Rescuing pugs and keeping them safe and warm
“I think our three got fed up of me trying coats on them to see if I’d got it right,” Bonny said.
BONNY Lambe, who lives in Linmeyer, and her husband Tom are pug mad and have three, Lucy Lou, Harry Potter and Lily Mae. They are also friends of Pug Rescue in Benoni.
It all began a few years ago when two of their previous pugs, UB and BB died, leaving them with Lucy Lou.
“I wanted another pug but wasn’t sure where to get one from so I searched on Google and up came the details for Pug Rescue in Benoni,” said Bonny, who went with Tom to see if they could find a pug to their liking. “It was love at first sight when I saw Lily Mae but the owner, Cheryl Gaw, said there was one slight problem, Lily Mae came with her partner, Harry Potter. We ended up taking them both home,” laughed Bonny.
Visiting Pug Rescue every two weeks, one day Cheryl asked Bonny and a few other friends of Pug Rescue if they could sew.
“During the winter months the electricity bills at Pug Rescue are astronomical and Cheryl wondered if we would be able to make winter coats for them to wear to cut back on the heating bills.
“From there we began our sewing but because of a pug’s body shape the winter coats were pretty hit and miss,” added Bonny. Later there was only Bonny who carried on sewing and eventually, she came up with the perfect pattern for the coats.
“I think our three got fed up of me trying coats on them to see if I’d got it right,” Bonny said.
Bonny has been making the winter coats for Pug Rescue now for over four years and in that time has sewn over 300.
“I use polar fleece, which is warm and cosy and make the coats double thick to keep the pugs warm. Each pug at Pug Rescue has two winter coats.
Lucy Lou, Harry Potter and Lily Mae also have a coat or two each but they are spoiled during the winter months with warm fluffy blankets and heated pads.
“They really do enjoy a pug’s life,” added Bonny and Tom. It was plain to see how loved these three are. Harry Potter follows Tom around the house and garden while the two girls stick with Bonny.
“Pug Rescue is an amazing place and it just celebrated its 10th birthday. Everyone who goes there is like family and Cheryl and her husband Malcolm are dedicated to creating a home for all the rescue pugs,” Bonny added.
“The purpose of Pug Rescue is to rescue, rehabilitate, rehome and offer sanctuary to pugs throughout South Africa. Our sanctuary is based in Benoni and we make use of foster homes in other provinces. Pug Rescue SA was started in 2008 and in the first year we rescued 20 pugs. Sadly the numbers have escalated year after year with a total of 1 802 rescues to date. At any given time we have on average 158 rescues in our care,” said Cheryl.
“Pugs have become a very popular breed. Sadly they often appear in movies, on clothing and in the media and in fact are used by other rescue organisations to promote their fund-raisers. This encourages irresponsible breeding and impulse purchasing of a cute pug puppy. Emigration, divorce, accommodation downscaling, retrenchments, veterinary requirements, unclaimed strays, neglect and abandonment, among others, are some of the reasons for pugs being surrendered.”
If you’d like to help you can add Pug Rescue SA to your MySchoolMyPlanet card as a beneficiary, also by volunteering, collecting food for their outreach programme, contributing towards outreach sterilisation costs and collecting collars and leads. For more information phone 082 508 0384.
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
Get regular news updates sent directly to your inbox: Newsletter-Signup
