Pug Playtime

Today Winston got to play with his two doggie best friends that live next door. Our neighbors have four little dogs and one happens to be another Pug! Her name is Bella and we always joke how her and Winston are boyfriend and girlfriend. His other best friend over there is S'mores who is a Pekingese/Shih Tzu mix. When our neighbors aren't home I have a key to go in their backyard to steal those two whenever I want. They have been long overdue for a playdate. Here are some cute pictures my husband took! Unfortunately S'mores is kind of hard to get a good picture of so i'll post an older one I have of him.

They're all waiting for me to bring them water from inside.

And here is an older picture of Bella and S'mores - and yes S'mores has a snaggle tooth and it's adorable!

Now Winston is inside on the couch passed out :]

Well I hope everyone is having a great day! I probably wont post again until Monday because my husband and I are going to be going on a trip to New Mexico for a week to see some family but I am going to make sure that the entries for the contest are posted on Monday.

Hello From the Kitty Cats

My husband captured the perfect picture of the cats in their kitty tree.

Contest

Do you want to win your dog a goodie bag valued at $35 for absolutely free!? It includes two squeaky toys, a small ball, a dental chew treat, a meaty bone, and a bag of all natural treats.

How do you enter this contest? It's simple...

1) Subscribe to this blog and my Instagram.
2) I will be uploading a photo of the goodies your dog can win onto my Instagram account and it will have the tag #winstonandfriends...you must repost this picture onto your own Instagram account with the same tag.
3) Once you have posted the contest picture onto your own account and tagged it with #winstonandfriends you need to then email me at papercupsss@yahoo.com with a photo of your dog as your entry (include the dog's name). In the email also include your Instagram username so I can check that you posted the contest picture and tagged it properly.

As for the rules:

1) You MUST be at least 18 years old
2) Only one picture of your dog is to be submitted so make it a great one!
3) Only residents in the US and Canada can apply because shipping is not cheap!
4) Entries must be made from March 25th to April 1st - none will be accepted after the 1st.


How will the contest be judged?

It's really easy...once I have all the submissions and check that the criteria is met then I will post all the pictures with a number and name of the dog. At that point I will have people leave a comment on that post with the number of the picture and name of the dog they think is the cutest. The picture that gets the most votes will win! I will allow one week of voting so that you can link the blog post to any of your social media accounts telling your friends and family to vote for your dog.

I hope to announce the winner by April 15th :]

Keep in mind this post will be up before I put the picture on Instagram but hopefully only by a couple minutes.

Alright, well I look forward to all your entries!

Pets Provide Entertainment

As you can see from this blog I truly love my pets! They provide me with love and entertainment when I need it the most. Case in point...Charlie the newest member of my family is the weirdest cat I have ever encountered. Now cats are just weird in general but it's their many quirks that makes me love them so much. Charlie is extra weird though. Want proof? Watch the video below of him biting Winston's neck and humping him! This is the second time it's happened if you want to see the first one that is a little longer just go to my YouTube account.

I also wanted to use this post to let everyone know I recently decided to go back to my old job at a Vet Clinic. I will only be working two days a week but I am excited because I truly work with great people and for a great company. Okay, now I am going to leave you with this cute picture...

Get Ready!

I am having my first contest starting on March 25th so make sure to check back here for all the details on Monday!

Heartworms 101

I am often surprised by how little people really know about heartworms and the risk they pose to their dogs. I have worked in the Veterinary industry off and on and even went to school to be a Vet Tech so I have a lot of base knowledge about diseases and the health of pets. One of the biggest risks posed to your dog is heartworms. In this post I will go over heartworms and how to prevent them.

What are heartworms?

Heartworm is a parasitic worm that is passed to a dog through a mosquito bite. Heartworms reside in a dog's pulmonary arteries which causes damage to their lung tissue and vessels.

Where are heartworms?

Heartworms are found all across the United States. Wherever there are mosquitoes there are heartworms.

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html#history

What is the life cycle of heartworms? 

Adult female heartworms release their young (microfilariae) into an animal's bloodstream. Mosquitoes become infected with the microfilariae when they take blood from an infected animal. It takes 10-14 days for the microfilariae to mature into the infective larval stage inside a mosquito. Once that happens when the mosquito bites another dog or susceptible animal the infective larvae enter into the bite wound. It then takes around 6 months for the infective larvae to turn into adult worms. Microfilariae are not able to mature into adult heartworms until they first pass through a mosquito.

What are the signs of heartworms in a dog?

Clinical signs of heartworm disease are hard to recognize in the early stages but as the number of the heartworms increases over a period of months and sometimes years the symptoms become more prominent. Dogs who are recently infected usually show no signs where as a dog who has been infected for a while might have a mild persistent cough, lethargy, become easily fatigued, have a decrease in appetite and even weight loss. 

How is heartworm disease detected?

Heartworm disease is detected by a snap test that your veterinarian can perform with only 3 drops of blood. The test uses an antigen to detect heartworms. Keep in mind though that it may take up to 7 months of infection for a test to show positive. Most veterinarians offer two tests, one which tests only for heartworms (referred to as a 1dx test) and another that tests for heartworms as well as three tick borne diseases (known as a 4dx test). In most cases you will want to do the 4dx test if you have never had your dog tested and have never had them on preventative. You will especially want to do the 4dx test if you have a large tick problem. The snap test only takes 10 minutes and while they wait for the results of that a technician will smear some of the blood onto a slide and look under the microscope to see if there are any microfilariae.

If the test is negative what do I do?

If the test comes out negative then you want to start your dog on heartworm prevention. This is a monthly pill that will prevent your dog from becoming infected. There are many different brands of heartworm preventative but the most common ones are Iverheart and Heartgard. Another preventative option is Trifexis which has a flea preventative in it as well. Personally I have Winston on Trifexis because it is cheaper in the long run because I don't have to buy one thing for fleas and another for heartworms. Remember that all of these products require a prescription from your Veterinarian in order to get them.

What if the test comes back positive?

Adult heartworms are killed with a drug that is injected into the muscle through a series of treatments. Usually a dog is kept at the hospital the day of the injection just to make sure no adverse reactions take place. When the dog goes home it should be exercise restricted and taken outside on a leash so it can't run around. You will want to restrict exercise for about 2 months. To prevent another infection a monthly heartworm preventative will be given. The heartworm pill will also kill any microfilariae. A positive test may not seem like a huge deal but in reality the treatment can be pretty expensive and heartworms can cause permanent damage.

In conclusion...

Make sure you consult your veterinarian about heartworms because they know how prevalent it is where you live and will be able to tell you much more than I can. The most important thing to take away from this post is that heartworms are a real concern and can cause many problems. You should test your dog once a year and keep them on preventative year round. 

Introductions

My name is Jacquelyn and I am the mother to a handsome Pug named Winston and his three kitty companions Rusty, Jasper and Charlie. I am 23 years old and married to an amazing man named Alex who is in the Navy. We are originally from Washington but are currently living in the midwest. I am a stay at home wife so I spend all my time with Winston and he keeps me thoroughly entertained and happy. This blog is to chronicle our day to day life and the shenanigans Winston gets into. To start off the introductions lets put a face to all these names!

This is a picture of my husband and I on our wedding day almost 3 years ago.

Here is Rusty our 14 year old cat...she is my darling girl who my dad and I rescued after our neighbors in Washington up and left in the middle of the night leaving poor Rusty behind. I have had Rusty since 6th grade.

This is Jasper who is going to be 3 this year. Alex and I adopted him when he was 8 weeks old at the Humane Society.

This is Charlie who is about a year and a half. Alex and I rescued him from a neglectful owner who was living across the street from us. He never fed Charlie and treated him horribly. The guy ended up losing his house and left Charlie behind so Alex and I took Charlie in. He is currently fighting an infection in his leg from what the vet thinks is a bite wound. 

And last but not least this is Winston who will be 3 years old on April 28th. Alex and I have both always loved Pugs and wanted one so after being married for about 5 months we decided to get one. We found Winston and fell in love with him instantly. We really went to just look at Pugs but ended up loving Winston so much we bought him. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision and it is the best decision we have ever made! 

Well that is all of us! I hope to use this blog to show how much my pets mean to me and to include meaningful posts not just about them but also about life in general.