by PDWRA | 22 Jun, 2026 | Pug Home Appeal
Hey everyone! I’m Millie and I’ve just turned 10 years old.
My foster mum says that I’m a very calm and quiet little girl who just wants to hang out with her humans. I love nothing better than laying by my fave human’s side or down by their feet where I can curl up and fall fast asleep. I don’t like being left alone as it makes me anxious.
I love going on car journeys and I’d love to go everywhere with you. My previous Daddy (who passed away) took me into his office every day and I was treated like the princess that I obviously am. 💞
I mentioned about me being a little girl earlier but my foster mum and the lady from the charity say that I need to lose a lot more weight. I’ve already lost 2.5 kilos, are they trying to starve me!?
The lady from the charity took me to a specialist vet and we think I have something called osteoarthritis in my front elbows which has been made worse by my weight (rude).
I’m currently taking YuMove supplements, anti-inflammatory and pain relief meds which I will probably need to be on long term.
The specialist man doesn’t advise surgery and so the kind lady from the charity says that these meds would all be paid for by PDWRA for as long as I need them (once approved).
Because of my weight (currently 13.1kg) and my poorly legs, I’m not allowed to jump on the sofa or climb stairs and I can only walk very short distances as I get out of breath easily. I love riding in my buggy though and being taken out shopping or to the garden centre in my chariot! 🐶
I’m great with older little people but I’m not too keen on tiny ones as they’re a little too noisy for me. I would be best in a home where I’m the only dog so that I can be treated like a princess again.
My foster mum says that I don’t like sharing and I can get bossy and be dominant towards other dogs at home. 🏡
Love from Millie x
by PDWRA | 16 Jun, 2026 | Blog, Rescue Stories
Many pugs we welcome into PDWRA suffer from a variety of physical conditions, especially those associated with the breed, such as breathing problems and so on. For the most part, these can be fixed by treatment or surgery. We are now seeing quite a few who suffer from some form of behavioural issue which has come about during the lives they previously lead before coming to PDWRA.
Who knows what these pugs might have endured, we can only guess for the most part. Our fosterers are not trained behaviourists; they can only offer kindness and endless patience. This often works, as the pug gradually learns to trust humans again and go on to lead a happy life once confidence in the humans around them is regained. Henry is a case in point who reacted adversely to some humans and had recourse to the only defensive mechanism he had – to bite. In this case, a member of the Foster Carers family. Options to place in situations such as this are limited as we of course have to pay due regard to the safety of our Volunteers.
So, step up Valerie, who knowing his background agreed to foster Henry with a view to adopt should she and her family, with support from PDWRA, be able to guide him back to leading a happy and fulfilling life. One of our Trustees gave some basic behavioural advice, together with a local Volunteer who has connections with a local Veterinary Practice. Week by week, they gave advice which has gradually steered Henry towards letting down his guard and allowing him to trust those around him. The whole family have worked together to bring about this change. Work still needs to be done, but he is a much happier dog now than 6 months ago.
It has taken time and a lot of patience, with some wobbly moments, but Valerie finally felt confident enough to go forward with Henry’s adoption. He was particularly mistrustful of Valerie’s husband, especially around late afternoon, early evening oddly enough. We can never know, but wonder if this was triggered by the behaviour of a male of his former household coming in from work. Whatever happened in his past life, Henry is now a much loved part of the family – how thankful we are that there are those prepared to give a second chance to pugs like Henry, whose lives have been shaped by the behaviour of others. A challenging task, but a rewarding one.
Jackie Maynard
West Midlands VAC
by PDWRA | 16 Jun, 2026 | Blog, News
It’s been brought to our attention by Jackie, one of our most experienced Volunteer Area Coordinators, that somebody recently surrendering their pug was targeted by a Microchip scam, claiming that the pet would become ‘unregistered’ if their details weren’t renewed.
In this age of scams bombarding us from every direction, it’s probably not altogether surprising that the pet industry is now on the radar of unscrupulous people looking to make some easy money. It’s estimated that around 15.5 million dogs live in the UK, which is around 41% of UK households. Now that the laws around dog ownership have changed, they will all need to have a current microchip.
So, that’s a pretty large group of people to target and being successful as little as 1% of the time could still be very lucrative. Pet microchip scams typically involve fraudulent emails or deceptive websites that claim your pet’s microchip is ‘expiring’ or ‘lacking national registration’ to steal your money.
It’s always good to bear in mind that microchips never expire, so you shouldn’t ever pay a 3rd party website to ‘renew’ your chip. So, what are the best ways to avoid these scams and what should you watch out for?
The most common method of attack is through email, and this is the case for most of the current UK scams. If you receive an email that you weren’t expecting or that looks suspicious, you should never click on any links that are contained within it, regardless of how plausible it might look. If you receive a ‘renewal notice’, ignore the email and report the sender to your service provider.
Another source which is becoming more commonly used is WhatsApp or your phone’s text message service. In some ways, this is even more concerning as we’re all so used to just tapping on things while using our phones. Just one absent minded tap of your finger could land you with an unnecessary and unwanted charge, so please be vigilant.
There are a great many registered microchip databases available and fortunately, if you’re still unsure, you can easily verify that a ‘service’ is legitimate before engaging with them. Some of the legitimate registries include Petlog, Identibase and Petrac, however, a full list of approved pet databases is available from the government and you can access the UK Government Microchipping Guide here.
If you’re unsure which database your pet is registered with, you can ask your vet to scan their chip and tell you which company is linked to their number. According to Google, some of the scam sites or networks that are currently known include the following:
Petchip Network or Petchip Info: This entity is known for sending highly convincing, fake emails that look like official renewals. The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has already ruled against them for operating unapproved, misleading registration databases.
UK Pet Chip Registry: This entity has been flagged by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) for promoting non-approved services that charge owners to register their pets on unverified ‘national databases’.
Petsmicrochips.com: This has been identified by consumer groups and user reviews as a misleading site that takes money for meaningless or unregistered microchip database entries.
If you’d like more information on microchips and what you need to know about them, take a look at this recent article written by Anne McDonald, PDWRA Trustee and Local Authority Dog Warden.
by PDWRA | 16 Jun, 2026 | Blog, Fundraising
After tragically losing their PDWRA adoptee Gaston, Greig and Holly wanted to do something to raise funds for the charity in honour and the wonderful time that they got to spend with him. So, Greig decided to sign up for a white collar boxing event!
From Holly:
My partner and I adopted PDWRA pug Gaston when he was 1 year old. He was the perfect addition to our family, a little brother for our pup Agnes. Gaston came to us a shy, nervous little soul but with all the love, affection and guidance from his big sister, he quickly became more confident and the most affectionate little guy, of course with that sassy pug personality! He had his share of minor health problems, but enjoyed a full, happy life. We were absolutely broken when we suddenly lost him, aged 6, to cancer in September 2024.
From Greig:
I signed up for the white collar boxing with a big challenge ahead. The whole experience was brilliant, I loved every minute of it. I had 8 weeks of training twice a week prior to the fight night, and I was also doing an extra boxing class every week too. The fight night was incredible! It took place in a large venue in my hometown of Dundee, with a crowd of well over a thousand people! It was a great night for my family and friends, who came to cheer me on. I had been matched up against the biggest guy taking part in the event, but fortunately I managed to pick up a victory via decision after the fight had gone the full three rounds.
I’m extremely proud of myself for going through with the whole thing, and very, very thankful to everyone who sponsored me along the way. I know the money is going to a great charity that is very close to me and my partner’s hearts, and will be very well used to help other wee pugs that are in similar situations to the one our brilliant wee Gaston was before we adopted him ❤️
Greig raised £1070 + £300 top up from his employer – DHL UK Foundation. The PDWRA are eternally grateful for the brilliant donation and can’t thank them both enough!
by PDWRA | 16 Jun, 2026 | Blog, Rescue Stories
I first found out about the PDWRA through Google when I was looking for Pug rescues, and saw that they needed volunteers to collect and foster pugs. Our family of 3 already had a much-loved little black rescue pug, Petal, but we thought it would be a nice idea to give some pugs a loving foster home, and that maybe we would find another pug we would want to adopt at some point.
We were vetted very thoroughly and it wasn’t too long until the lovely Jane from PDWRA contacted us and asked if we would be able to collect an older fawn pug called Vito, and foster him for a few weeks until he was found a new home. We were very happy to do this, although we did say that we didn’t want to permanently adopt a fawn pug, only a black one because we wear so much black clothing which gets covered in hair!
Vito’s last owner was an elderly lady who had had him for 5 years after getting him from another rescue, where he had been previously. She had sadly passed away, and so we collected him from her family about 40 minutes away from us. They were very upset to be handing him over, but circumstances meant that unfortunately they couldn’t keep him. When we met, he walked over to us to be stroked and made a fuss of but was understandably anxious.
His sweet and gentle nature was obvious straight away and he settled in quite easily to being second in command to Petal, despite being twice her size. From day one, he slept snuggled up on our bed – Petal at the top and him relegated further down. The only behavioural issue was that he kept weeing in the kitchen, even though he was able to go outside. Eventually we spoke to Jane about it, who was very reassuring, and she said give him time to settle in and he will stop doing it. Which is exactly what happened!
When he had been with us a few weeks, Jane said they needed to think about finding him a permanent home. Of course, by then it was unthinkable that we would let him go. We absolutely wanted to adopt him, his fawn hair was all over us and our navy velvet sofa, but we had fallen in love with him 😊
Vito was already 10 when he came to us 2 years ago, so he is now an old man. His coat is still incredibly soft and velvety, and he has the look of a teddy bear. He is toothless, so his long tongue hangs out, which charms everyone when they meet him. He loves slowly walking around the town, smelling absolutely every inch as he goes. He isn’t keen on mud though and lets us know he wants to be carried if he comes across any when we are up on the moors.
We work from home, so he’s usually cuddled up to at least one of us at all times. He has found his voice, he puffs out his cheeks, makes little grumbly noises and sometimes kind of honks like a goose. At times, he also has a certain way of hanging his head and looking from under his eyelashes, which really makes us laugh. We’ve named it his ‘Lady Diana’ look!
He loves to lie back in our teenage son’s arms like a baby, while his tummy gets tickled and endearments get whispered in his ears.
We would recommend anyone who is thinking of adopting a pug to do so via PDWRA, they were wonderful. Vito is a real treasure. He has brought so much to our family and we love him deeply.
