Ottawa pug rescue brings owners together for pug run
Posted Jan 7, 2019 01:33:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It turns out there’s a market for pug socials in Ottawa.
Under My Wing Pug Rescue, an Ottawa dog rescue organization that specializes in fostering and adopting out pugs, invited anyone with a pug to let loose at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre near Britannia Beach Sunday afternoon.
The free event, called “Running of the Pugs,” was a simple gathering of people and their small canine friends.
Dozens of pugs roamed the community centre's auditorium, running in circles, darting back and forth, and occasionally stopping for a drink of water or a pet from one of the many attendees. There was also a cake shaped like a pug's face.
The rescue chose to host the Running of the Pugs at the community centre because of the winter season, according to the organization's founder and president, Genevieve Boucher.
“Pugs hate the cold. Everyone who owns a pug, they're bored because their pug doesn't want to go outside,” she said.
The community centre gives pugs and their owners a chance to alleviate some of that boredom their dogs may feel in the colder months, added Boucher.
Also, pugs get to meet other pugs.
“The fun thing about pugs is they all get along together. Even if they haven't met before, they just want to go crazy. They run like mad,” she said.
The goal of the event was to thank everyone who has helped the organization since its inception in 2006. The group has saved 484 pugs over the past 12 years.
From donations, to foster families, to offering to move pugs across the province, there's been no shortage of help over the years for pugs, according to Boucher.
“Some people are knitting for us, like little winter sweaters. I have a lady who is sewing belly bands for [pugs],” she said.
The rescue has held these kinds of events – where pugs are free to roam and mingle with each other – in previous years, but this is the first time the event was free, Boucher said.
““It’s really like a big thank you, and we couldn’t do that if we didn’t have any supporters,” she said.
