by Yasmin | 15 Aug, 2024 | Blog, News, Rescue Stories, Volunteering
Written by Victoria.
I first heard about the PDWRA through looking online at Pug welfare groups after becoming obsessed with Pugs due to looking after my friend’s Pug, Pugsley, for her when she went on holidays.
My fiancé had always had retired police dogs when he was a child growing up in the Czech Republic, so he thought (foolishly) Pugs were silly little dogs for silly little ladies!(me)
He became a huge fan after meeting and caring for Pugsley. He now has all the usual Pug fan paraphernalia we all have, such as mugs, flasks, socks, t shirts, pyjamas, etc, etc….
I myself was an HM Customs and Excise (now called U.K. Border Force) drugs dog handler, trained by the RAF police and was also used to larger breeds, mostly gun dogs. I had a rescue mixed breed many years ago as a pet and also my retired German Shorthaired Pointer working dog came home and had a lovely long retirement before passing away of old age.
I had recently lost my Mum under tragic circumstances, and was caring, along with my fiancé and other professionals, for my Stepfather who was in the early stages of dementia/Alzheimer’s in his home. I’d been medically retired from the Border Force in my early 50’s due to developing Epilepsy and was feeling like my life wasn’t too great, to be honest. Seeing Pugsley used to cheer me up immensely and the affection he gave us was such a comfort.
I’d been a member of the charity for a while and saw on the newsletter that they were looking for fosterers. I had a chat with my fiancé and told him what I was thinking to do… he rarely disagrees with me!
I completed the forms and to my utter surprise I received a response very quickly, a home check was organised and after a whirlwind of activity to tidy the house a video chat and a check of the house was undertaken. The home checker said everything was fine and that we might hear in time about a foster.
In a matter of maybe a day or so I was at home when I received a call from Helen, the PDWRA Vet Advisor, who was about to go on holiday asking if I could take a Pug who needed immediate placement! I said yes, texted my fiancé and told him we would be getting a Pug that day!
The forms were sent hastily while Helen was en-route to Heathrow and off we set in the fog and rain to collect Ted from a car park 40 miles from where we live. He was in bad shape, very overweight, quite smelly and stressed, as you can imagine. I sat with him in the car and I just knew instantly he wasn’t going anywhere! I was keeping him!
He was grossly overweight, his pads were bleeding and his nails were curled over and digging into his pads. He couldn’t cock his legs or walk up and down our little staircase and he couldn’t walk far at all.
He was on a very strict diet that Helen and our local vet advised and he’s now a shadow of his former self, he’s lost 3 kilos and can run and walk like a pup! He loves the beach and even walked Sycamore Gap just before someone felled the tree!
He’s made a huge difference to my life, I’m more active myself, more confident to go out and walk him alone (my Epilepsy is well controlled now so I’m not scared to venture out just he and I) and he’s helped to heal our hearts.
He’s had 6 teeth out and handled it like a champ, he’s travelled to the Czech Republic via ferry and road, where he made “friends” with a little Ukrainian Pomeranian in true “doggy style” (he’s neutered obviously but it didn’t stop him from “acting out”) and his latest triumph is as a huge success at the care home my stepfather now resides at. He has a female fan club who sit in reception all day waiting to get a kiss from him and my fiancé takes him into the lounge in the dementia wing, where he has another huge fan club waiting to say hello to him also.
Some of the staff who work there were nervous at first because they are from countries that traditionally don’t have dogs as pets but he’s managed to win them over too! The only fly in the ointment is his “frenemy” also called Teddy who visits the care home daily too… they aren’t too keen on each other… I think it’s a territorial thing… To see the faces of the staff and particularly the residents light up when he arrives is priceless… one of his fans even sneaks treats into her handbag for him from breakfast, two day old sausage which often looks a bit “off”, so we take her some healthy treats to put in her handbag to give Ted.
I remember the day I got the call from Helen to ask, after a couple of weeks, if I would consider adopting Teddy, she even said “I think I know the answer before I ask” and she was right, as I say, I knew the moment I saw him he wasn’t going to anyone else! The process was so easy and just felt right. He was family from the moment we collected him.
Helen has been a Godsend, she’s certainly a force of nature! I think people should know that there will be support should you need it, from the Charity, and that Pugs are unique and can be challenging and stubborn.
TV is quite a tricky situation in our house, no programmes with animals, people in uniforms, people of different ethnicities, adverts with singing on, etc. can’t be viewed without a launch and growl at the TV at great speed, despite trying every kind of training aid and methods possible!
They are natures clowns, people pleasers and amazing pets that make life fun… our life can be sad and challenging at the moment but Teddy just makes it all better, easy to cope with. He charms everyone he meets, even managing to get to sit on the sofa in his Czech grandparents’ house… (lots of Czechs kennel their dogs outside but I don’t like it, my dogs live with me and sleep on my bed, which Teddy did on holiday in CZ!)
I’ve found that Pugs love exercise, can run really quickly when they are off lead and that really surprised me. Teddy is ten but he outruns lots of younger dogs, so they are not the lounge lizards people might think they are!
Teddy’s favourite place to be is the beach, and living in Northumberland we are blessed with beautiful ones. My best days are spent with him and my fiancé at the beach, seeing this once overweight, unfit little lad running in circles on the sand!
Victoria.
If you would like to adopt a pug into your life, like Victoria & many others, please apply at:
https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/adopting-a-pug/
by Yasmin | 11 Aug, 2024 | Blog, News, Pug Health
Article by Helen McKee (MRCVS), PDWRA Vet Advisor:
Pugs can be prone to both these conditions (which are linked), and especially if they are overweight.
Interdigital cysts (also known as follicular cysts or furuncles) are inflamed bumps or nodules located between the toes (interdigital area). These painful cysts can rupture and leak clear or blood-tinged fluid. If the cyst becomes infected, it will leak cream-coloured fluid.
Many factors contribute to the development of interdigital cysts, making them frustrating to manage.
How do interdigital cysts develop?
Interdigital cysts develop as a reaction to inflamed hair follicles between the toes. The inflamed hair follicles rupture into the surrounding tissue, creating more inflammation and swollen “cysts” that can open (ulcerate) and drain. This process is irritating and itchy, causing the dog to lick or chew at the area, which further traumatises the hair follicles, continues the cycle of inflammation, and potentially introduces infection. If not treated quickly, cellulitis and scarring may occur.
What causes interdigital cysts?
Allergy-induced paw inflammation is the most common cause of interdigital cysts. Allergic dogs often have itchiness and recurrent skin infections in other areas, such as their ears. Allergy triggers can include pollen, mites, fleas, and dietary proteins.
Other factors that increase the risk of your dog developing interdigital cysts (especially between the outside two toes) are mechanical in origin. An abnormal amount of friction in the interdigital space can cause inflammation of the hair follicles. This is more likely to occur for obese dogs who put excessive pressure on their paws or pugs that have abnormal leg conformation which alters the weight distribution on their pads as discussed below (under False Pads).
What are the signs of interdigital cysts?
If your dog has interdigital cysts, you will see raised red bumps between your dog’s toes and your dog may be licking or chewing at their feet more than usual. Your dog’s paws may also be discoloured – especially if they have a secondary infection. You may even notice small blood spots on the floor if a cyst has ruptured. Dogs who are in pain may limp or be reluctant to walk.
How is the underlying cause of interdigital cysts diagnosed?
After a complete history and physical examination of your dog, your vet may recommend testing the skin for Demodex mites, bacteria, and yeast by performing skin scrapings, hair plucks, and/or tape preps of the area.
How are interdigital cysts treated?
Treatment is aimed at controlling the underlying cause, so it typically includes allergy treatments, and anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids (prednisolone) and cyclosporine (Atopica™). Other allergy medications, including (Apoquel™) (Cytopoint™), can help control your dog’s itching but aren’t considered to be effective enough to treat the degree of inflammation involved in interdigital cysts.
Secondary infections may require long courses of antibiotics, sometimes up to 8 weeks. Topical treatments like steroid ointments and antimicrobial paw soaks (chlorhexidine also known as Hibiclens) can be very useful to manage superficial inflammation and infection.
If arthritic changes and/or obesity have promoted cyst formation, these chronic conditions need to be managed more effectively with medications and nutritional therapy. Providing protective boots and controlling the surfaces your dog walks on (soft surfaces best like grass) can help manage the disease as well.
Many cases respond well if an underlying disease is found and treated appropriately. If an underlying disease is not (or cannot be) managed well, interdigital cysts can recur more frequently, causing chronic inflammation, scarring, and pain.
False pads can also result in ‘interdigital cysts’ and can be seen in dogs where abnormal conformation (shape of dog’s legs) results in altered weight bearing on hairy interdigital skin of the paw. Over time, and this can be years, because of the resulting chronic inflammatory changes, the foot tries to form new footpads at the sites; many dogs develop interdigital ‘cysts’ above these areas in the webbing of the pads.
It tends to form on the forelimbs more due to the greater weight bearing load. Because it is conformational, it can be very difficult to manage.
Strategies include weight loss, avoidance of rough terrain (most are better on grass for example), use of little boots out on walks, use of anti-inflammatories (steroids and Atopica can both help in some cases) and in the worst cases, surgery.
Surgery is a very last route to go, and only to be considered in extreme cases of false pads as it involves fusion of toes.
Photos of a case of false pads in a PDWRA rescue pug whom Malcolm and I fostered.
Bella was grossly overweight.
Helen McKee (MRCVS)
PDWRA Vet Advisor
For more useful articles about our pug’s health & wellbeing, please see: https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/pug-health/
by Yasmin | 9 Aug, 2024 | Blog, News, Rescue Stories
** UPDATE: Great News, Betty & Belle’s Forever Home has been Found! ** 🤗💝🐾🐾
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Betty and Belle are a beautiful bonded-pair of young pugs looking for their forever home.
Young Belle (left), has the most amazing baby blue eyes!
Betty is 2 years-old and Belle is soon to be 1. They are both spayed, also house trained and used to living with other dogs.
Their family has sadly surrendered them due to changed circumstances in the home, where they have been truly loved. They are used to living with children, and have been amazing with all of them including 2 with special-needs, so will be fine around those over 10 years-old.
Betty and Belle absolutely adore each other, they play together and sleep together.
Betty and Belle enjoy their walks, but can be reactive to dogs outside the home. Also. both can be nervous and unsure in new situations and just need loving reassurance.
If you feel you could provide a home for the lovely girls, Betty and Belle, or another bonded-pair as we have a number in our care waiting for their forever homes too, please apply, referencing them on your adoption application form.
This can be found at: https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/adopting-a-pug/
If you are already registered to adopt with us, please speak to your local PDWRA Area Coordinator directly.
Thank You!
For other Happy PDWRA Adoption Rescue Stories, please see: https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/category/rescue-stories/
by Yasmin | 6 Aug, 2024 | Blog, News, Rescue Stories
By Kerry, on adopting 2 pugs from PDWRA, Poppy most recently seen here being indulged on her 4th Birthday!
“I heard about the Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association all the way back in 2011, when I was looking at getting our first pug. We chose to adopt through the PDWRA as they are genuine and do everything properly.
There are so many pugs that need homes and they usually adapt quickly. In 2012 we adopted our first pug, our now late Mr Bentley. He was 18 months old back then. He went over the rainbow peacefully just before Christmas. He was nearly 13 💔 and our best friend that we miss and love so much.
We adopted Poppy this Mother’s Day, she was originally a foster but we prayed we could adopt her the moment we saw her photo. Poppy is a beautiful, near tea cup size, fawn pug baby. She’s a Velcro doggy that sleeps in her bed on my daughter’s bed and won’t go for walks without her.
Poppy settled in straight away and loves all of the 3 rotties she lives with. When she wakes up for breakfast, she’ll run into my bedroom first for a kiss then runs back off to catch my daughter up for food!
The adoption process happened quickly. Both of us volunteer for the PDWRA, so we were lucky to be offered to adopt Miss Poppy almost straight away. After losing Mr Bentley, my rotties were heartbroken and kept looking for him. We couldn’t live without a pug despite the 3 large rotties. Our home was very lonely and empty without pug smells and noises – pugs are the spice of life and the life and soul of a home!
From first getting Mr Bentley and then Miss Poppy, our life has been filled with fun, joy, happiness and love and through having them we’ve met lots of pug people and been to many pug parties over the years.
We would like to say thank you so much again to the PDWRA for bringing another beautiful pug and best friend into our lives. We are forever grateful! “
Kerry does enjoy celebrating her pugs!
Please see previous related articles:
https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/the-amazing-mr-bentley-rip/
&
https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/mr-bentley-goes-on-a-diet/
by Yasmin | 28 Jul, 2024 | Blog, News, Rescue Stories
Part 2 of Rebekah’s Story – Mabel & Pixie!
We were a household of three pugs who in a short space of time dropped down to one. We lost Bella to old age after a happy 13years with her & our Jasper pup suddenly & too young, in February 2023.
We were left with our lovely Skye, who we introduced in Part 1 of my Pug-Story: Rebekah’s Story – Adopting Skye! | The Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association (pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk)
Skye was not at all used to being in a one dog household. But we ourselves felt shell shocked & certainly weren’t looking to grow our pug family just yet.
We saw a social-media post on the PDWRA internal Facebook group for pug-adopters, about a bonded-pair, Mum & daughter currently being fostered. Mum needed some TLC. I remember thinking that they looked like a very sweet pair who would find a home easily. Later on that same evening my husband asked if I’d seen the cute pair of pugs on Facebook? I thought that was odd as he rarely uses social media & he would always err on the side of caution of adopting more pugs (he pretends to be a grumpy Dad but is a softie with them at heart!).
Over the next few weeks I periodically checked for updates on them but saw none. I assumed they had a home lined up.
In mid June, a post went up saying they were ready to be re-homed together, Mum as a long term foster due to health issues & her daughter as an adoption. I remember reading all the comments on that post & feeling surprised that no one was coming forward for them.
I tentatively inquired for some information on them. We were told that the little one was fit & healthy, just needing to be spayed. But that Mum had quite severe vision loss, some hearing loss & damage to her ears due to infections being neglected & a skin condition needing medicated baths. This reply came a few days before we flew out to Lisbon on a family holiday so we were in busy packing mode & didn’t get a chance to absorb it.
Once away, myself, my husband & our then 11 year old daughter discussed the pros & cons of taking on two more pugs. We’d had poorly pugs before & knew the heartbreak it could cause. We were still recovering from the loss of our previous pugs & were unsure if we felt ready for more so soon. We knew that taking on a pug with health conditions is a huge commitment – emotionally, financially & time wise. We think people need to be aware that yes they are very cute & cuddly but the reality can be quite tough sometimes!
However, we kept finding ourselves going back to the Facebook posts & looking at their photos. We would chat about what we thought their personalities might be like, how we thought they would get along with Skye etc.
Whilst away, our lovely pug sitters Roger & Pat were sending us videos of Skye. They look after many PDWRA pugs & always have a house full. Watching videos of Skye playing with others sealed the deal for us. It had been too long since we’d seen her happy like that.
We told PDWRA that we’d love to offer them a home. It was all arranged so easily & quickly. We didn’t at all dread the holiday blues as we knew we were going home to something far more exciting!
The pair had no recognition of their original names at all. So, as Mum was the epitome of an old lady, we renamed her Mabel. I will never forget our journey home with her. She fell asleep in my arms instantly & didn’t once move or make a sound. I had to keep placing my hand on her to check she was still breathing. I was like a worried Mum of a new-born! She felt so underweight & because her coat was sparse I could see her sore skin.
Once home it became clear that she was almost fully blind & she was bumping into everything. We put her out the garden & she span in a left circle 26 times before she did a wee. I remember myself & my husband looking at each other as if to say “we’ve got a right one here!”
I would love to say that was a one off but it certainly wasn’t. Mabel is so perfectly wonky. She loves a left turn & will spin in dizzying circles too many times to count before going to the toilet. It’s not always that fun when it’s dark & wet outside but we’ve learnt to wear a hood. We’ve become a very tidy household who put our shoes away, tuck in chairs & generally keep obstacles off the floor for her. She is amazing & very quickly learnt the layout of the house. She can walk from her bed to the water bowl & to the garden all without bumping into anything anymore. In true pug style she also knows where dinner is served & will sit patiently in that spot from 4pm everyday until fed.
We put her on a good quality diet which has helped her to gain weight, grow a healthy coat & stop the medicated baths. The recurrent eye & ear infections have stopped. She does suffer from the occasional bought of vertigo which makes her walk even more wonky than she normally does. But besides that she’s a very happy little pug with the wiggliest bum we’ve ever seen. She loves humans & if she hears a voice her little face will go up to the air & she will sniff until she finds you. Having Mabel’s face touch your face & watching her bum wiggle when she’s found her human is the sweetest thing!
Whilst she loves us all, Mabel is most definitely my husband’s dog. She waits for him to finish work, knowing the time of day that it will be & walking in her left turns around the hall way until he scoops her up for an evening cuddle on the sofa.
We renamed Mabel’s daughter Pixie, because she was so tiny. The daintiest little feet & a tiny face. Whilst short in size though, she certainly made up for it in weight! She resembled a barrel & could barely walk for 5 minutes without being out of breath & needing to be carried.
She was mistrustful of humans. She would refuse to eat any food that we served her & would eye us cautiously. One day our daughter was so desperate for her to just eat something, she realised that if she rolled small pieces of food from afar then Pixie would eat them. That lasted a good few weeks as the only way we could encourage her to eat!
Pixie would not sit on our laps or be cuddled. When we sat on the sofa cuddling Skye & Mabel, Pixie would sit across from us on the footstool refusing to be drawn in. She would sit upright & stare at us, never really relaxing. Pixie was also silent, never once making a peep. It was like she had no reactions or interest in anything, ever.
One day she climbed from the footstool on to the sofa & snuggled up in the cushions next to me. It felt like a massive breakthrough that she’d sat next to me & relaxed enough to close her eyes. A few days after that she rested her head on my lower leg rather than a cushion. This continued for a few weeks. If I got ahead of myself & stroked her then she would back away. I had to learn to be patient & let her come to me. The first time Pixie climbed on to my lap for a cuddle was amazing & from there the cuddles never stopped! She loves to be picked up & carried around like a baby. She also found her voice – if anything a little too much & she will now boss us around until she is fed or gets a nibble of whatever one of her humans is eating.
With daily walks her weight dropped to a healthy size. Rather than being coaxed along pleadingly, she now loves a walk & asks for one each morning. We have a woodland behind our house which she loves to explore. In September she ran for the first time, something which we captured on video. She had spent months watching Skye run on the fields in the woods but never joining in. She now loves a game of chase with Skye & our daughter.
I also call her my little stalker as she has gone from not wanting any human contact to following me everywhere. If I turn around I can guarantee she will be just behind me, looking at me with her beautiful big eyes desperate to be carried. I’ve become quite handy at being able to do many tasks one handed whilst she’s tucked into the other one.
Mabel & Pixie really have completed our family & brought us all back some much needed happiness at a time that was very sad.
Thank you to them & as always to PDWRA for the amazing work you do!
Rebekah.
If you would consider adopting, please read more about it, at: Adoption | The Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association (pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk)
