Why I chose to keep a pug as a pet

In my early years of veterinary practice, I met these little “thick” creatures. They seemed to be into themselves without really caring about me or probably struggling to breathe because their breathing was laud. Giving them strenuous exercise can make them pant so laud that they might lie down in exhaustion. I learned they used to snore while sleeping and wondered how that would sound compared to humans.

Some 8 years ago one young man walked into the clinic with this lovely, 'ugly' little creature and asked me if I would buy her. At first, I thought the money was going to be off the roof so I gently declined but added that if the guy can sell to me at the little cash I had, I wouldn't mind. The guy refused and walked away. After a few moments, he came back to give me the puppy and asked me to just give him the little I had. I quickly gave him the cash and took the female, black, pug puppy of about 4 weeks. She was so frail looking.

It was like a dream come true that a pug can just fall into my lap unexpectedly. I was very excited. The puppy was so small that you will be scared she might die with a little mishandling. The very thing I loved about that dog was the fact that she loves to eat. I never saw Peach select food. She eats everything including apples, oranges, and anything you would eat. She has energy on another level. Peach can play and loves to play but also loves to sleep. Don't just disturb her sleep cos she will leave to a quiet corner to continue sleeping.

Before Peach, I kept a Havanese named Chase and the problem I had was the hairs flying around in my house especially when He was shedding. Peach had short hairs so the shedding was not as noticeable as Chase's. The bad side was the fact that Peach slept on the bed with me. I allowed this because I tried to make her very comfortable as a puppy but as she grew, Peach would climb my body to change position while sleeping. Sometimes, I endured and sometimes I feel disturbed.

The worse days with Peach indoors is when she comes on heat. The blood from the heat would stain the entire bedsheets every day. I had to get up to 5 bedsheets to change every day. Buying a washing machine became a must. I counted the days for the period to pass.

Peach knew my routine, she knows her position in the car when we were going to work. She sits in the front seat whenever she accompanies me to work or to a visit. In fact, people asked after Peach more than they would ask after anyone from me. I had friends that would buy cartons of dog food for Peach for free. Peach would always want to show off her jumping skills. Whenever I get to the clinic with Peach, she will just jump out of the car and starts climbing the stairs toward the clinic. In fact, my neighbors know when I arrive whenever they sight her cos she always comes up first. She would greet all my staff first before coming back to the stairs to see if I was coming up.

Peach was everyones' pet. She was a rare breed of dog too so passer-bys would stop to take her picture with their phones. She was also a marketing tool for the clinic at that moment. Many of my neighbours started using our clinic for their dogs and most times they bring their children to come and see Peach. Many parents told the story of Peach to their children and that was when I started having issues with bringing Peach to work with me because the kids were just increasing daily. They would take Peach on a walk and most times they were fighting to be the one to hold Peach by the leash. Many times Peach would run under the table when she sights any of the kids because she knows what was coming.

The breed – Pug is a small breed of dog with a very short snout or nose area with some folds around the face. They are thick looking with bulgy eyes and obviously short legs. They come in all black and tan colors. They usually have some stain of white mostly around the chest. They are about 1 foot from the ground in height.

People have different opinions about Peach, one of the comments was that she looks like a dog whose nose was sliced off. Some said she looked like a black cat. Many would say that she was very ugly and a few say she was beautiful. I would say she was ugly but too attractive. She was the most active dog I have ever owned.

Peach had only one set of puppies which was a mistake on my part. I didn't know that I left Brass, a male Border collie breed that was abandoned on me, open from his cage. I only released Peach to go and do her thing but to my surprise, Peach was not scratching the door to be let in. I went out to see both dogs hooked already. I just allowed her to have the puppies but called people and gave out the puppies free at 6 weeks.

Peach loves to play with other dogs, even the most aggressive dogs. I don't know how she does it but she never got hurt.

So, do you like pugs? Do you have one living inside your home? Tell me about him/her.