting on the outside of his muzzle, one has begun growing underneath his right eye, and we discovered a few big ones on the roof of his mouth, back near his esophagus.  Like, right in his throat.  They all seem determined to eventually connect with the Carls Jr. flagship location on his chin, turning Sid into one giant wart. Sigh.

It’s the esophagus ones that are freaking us out the most – Sid’s breathing has been a little wheezy lately, and he’s been extra drooly – so we’ve scheduled a teeth cleaning for Sid on Monday.  While he’s under anesthesia, our vet is going to remove the majority of the Carls Jr. locations.  But, what we’ve learned over the past few months is that the Carl family is much, much stronger than Sid’s prednisone-addled immune system.  These warts aren’t gonna be waving a white flag anytime soon.

We have to fight the underlying problem of his weakened immune system in order to banish these warts for good.  He’s on the prednisone to manage his epic allergies (if it’s a carbon-based compound, he’s allergic to it).  The prednisone basically stops his immune system from going haywire whenever Sid comes in contact with an allergen (basically every moment of his existence).  But, the prednisone is also stopping his immune system from fighting back against the papilloma virus.  So, when we say goodbye to the warts, we’ll also have to say goodbye to the one thing that’s guaranteed to tame Sid’s crazy allergies.  (Atopica was a great alternative to prednisone for awhile, but, after a month or two of amazing success, he began vomiting whenever he took it.  Of course.)

So, after Monday’s teeth-cleaning-wart-excision-bonanza, the next step is to go back to the dermatologist, get a skin allergy test done (more accurate than the blood tests, apparently), and start him on allergy shots.  I’ve read that 65-85% of dogs respond well to allergy shots.  A lot of people would consider those odds to be good, or at least “okay,” but considering Sid’s luck, that doesn’t make us feel very hopeful about going down this route.  It is what it is, though.  Right?  And who knows, maybe our little guy will surprise us this time around.

But, in the meantime, Sid could use a little juju for Monday’s procedure.  He’s gone under anesthesia for a teeth cleaning once before and he did fine, but that doesn’t stop us from being a nervous wreck, especially since he’s going to have all of these Carl’s Jr. locations removed from his face (and tongue!) (and eye!) (and throat!!) at the same time.  Blergh.  Google has only increased our anxiety levels, so any positive stories that you can share of pugs undergoing anesthesia, wart removals, and/or allergy shots in the comments section would be much appreciated…

So, in the midst of moving into our new headquarters, the Pug Slope team traveled upstate for a long weekend in the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River with Sid’s Grammy Grace, Great Grammy Nanny, Uncle Jay, and Aunt Chiho.

Did you know that they allow pugs to go on boat tours?  Neither did we!  But as soon as we found out, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring Sid on a tour of the mighty St. Lawrence.  Sid insisted on wearing his most nautical apparel, and as we were unpacking after the trip, I discovered that he had kept a “Captain’s Log” of this adventure…

June 23rd, 2012. 1400 hours.  Pops, my first mate, holds me aloft while we wait in line at the port.   From my elevated vantage point, I see that the St. Lawrence river is approx. 3.5 meters above its average level for this time of year. The sun is in my eyes.  Pops did not pack my sunglasses.  Once again consider replacing Pops with a better first mate, but then notice how well our shirts coordinate and remember that he fed me breakfast.

June 23rd, 2012. 1410. On the docks, approaching the gangplank which will lead me onto the vessel, I see that rain is beginning to fall onto the surface of the river.  Since I still don’t buy this whole “depth” thing, I try to walk onto the river.  Pops stops me.  Not sure how I feel about that.

June 23rd, 2012. 1420. After exploring the three decks of this vessel, I’ve determined that deck two – home of the Snack Galley – is the deck on which I’d like to travel.  Popcorn crumbs from earlier excursions line the carpet throughout this awesome deck.  Pops, however, insists on carrying me to the open-air third deck.  I wriggle violently in an attempt to escape back to the popcorn deck, but Pops’s arms are ropey and strong.  Definitely need a new first mate.  Preferably one who’s weak with scurvy.

June 23rd, 2012. 1445.  Escaped Pops’s grip, but was captured by Mom before making it to the popcorn deck.  Oh, yeah – Mom’s here. Mom proceeded to act all mommish.  Asked Mom to please stop embarrassing me while I’m captaining a ship.

June 23rd, 2012.  1532.  Successfully steered ship towards Boldt Castle, only to find out upon disembarking that dogs aren’t allowed on the island.  Attempted to explain to the natives that I’m not a dog, I’m a PUG, but they didn’t care. Tried to explain to the natives that I’m an Internet celebrity, but they didn’t care.  Explained to the natives that I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS HERE VESSEL and then ordered them to LET ME ONTO THE ISLAND OR ELSE THEY’D WALK THE PLANK, and they just laughed and scratched my ears.  Posed for a photo with Mom on the top deck instead.  (Still no popcorn)

June 23rd, 2012. 1540.  Back on the open waters.  Mom finally let me stand on the top deck as long as I promised not to jump ship.  Discovered that tongue can be used as a navigational tool.  The wind was traveling south-south-east at 15 knots per hour.  Asked Pops to re-calculate our route using this newly-gained information, but he drew something stupid in his sketchbook instead.  Decided to put ad for new first mate on Craigslist as soon as we were back on land.

June 23rd, 2012. 1630.  Heading back to shore.  Navigating through calm waters.  Still no popcorn.

June 23rd, 2012. 1645.  Mom tells Pops that she needs to use the loo.  Pops says he does too.  The loo is located on deck two…

June 23rd, 2012. 1650.  POPCORN CRUMBS CARPET MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!1!111!!!!

June 23rd, 2012.  1700.  Swabbed deck two with my tongue.  Delicious.