A Dispatch From Pug Acres North
The XMBD sends the following report on near-centenarian (in human years) Spike, the Original Lad Pug of the Original Pug Duo:

Well, a few thousand dollars later, little Spikerman has returned home from a gall bladder removal. It was done on a quasi emergency basis. A couple weeks ago he started throwing up and after a couple days I took him to the vet (along with Panda - also throwing up).
There was a virus going around affecting older dogs and puppies, so they kept Panda a day and Spike two days on an IV to re-hydrate. Panda got better right away, but Spike wasn't bouncing all the way back. They did some bloodwork and his white cell and liver values were out of whack so on the 2nd it was off for an ultrasound.
The Ultrasound specialist said that he needed his gall bladder out and that he was actually pretty lucky it hadn't ruptured. His body had sort of sealed off a bile leak on its own.
So, they referred me to a surgical specialty practice in Waltham, which I really liked not only for its reputation, but also because they have 24-hour care. Most practices just have someone come in to check on the dogs once during the night. The vet was really good, but was, I think, only 2 years older than Spike. How nice - a vet who's an age peer... (Note: I'm pretty sure we're talking human years here. I figure it's more likely to have a 16 year-old vet than a 100 year-old vet. -BlogDog.)
So Spike went in Friday and had the offending organ removed and, for a 14 year-old, came through like a trooper. They kept him a couple extra days because the tubes irritated his palate, which is problematic in the little push-nose guys, and he still has a dry hack, but he's home and napping as though he hasn't missed a beat. The others are napping in solidarity. His latest bloodwork showed all the concerning levels back to normal, so things are looking good.

Call me a soppy boy but Spike is a sweetheart of a dog in a breed that is known for its sweet heartedness. I'm so glad to hear he's still soldiering on.