Copyright 2001 PDWRA All rights Reserved

A Registered Charity No. 276067

 

 

 

 
A LITTLE PUG WITH NO NAME

Ah! yes, she is just what I want”. I looked through the mesh of a wire battery cage a small bewildered little pug face looked back at me. She cautiously sniffed my fingers through the mesh and tried a small tail wag. I didn’t really want another pug bitch! “Well, lets get her out,” said her owner, undoing the door and handing her to me. I did hesitate, she was covered in urine and diarrhoea, but my jacket was washable, her thin little body froze in my arms and I put her down on the dirty shed floor.

After a moment she set off to explore the chicken and rabbit cages stacked around the walls. “Yeah, she’s about six months old and you’ll be able to breed from her in the spring. I’ve got a mate with a dog that you can use, no papers, mind but you can still sell the pups for enough to make a living.”

I was having this bizarre conversation in this filthy shed after an acquaintance had noticed my Pug Dog Club sticker in the back of my car and told me of someone who had a pug puppy for sale in slightly suspicious circumstances.

They thought there had been a whole litter but there was just the one left and the children didn’t want it so it was for sale. I called the number, Oh, yes they had a pug bitch for sale. Yes, I could look at it that afternoon. I drove to the literal middle of nowhere, to an isolated cottage. An extremely friendly couple met me at the door and invited me in

My first impressions on entering the house were oh my God, this house is derelict and unlived in, and no one knows I’m here. Then I realised that it was a house that was indeed lived in, in chaos, dirt, grime and an overpowering smell of cat pee. I was given a cup of coffee complete with a floating foreign body and taken out the back to the shed. “Yeah, we keep her in here cos she is a bit aggressive.Personally I had never seen anything less likely to show aggression. I picked up the small confused puppy off the floor, turned a blind eye and nose to the fleas and the eye watering smell saying “Yes, I’ll have her. What’s her name?” “Er she ‘ent got a real name, we just call ‘er Pug”

I drove away from the house in a complete dilenima. I have three pugs and I hadnot been looking for another but I could not have driven off leaving that small puppysitting in a cage sodden with pee and pooh and sick, surrounded by battery chickens and table rabbits. I had a two hour drive ahead of me and the puppy stank. It was too cold to drive with the windows open so I stopped at the first large service station I passed and parked in the lorry park. After begging a bucket of hot water from the attendant on the
excuse my dog had been sick in my car and I needed to clean it up, I set about washing the puppy in the back of my car. Ignoring the curious looks from passing truck drivers, plonked the puppy in the bucket and set to with a bar of soap and bottle of shower gel from my overnight bag that fortunately was still in the car from an earlier visit to friends.

Apologising and reassuring her I scrubbed away, picking the dried pooh off with my finger nails. I begged a further bucket and rinsed her, drying her with towel and a sweater. Backin the car, with the heater on full blast she settled do wn and slept. On arrival home and a confession to my husband, I gave her a further bath (Yes I know it sounds excessive but boy did she smell) and a small meal. She was ravenously hungry but was soon sick. A few pieces of chicken were gratefully received and she managed to keep them down and so to bed. The following morning I was glad that my utility room is small and I had covered the floor with newspaper. Despite this she was sort of pleased to see me and after another tiny meal she set off exploring. Exploring is the wrong word she rushed in a demented fashion from room to room, round and round and backward and forwards. She took little notice of my three pugs and they really did not now what to do and hid in my office. When I picked her up she just went rigid. I sat her on my lap and talked pug talk, cuddled her and she slowly relaxed and began to lose her traumatised frantic look. She started to make friend with my pugs carefully when they emerged from hiding. A visit to the vets followed where she was treated for worms, given drugs to stop her throwing up and to stop the diarrhoea and an antibiotic shot for a skin rash that was really a nappy type rash caused by sitting in pee and pooh. I had noticed a bruise across her head caused by akick or blow bu t it was not too serious.

After this treatment and constant reassurance, she would not eat if left alone; she slowly calmed down, gained confidence and became a normal puppy. She played chase with Mr B, my youngest pug. She picked up shoes, socks, anything she considered to be a toy and ran about with it in her mouth. Within three days she was almost unrecognisable from the bedraggled little waif I had brought home. She even began to put on weight, she only weighted ten pounds and was really just skin and bone. Sadly I could not keep her and she was rehomed in a very special, experienced home by the Pug Dog Welfare Association whom I found to be very supportive and she has not looked back since becoming a very well adjusted pug!

This is a tale about a pug with a happy ending. I know that for every pug rescued as she was, there are probably twenty or thirty more in bad or worse conditions. She was just a lucky one found on the off chance. How did she get there? An increasing number of unregistered pugs are being offered for sale at the moment. They are largely bred by breeders who are primarily motivated by money, unregistered puppies sell in excess of the prices asked for other pedigree breeds as they are currently a trendy breed. Bitches are bred from on their first season and bred on each consecutive season until they have a problem when they are discarded. Some of these bitches have major faults and are unsuitable breeding stock. But what I have found to be really shocking is that some of these breeding machines originate from good quality stock even top quality stock!

Welfare is not just about buying a teatowel at the garden party. Welfare is caring about this very special breed. If you breed pugs ask yourself if you know exactly where all your puppies sold over the years have gone to, particularly the bitches. What happened to that little bitch sold as a pet because she wasn’t good enough to show? Did those nice people with their smart car that bought her keep in touch? Did they actually live where they said they did? Did you or have you ever checked up? I can hear the sharp intakes of breath as you read this piece, I can hear you say “Well that is impossible”. Well, let me say to you, I love my pugs and I stood in that dirty cold shed and took that smelly sad traumatised little dog home. I saw that rough, down market end of the dog breeding world with my own eyes. This was one of the most shocking experiences I have ever had the misfortune to
experience. Please do your best not to contribute to this rather sick trade. Try to find real happy permanent homes for your puppies and keep in touch with the owners. In this way you may have a responsible influence over what happens to your stock. That is true welfare for this breed.

Debbie Symes
Not a breeder nor a show exhibtor but just a pug fan!

 

 

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