Pug Rescue

By Lorraine Houston

‘Pugalug’ was originally a social club that was formed by Larry St. Aubin in 2001 when he acquired a year old pug from a friend. He didn’t know much about the breed but heard there were several pugs that met each evening at a local park. From his park visits he learned invaluable information about pugs and made many new friends along the way. Larry realized how helpful it was to have a network of knowledgeable pug lovers at hand and felt that other new pug owners could also benefit from this type of social interaction and information sharing. He began organizing monthly gatherings called Pugalug at various parks around Toronto. Word spread and soon the gatherings went from 10 pugs to 50. After about a year Pugalug started having both indoor and outdoor gatherings. “There are not too many dog breeds where you can have 50 of them all together and have a pretty easy going event” said Larry adding “the meet ups help educate people about pugs, provide a strong, community setting for owners and give the pugs 2 hours of unfettered snorting and romping”. Since its inception the Pugalug gatherings have spread across Ontario and are held in Belleville, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton/Burlington, Cambridge, London and Grey Bruce County. This year they plan to have a Pugalug in Cobourg and Markham.

In January 2005, The Pugalug Club became a non-profit corporation. Members had been raising money at the indoor events to cover the cost of the rental and leftover funds were donated to various animal shelters and rescues. One of the rescues that the group was supporting was Peachy Pugs Rescue. In the summer of 2005, Peachy Pugs Rescue disbanded and the Pugalug Club assumed the role and soon added the rescue arm of Pugalug Club Pug Rescue (PCPR). The PCPR is a collection of caring and concerned pug owners who open their homes to homeless pugs as fosters. PCPR takes pugs from shelters, vets and owners who can no longer care for their dogs for various reasons. The Club covers the costs of vetting and caring for these dogs until a permanent home is found. PCPR also offers a hospice program for pugs in their care who have an unlikely chance of being adopted due to their age, health or behavioural issues. These dogs remain in permanent foster care, loved and nurtured by their foster family. Pugs in the fostering program are fully vetted and assessed before being adopted; this way the rescue can ensure that the family and the pug are best suited to each other. PCPR has taken in and re-homed 98 pugs and pug mixes since 2005.

The Pugalug Club is always looking for interested volunteers to help with fundraising and other activities to promote responsible dog ownership for all breeds and pugs in particular. PCPR has approximately 70 volunteers who help in the various activities: Transport
Fostering
Fundraising Events
Booth staffing at events and shows
Merchandising Pugalug Club

Pug Rescue puts out a monthly newsletter that goes to approximately 1200 people, informing them of recent rescue pugs, Happy Tails and upcoming Events.

If you have extra coats or sweaters, harnesses or dog beds for dogs up to 25 -30 lbs, the Club can always make use of these items. Information about volunteer opportunities can be found on the website at www.pugalug.com

Since 1976, Lorraine Houston has been involved in the plight of homeless, abandoned dogs and has worked in animal shelters in the US and Canada. She is a feature writer for Dogs, Dogs, Dogs! a Maxwell Award winner from the Dog Writers Association of America, an evaluator for Therapeutic Paws of Canada and the director of Speaking of Dogs an organization devoted to education, outreach and rescue. Lorraine is an advocate for humane training, rescue/shelter dog adoptions and relationships built on kindness and respect. She and her family have fostered hundreds of dogs and found home for thousands of others. www.speakingofdogs.com

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