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I want to share with all of you about this sweet adorable angel that
came into our lives, our home and our hearts and blessed us with
love and joy. When we found Mattie, she had had a very difficult
start at her young life. She was not well-cared for, she was skin
and bones, bald patches on her skinny little body and yet, she fell
asleep in my husband, Joe’s arms. Right then, we knew it was
intended for her to be part of our lives and us a part of hers. The
woman we got Mattie from is a person who cares nothing for these
blessed gifts from the Heavens. We did not see the conditions that
Mattie and her other Pug relatives had to endure, but we have been
informed by those who have been a witness to these conditions and
let’s just say that Mattie was our own personal rescue mission.
We saw her on a Wednesday and it was Friday before we could bring
her home. We had been saving for her and we had to wait for
the money from our savings to arrive, and then on Friday, March 12,
2004, she made her journey to her new home. Now, the woman we got
her from, had no idea as to how old Mattie was, she claimed she was
15-16 weeks old, which we knew that this was not possible and she
did not have any shot records at all, no records of any kind. But,
to us, that did not matter, all that mattered to us was getting her
out of there, no matter the cost. When Mattie arrived at her new
home on March 12, 2004, her toenails were so long, they were curled
under, some were pressing into her pads, she was so skinny, she ate
3 bowls of food in less than an hour! She was not only starved for
food, but for love and attention and a home.
We took Mattie to our vet the following day, where they determined
her age to be around 8-9 weeks old, she weighed only about 2 pounds,
and they went ahead and began her first round of puppy shots and cut
her toenails. Mattie took up with everyone at the vet's office, they
just adored her and looking at her sweet face, how could you not
just love her! We also had to give her lyme baths over a period of
one month, which she did not like, but she handled it like a champ
all the way. After each of her lyme baths, we wrapped her in a
blanket and kept her warm while she slept in our arms. After she
finished her round of lyme baths, her hair was growing in and it was
beautiful, solid black, thick, soft and very shiny!
Mattie was growing, gaining weight, playing and just loving life.
She and her Pug sister, our oldest Pug, Zoe, had began to play
regularly and would chase each other through the house, and they
loved to play “Pug-o-War” with a sock. Mattie and Zoe would get out
in the backyard and chase each other around and just had a wonderful
time together. It was probably late April or early May when Joe
noticed Mattie was having a problem with her right hind leg. We took
her to the vet and they did some X-rays which confirmed their
suspicions, Mattie was stricken with a genetic disease, known as
Legg-Perthe’s Disease, which is a degeneration of the hip joint. She
underwent her first surgery on June 14, 2004 on her right leg, where
they completely shave off the femoral head. Her recovery went very
well. She was running around and doing more than she could before.
However, her left leg was progressing quickly and we knew the time
for the second surgery was approaching quickly.
Mattie went in on July 19, 2004 for her second surgery. As they were
finishing surgery and closing, Mattie’s heart rate dropped, and
despite their best efforts, she did not survive. Losing Mattie has
been very difficult for all of us, because we never expected that
she would not survive given how well she did with her first surgery.
We never imagined that she would not return home with us and be able
to run, jump and play, and we took that for granted. Our lives can
change in an instant and losing Mattie has deeply affected us.
Mattie was a true joy from day one, from the moment we laid our eyes
on her, we knew she was meant for us. There was never any doubt. But
now we know this woman is breeding these innocent Pugs that are
stricken with this genetic disease and despite all our efforts,
nothing or nobody has made any attempt to stop her and so the cycle
continues and more innocent Pugs will suffer and could eventually
lose their precious lives. Our vet has sent off tissue samples,
because they now suspect that Mattie may have also had an underlying
medical condition that we knew nothing about.
Our sweet little angel, Mattie made her journey to the Rainbow
Bridge on Monday, July 19, 2004. Mattie was a gift to us and her
life was cut too short and through this dedication, we want to thank
Mattie for coming into our lives and choosing us as her family.
Mattie, you will be forever missed, forever remembered, forever
loved and forever, you will always be in our hearts. You have left
paw prints on our hearts that can never be erased, they are paw
prints left by you so that we will always remember how lucky and how
blessed we were to have known your love. We continue to shed many
tears over losing our sweet Mattie, and no doubt more tears will be
shed, but Mattie was adored and cherished and deeply loved and all
we have now are the memories she left behind. Mattie was special not
only because she was a Pug, but because of what she had to overcome
in her short life and that is a valuable lesson, she never gave up,
she fought as hard and as long as her little body would let her.
Mattie, we will never forget all the times that you would bark at
the TV for no reason, and how you loved your yellow squeaky bone so
much that you would fall asleep with it in your mouth. Mattie, we
will never forget your first time eating peanut butter and how it
was stuck all over your whiskers. We will never forget how you would
stick your precious little Pug nose to ours and give us one of those
famous Mattie kisses and how your little whiskers would tickle our
faces. Mattie, we will never forget and will always miss the sound
of your little feet as you ran through the house to greet us at the
door. Mattie, we will never forget how you would tilt your head to
the side and stick out your tongue when we would talk to you.
Mattie, Zoe loves you and misses you and she misses playing
“Pug-o-War” and all the other games you played, she misses her lil’
Pug Sister. We miss playing with you and we miss holding you and we
miss how you used to curl up and sleep in our laps. It’s those
precious moments that will forever remain in our hearts, our minds
and our home. Mattie, we will forever miss you and love you, but
more importantly, we are forever grateful to you for spending your
life with us, no matter how brief it was, and for choosing us as
your family and loving us as much as we love you. Mattie, we are
forever grateful for the joy, the laughter, the love and the
companionship that you gave us.
Mattie was our inspiration for joining KPR and through the
passionate efforts of KPR, helping any Pug that needs us, will help
us to honor Mattie and all those sweet lil’ angels who come to KPR
in need of help. We want to thank each and every one of you for the
kind words, prayers and for the emails extending your condolences on
our loss. Our deepest gratitude goes out to all of you! Our deepest
sympathies to all of you who have experienced the heartbreaking loss
of your Pug companion or any other pet that affected you deeply. God
Bless you all. Remember, there are lessons to be learned from our
blessed Pugs and it is up to us whether or not we open our eyes, our
minds and our hearts to learn these lessons and carry them forward.
Be sure to “Hug Your Pug” often, let them know you love them and be
sure to say of prayer of thanks for the wonderful Pug companion you
have as well as for the life you were able to offer your Pug you
have lost. No matter how short the time they were with us, they were
at least given the chance to know what a Pug’s life should be, full
of love, companionship, loyalty, security, fun and they knew what a
HOME should be.
THANK YOU KPR!!! The work you do is truly the work of Angels! Thank
you for allowing us to be part of this wonderful and blessed KPR
family! We love you all!
In loving memory of our sweet lil’ Mattie, who will forever be
missed, loved and treasured. You will always be part of our family.
WE LOVE YOU & MISS YOU MATTIE!!!
--Lisa, Joe & Zoe Hutcherson
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