The Pug Dog Welfare & Rescue Association
Run entirely by volunteers & public donations
Adoption
We are fully open in a selection of regions to receive general adoption applications again, as well as for pug-specific homes appeals.
We are finding the need to re-home more pugs 7 years & over, as well as those with very individual, or special-needs, plus bonded-pairs, so we welcome all applications from dedicated, loving homes to match with all surrendered pugs in our care.
Please find full details for adopting as well as which regions of the country we are accepting general adoption applications from, in our Adoption section. Any Pug-Specific homes appeals can also be found there which are open to all PDWRA regions across England & Wales.
Fostering
Good foster homes are essential in our rehoming process, particularly those that can support age-related or special-needs, or accommodate bonded-pairs, as the number of pugs surrendered to us in these categories has been relatively high.
For specific areas of the country that we are accepting new fostering applications for, PDWRA provides ongoing support with vet costs covered. You may offer short or long-term care, for which the individual needs of the pugs will be matched to your home.
Our Fostering section provides full details and considerations for fostering, as well as the areas where we’d welcome new foster homes from, also where you can apply directly online.
Surrendering
Following our temporary closure last year, we have been able to receive pugs needing to be surrendered from our busiest region, the South East, as well as Central & East of England, plus West & East Midlands. All pugs in our care are matched to our complete region-wide waiting lists for homes.
The difficult decision for that closure was to provide the best welfare solutions to the very high number of pugs in our care with the resources available to us. It enabled the escalation of specific applicants being matched to adopt pugs in our care, while reducing the number of those waiting for a home.
Please go to our Surrendering section for latest information and contact details.
Volunteering
There are a number of ways that you can volunteer to support PDWRA, including:
- Rehoming Coordinator
- Volunteer Area Coordinator
- Fundraiser
- Home Checker
- Transporting a Pug
- Something Else
We are open to applications from England and Wales. Please see our Volunteering section for more details of these roles and how to apply.
Pug Home Appeals
These priority Pugs need a home. Please read about these Pugs and apply to adopt online.
Could You Adopt 2 year-old, Dec?
👏 ** GREAT NEWS, Dec has his Forever Home lined up, following an amazing response in Applications for him, Lucky Boy! ** 👏 *** APPEAL INFORMATION: This is two year old Dec who's looking for his adoptive home! He's an affectionate boy who enjoys a fuss being made of...
Dynamic Danny needs his Forever Home!
👏 ** WONDERFUL NEWS UPDATE: Danny has been ADOPTED! ** 👏 THANK YOU for all your responses! ***** APPEAL INFORMATION: This is Danny, a 1 year old bundle of fun, recently neutered & up to date with all his jabs. Danny loves other dogs. He just loves to play but gets...
Lovely Luna is looking for her Forever Home!
👏 THE BEST NEWS! 👏 Luna has an amazing, fun home with furry companions to play with! ***** ORIGINAL APPEAL INFORMATION: Otherwise known as Looney Tunes, the lovely Luna is ready for her adoptive home, having been in foster due to her Mum passing away.. Luna is seven...
Latest PDWRA News
Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome
Written by Helen McKee, PDWRA Veterinary Advisor I am sure all of you, and anyone who has had a pug, is familiar with the term ‘BOAS’. It stands for Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome’. It is a large topic and there is much to discuss about the condition, but...
Emma’s Dewdney Fundraising
Emma raises funds for the PDWRA as part of her company's Volunteer Week! Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of taking part in a few volunteer initiatives that have been both meaningful and memorable. One of the highlights was volunteering at a high school in...
Diana’s Tribute to Lottie
The life and times of Little Lottie, aka Crazy Girl, aka Stinky Minky. It was the 23rd of August 2018 when I pulled into an Asda car park in Newmarket to collect “the goods”, aka Lottie, an approximately 3–5-year-old fawn pug. She was my second pug adopted from the...
Alan’s Story of Adopting Soks
How did you first hear about the PDWRA? We hadn’t heard of the PDWRA until a few years ago, they had a stall at a dog show raising funds. How did you come to make the decision to adopt through the PDWRA? We contacted several charities hoping to adopt a small dog in...
Valerie’s Story of Adopting Betty
In April’s newsletter you may have read the article about Laura & her pug Ethel and how her pug story began 40 years ago. Well following on from that, as Laura is my daughter, here is my story of how I discovered Pug Welfare and my pug journey. Having bought from...
Hot Weather Alerts & Advice for our Pugs’ Health.
As temperatures have been rising to above 30°C in parts of England for the first time in 2025, we are expecting further very warm or even hot conditions into the weekend with maximums over 30°C, before cooler and fresher air returns from the West. This transition may...
When is the Right Time to Say Goodbye?
Article by Helen McKee (MRCVS) PDWRA Vet Advisor. How can I tell if my pet still has a good quality of life? All pet owners want their companion to have a good life. As your pet gets older, or if they’re diagnosed with a serious illness, you may worry that they’re...
Our Journey as Pug Parents – Wendy Ribbons and Martha
Way back, I have wanted to have a dog, particularly a pug but I felt blessed to have neighbours who have a grumble and allowed us to care for them when they went away. These were great times. My partner was also very keen to have a dog, but a big one, particularly a...
Our Journey with the PDWRA – Dave & Sandra The Pugs!!
Why pugs, why rescue, why the PDWRA? This for us began a long time ago, my eldest son (now 16) fell in love with pugs when he was 4 after meeting a very handsome pug on the Isle of Wight called Dave. A love affair began, which never dwindled, however we could never...
Thank You PDWRA Volunteers – Transporters!
Finding the right match of pug to adopter can mean literally going the extra mile for the pug in question, and this was the case for Wilfred. PDWRA have a network of Volunteers who generously give up their time to transport pugs for us, collecting from owners, being...
Celebrating National Volunteers’ Week with Thanks to All Volunteers!
💖This week is National Volunteers’ Week, and the perfect time for PDWRA to celebrate its ongoing gratitude to ALL Volunteers! 💖 🤗 THANK YOU ALL! 🤗 We could not help Pugs in Need without the voluntary contributions each & everyone makes with their skills,...
Could You Adopt Brother & Sister, Ray & Carla?
👏 * GREAT NEWS UPDATE: Ray & Carla have found their Perfect Forever Home, together of course! * 👏 ********** RAYMOND (RAY) & CARLA. This Brother and Sister pair, are 8 years old and very devoted to each other. Ray more so than Carla. He’s a sensitive soul and...
Donate to the PDWRA
The PDWRA is completely run on public donations and we wouldn’t be able to help the hundreds of pugs that are surrendered into our care each year without the help of our wonderful and generous supporters. Thank you!
Our vet bills alone run into hundreds of thousands of pounds annually and this is constantly increasing with the onslaught of inflation.
All help is greatly appreciated!
Friends of Welfare
Become of Friend of Welfare today!
Your membership provides us with reliable, much-needed and regular funds towards ever-increasing costs for Pugs in our care.
