Pugs Aplenty

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Furry companions Liza and Beth love to play together, snuggle and have their bellies rubbed.

The 5-year-old pugs are among the many dogs in Pug Rescue of Northwest Arkansas looking for permanent homes. The nonprofit organization currently has an influx of pugs: 19 available for adoption and two with adoptions pending, president Reta Parton said recently.

The Pug Rescue of Northwest Arkansas was founded in the mid-1990s by Sheree Steele. The rescue typically has eight to 15 dogs at a time. The nonprofi t doesn’t have a corporate sponsor, and adoption fees and donations pay for spaying and neutering the dogs, microchipping, a vet check, personality evaluation and all their shots, Parton said. The adoption fee is between $100 and $300.

Between 60 and 80 pugs come through the rescue each year, Parton said. Liza and Beth have been part of the rescue for a year.

They came from the same breeder and are believed to be sisters, she added. They have bonded, and Parton would like for them to be adopted together.

“They quit eating if they’re separated,” she said.

The rest of the available pugs range in age from 1 to 9 years old. Parton said Pug Rescue takes in adoptable dogs from all over Arkansas and parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. She notes that they do not take aggressive dogs.

Pugs are companion animals who like to lay at people’s feet or in their laps. They’re not meant to be herders. There is always a pug to fit a person’s lifestyle, Parton said, and she should know: She has fi ve pugs herself. She describes one of them as a diva and another asa “snugglebunny.”

Pugs typically have no problem with larger dogs, and she said that they will make people laugh, calling them the comedians of the dog world.

While the pugs in the rescue program are waiting to be adopted, they live with foster families or are fostered at businesses such as Top Dog, Camp Bow Wow, Osage Veterinary Clinic and Gulley Park Animal Clinic. She said they currently have six dogs that need foster homes.

Once pets are adopted, owners can still contact the pug rescue organization for assistance, including talking to someone about a dog’s behavioral issues. If thereis , a life-changing event and the new owner cannot keep the dog, the rescue asks the dog be returned to be adopted to someone else, she said.

Along with the Pug Rescue of Northwest Arkansas, there are some other breed-specifi c rescues in the area, such as the All American Dachshund Rescue-South Central in Elkins and Border Collie Rescue of the Ozarks in Farmington. Parton says rescues are beginning to work togetherto make sure dogs are not left behind.

Another area organization rescues and fosters all breeds. For Pets’ Sake takes adoptable animals out of the Springdale AnimalShelter and fosters them in local homes, said co-founder Laurie Beckman.

It is a tax-exempt organization founded in 2004 that promotes animal welfare in Northwest Arkansas andworks to find permanent homes for homeless and stray pets though fostering, according to its website, www.for-pets-sake.org.

The organization also has a program called BestFriends, which helps senior citizens with pet expenses, and a service called Pets for Vets, which gives animals to veterans diagnosed with an emotional disorder for free, she said.