Story of hope: The story behind Pug Rescue
Around this time, Cheryl and Malcolm were dabbling with the idea of giving back to the community and the world somehow as they had recently started their own business.
Cheryl and Malcolm Gaw, founders of Pug Rescue, were more than happy to share their story on how this well-known Benoni NPO became a part of them.
Johannesburg, 1999: Before Pug Rescue
“Malcolm was managing a training course at the company I worked for,” said Cheryl.
“He tried four times to ask me out and I kept saying no.”
“I didn’t know she wasn’t a fan of rugby and I kept inviting her to games,” said Malcolm.
“But with enough persistence I finally got her to agree to go out with me.”
The two dated for about 18 months before tying the knot.
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“We got married on April 21, 2001,” said Malcolm.
“At this point, Pug Rescue was never in the books or the plan.
“We built a house in Morehill and had two German Shepherds.
“After my mom died, Malcolm got me my first pug,” said Cheryl.
“Once I had the first one, we had to have more and ended up getting another five.
“At this point, we had no idea about illegal breeding so we were purchasing the pugs from local pet shops.
“The last one of the first few puggies we had died two days ago (February 9), she was 15, it was heartbreaking.”
Around this time, Cheryl and Malcolm were dabbling with the idea of giving back to the community and the world somehow as they had recently started their own business.
“We felt so blessed, we had an incredible house and were living comfortably, we just wanted to give back,” said Cheryl.
“So we started with homeless shelters, old-age homes and orphanages.
“One day my sales manager and I were chatting and she told me about this pug that runs around at her daughter’s aftercare and the children feed him sandwiches.
“I told her if he is still there the next day and no owners claim him she should take him home and I would fetch him.
“I managed to find the owners and they decided to surrender him to the Pug Club and after I dropped him there I cried all the way home.
“I followed up on him every day and my sales manager asked me why I don’t just adopt him, so I did and named him Scooby.”
It was around this time that the Pug Club approached Cheryl and Malcolm and asked them if they would take over the rescue arm of the club.
“They told us that it wasn’t more than 20 rescue pugs a year,” explained Cheryl.
“I laugh now, especially because in our first year we rescued 60 pugs.
“By the time we got to 19 pugs at our house in Morehill, we knew that we either had to stop or move and for us stopping was not an option.”
Cheryl and Malcolm put their house on the market and bought the property they now reside in, which looked nothing like it does now.
“We lived in a trailer home for 15 months and found temporary accommodation for some of the pugs while we renovated and built onto the new property,” said Cheryl.
“Living in that trailer home was the best time of my life. I loved it there. It was when I realised we had more than we needed.
Once the accommodation was built for the pugs at the new grounds, they then started on their own house based on the property.
“It was about eight years ago today when we had to make a tough decision,” said Cheryl.
“At this point, we could not keep doing Pug Rescue and running our own business.
“So after many debates, decisions and complaints I decided to walk away from the corporate world.
“It was a tough decision and it was hard to adjust at the beginning as the business funded Pug Rescue, but once I decided to throw my corporate experience into the rescue, things started to look up.”
Thanda Inja Project, which stands for ‘Love Dog’
“I remember fondly on why we started this project,” said Cheryl.
“A guy walked from Etwatwa in flip flops with his sick dog to get it some urgent help.
“We assisted him in paying for the dog’s bill and once the dog was discharged, Malcolm and his team took him back to the informal settlement where they saw a puppy dying under a car. We aided the puppy back to health and brought it to the rescue home until she was adopted.
“She now lives in New Zealand, happy as ever with her family.
“There are no vets in Daveyton, Etwatwa or informal settlements.
“Animals are also not allowed on taxis. So many of these people struggle to get their animals to help.”
They started small by getting their vet on board and started helping the neighbours and surrounding people but then it got bigger than them.
“That’s when I decided it was time to speak to Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) and our state vet,” said Cheryl.
“Once they were on board and we all partnered, we started to find synergies and planned on how we can best serve our community.
“We even set up a soup kitchen to feed gogos and young children who wake up early due to it being a first-come-first-served project. They would arrive tired and hungry, so we provided them with soup as well.
“But since Covid-19 we haven’t been able to go and gather in the informal settlements, so the last time we have been there was December last year.”
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Pugs receive some TLC at Pug Rescue
NPO Animal Hospital plan:
Cheryl and Malcolm have recently identified a property that can be accessed by all sides of Ekurhuleni.
“We want to start an NPO animal hospital where people with little or no income can access subsidised rates to assist their animals,” explained Cheryl.
“We are looking for donors and funders to assist us with this vision.
“If anyone can assist, please contact us. We want to get this up and running to assist the community and its animals as soon as possible.”
Pug Rescue needs the following:
• Donations and funders for a new NPO animal hospital
• Huskey canned food with gravy
• Mops and brooms
• Black dustbin bags
• Pine Gel
• Automated washing powder.
If you can assist Pug Rescue in any way, contact them on 082 508 0384 and speak to either Cheryl or Malcolm Gaw or visit their website https://pugrescue.co.za/
