JOHANNESBURG (AP) \u2014 Lots of hair shedding, tons of fun and a constant invasion of your personal space. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s what you\u2019re going to get with a pug, according to Cheryl Gaw, who has seen more than a few of the squashed-nosed pups in her time. <\/p>\n
Gaw has rescued more than 2,500 pugs in South Africa over the years after she and her husband sold their house, lived in a trailer home for a while and generally reset their lives to help as many dogs in need as they could. <\/p>\n
They eventually established their Pug Rescue South Africa in Johannesburg in 2010 because of an overflowing number of dogs in their house. It was \u201cnever part of the plan\u201d when they looked ahead to their retirement, said Gaw, who is 63. \u201cOf course, the pugs won,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n
The center is currently home to nearly 200 pugs, the latest batch who have hit hard times and need a helping paw. Some of them were abandoned, some sick, and many were given up by owners who couldn\u2019t look after them anymore. <\/p>\n
Gaw\u2019s pug life started in 2008 when her husband, Malcolm, gave her one as a gift. At a pug club, someone asked if they\u2019d be interested in providing a foster home for \u201ca couple\u201d of pugs. In the first year, the Gaws provided a temporary home to 60 pugs and had 19 in their home at one point \u2014 too much fur for one small house. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are known as the clowns of the dog world, and they can make you laugh,\u201d said Gaw, giving her own breed guide. \u201cAlways in your space. They\u2019re just an amazing, lovable breed. And you always have hair on you.\u201d <\/p>\n
The rescue center\u2019s staff do their best to keep order. The routine is: 5.15 a.m., the dogs wake up and come out of the cottages where they sleep in groups according to their \u201cage and personality,\u201d said Gaw. Then there\u2019s breakfast, medication for those that need it, bathtime, playtime, grooming time, midday snacks, afternoon rest, more playtime, evening meal, more medication, and all pugs back in their rooms between 6-7 p.m. <\/p>\n
Fights occasionally break out. The veterinary bill for the center is nearly $40,000 a year, and it\u2019s a constant process of rescue, rehabilitation, and then trying to rehome them, with more pugs arriving all the time. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe operation doesn\u2019t stop,\u201d said Gaw. <\/p>\n
There is a reason why so many pugs need a new home. Their short muzzles, a mark of the breed, give rise to breathing problems and other health issues like eye and ear infections, she said. A pug\u2019s vet costs are not to be sniffed at and Gaw warns prospective owners to do their homework and get a good pet insurance policy: \u201cYou\u2019re going to need it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Many of the pugs have come to the Gaws because their owners can\u2019t afford those vet bills. Be prepared for their problems, she said, and also the hair, which she can\u2019t stress enough. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey shed an enormous amount of hair,\u201d she said. \u201dYou can brush them all day long, they still shed.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) \u2014 Lots of hair shedding, tons of fun and a constant invasion of your personal space. That\u2019s what you\u2019re going to get with a pug, according to Cheryl Gaw, who has seen more than a few of the squashed-nosed pups in her time. Gaw has rescued more than 2,500 pugs in South Africa <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}