Pugs Get Second Chance Thanks To Dedicated Volunteers

STRASBURG, Colo. (CBS4) - Pugs that are a little older or have special needs don't always top the list for pets. But one organization wants to change that.

Colorado Pug Rescue believes every pug deserves a second chance and the organization's volunteers work tirelessly to make that happen.

Colorado Pug Rescue is located in Strasburg and was established in 1995 by members of a Denver-area pug dog club who were concerned about the welfare of their breed.

The rescue is a no-kill rescue and never turn away any pug due to illness or medical needs.

"He has a lot of extra skin which is nice when he is cold," said foster pug parent Terry Courtright. "He tromps around and kind of just bulldozes his way through."

Courtright is talking about Al, an 11-year-old foster pug that came to live with him a few months ago after he was found at an animal shelter.

"He was in really bad condition, he had terrible skin problems," said Courtright.

Al is nearly blind and hard of hearing.

"He was really close to being euthanized," said Courtright.

That's when Colorado Pug Rescue stepped in and Al went to live with Courtright.

"I knew about in the first week that we were keeping him," laughed Courtright.

"This year we've adopted out 90 pugs," said Colorado Pug Rescue spokeswoman Debra Mastic.

Mastic said the organization currently has dozens of dogs in foster care, both young and old.

"We never turn away a pug due to illness or medical needs," said Mastic.

The non-profit organization hosts a lot of events like the "Pugly Sweater Contest."

Although most of the pugs are happy and healthy at Colorado Pug Resuce, some still bear the scars of their tragic pets.

"They say she used to be a kennel dog and that's how she lost her eye, rubbing it against the kennel," said pug owner Billy Garduno.

Another pug, Lucy, only weighed six pounds when she was rescued.

"The pug probably would have ended up dying," said Garduno.

Now she's fighting the other end of the scale.

Colorado Pug Rescue prides itself on a strong network of foster parents who are eager to find their pugs new homes.

"They're like potato chips, you can't have just one," said Mastic.

Often times a one-pug family will turn into a grumble, that's the collective noun for a group of pugs.

"When you adopt your own foster, you're a foster failure," laughed Courtright.

Courtright just added Chester, another pug, to their grumble.

Colorado Pug Rescue operates solely on foster parents and donations to operate.

LINK: copugrescue.org