The Sweet Bitterness of...the love of an old pug

I am heart-broken today. I have been fostering a 15-year-old pug named Sarge since last week. He is in poor health, extremely underweight, and very unsteady on his feet. Oh, and deaf and mostly blind to boot. It was pitiful to watch him slip and slide across the tile in the kitchen, or to the back door to get out in the yard. But let me tell you, that little old man is still full of life, love, and the ability to eat HUGE amounts of food at one time!!!

Sarge's biggest problem is his speed, or lack of speed getting out to the yard when he has to potty. He is trained, and barks when it is time, but he doesn't always make it. He holds it as long as he possibly can. I have been off work since I picked him up last week, but I had to return to work today. Because of the fact that he would be left alone for eight hours or more while I work, and his need to go outside every two to three hours, I had to make the decision to ask that he be fostered by someone who can be home full-time with him. At the moment, that means that he had to go back to the vets office. They obviously provide the best care, but it is not the ideal situation for any dog to be stuck in a kennel all day and all night.

As you can see from the picture, he has the saddest pug face I think I have ever seen. And he just sat and stared at me with that face all the way to the vet's office this morning. I am going to be haunted by that face for the rest of my life. I am tearing up now just thinking about him.