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PugHearts of Houston Blog

BLANCO'S 2010 ANOTHER YEAR ANOTHER SUCCESS!

Sunday, 31 October 2010 12:10 by richardc

We would like to thank everyone who came out to show their support for PugHearts at the Pugs at Blanco’s event Saturday night. We had a fantastic time and helped to raise funds and awareness about our rescue.

It was great to see so many people bringing their furry companions (both pug and non-pug!) and we hope everyone had as much fun as we did. Hopefully next year will be even bigger and better (and maybe a bit cooler)!

A big congratulations to the winner of our grand prize raffle for the 50" TV - Diane Rifai! We’d also like to thank everyone who dug deep and bid so generously on our live auction and silent auction items. There was truly something for everyone this year.

Blanco's 2010 - D'Angeles DonationOne of the many Silent Auction baskets

Blanco's 2010 - D'Angeles DonationBrent Piercy holding aloft a major auction item

We would also like to thank all of our volunteers. They worked tirelessly and endlessly to ensure that this event was a success. Their efforts are what help make PugHearts what it is today. Without them we would not exist and the pugs of Houston would not have a safe haven. We would like to give a special acknowledgement to PugHearts’ 1st ever Volunteer of the Year - Mary Ludwig!

Blanco's 2010 - D'Angeles DonationCindy (on stage) and Mary Ludwig and the very brave Phoebe

Mary is a very special lady with a heart as big as Texas. She takes on some of our most challenging cases, our most needy rescues. Remember Cody - our first rescue suffering from a liver shunt? Mary stepped up to the plate and opened her heart and home to this little guy that had no chance for survival before coming into PugHearts. Cody is now living a healthy, happy life with his new family in OK following surgery to correct his condition. Mary helped make that happen. Then there’s Whitney - one of our first Hospice pugs due to her cancer. She is still with Mary, having outlived everybody’s predictions. Though she remains a Hospice pug and we know will never be healthy again, her life has been full of love and security thanks to Mary. Remember KC? Another dog we took in and placed on Hospice care with Mary due to his lung and breathing issues. Except Mary worked her magic with him and nursed him back to health. He is now with his new forever family enjoying his second chance at life.

Blanco's 2010 - D'Angeles DonationKC, brought back to health by Mary Ludwig, the PugHearts Hospice miracle worker!

Mary has been with PugHearts since day 1 and has fostered dozens and dozens of dogs. She is an irreplaceable part of PugHearts and we are honored to have her as one of our volunteers. We thank you Mary, and we know if they could talk all the little puggies you have helped over the years would say thank you too!
We would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge, public "Thank You" to the staff of Sugar Land Pet Hospital. We often sing the praises of Dr. Doug Hendrix (our very own Dr. Pugger) but we want all of the staff at SPH to know how grateful we are for all the support and care they give us and our rescues. In addition to Dr. Hendrix, Dr. David Brust has been with us from the beginning. He has been instrumental in helping us give our rescues the best medical care possible. And the practice has now grown to include a new veterinarian, Dr. Valeri Devaney. Often the doctors get all the glory, but we know that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the entire staff at SPH. From the receptionists who take our frantic calls when we need to bring a dog in when they are ready to close, to the vet techs who do everything from walking our boarding dogs to administering treatments to handling the avalanche of paperwork and prescriptions for our crew, we cannot say a big enough thank you!

Blanco's 2010 - D'Angeles DonationThe Sugarland Pet Hospital Team
www.SugarLandPetHospital.com

And last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank you. Your generous donations, your participation, your willingness to open your heart and home to adopt a rescue pug make you the critical link in our chain of rescue. Thank you.

2nd Annual "Pugs at Blanco's"!!!

Thursday, 15 July 2010 10:00 by ChrissieP

Howdy Pawwdners and all pug lovers!!

PugHearts is pleased to announce the date for our 2nd annual "Pugs at Blanco's" event! Drum roll please.......

Saturday, September 25th, 6 pm - 11 pm
3406 West Alabama Street
Houston, Texas

This year we are shifting our festivities to the evening and plan on having a grand ol' time! Expect the same delicious BBQ meal as last year (included with entry price), as well as the same fantastic silent auction with so many good items up for grabs! We will also be once again auctioning off a 50 inch Plasma TV for $5 a ticket.

You won't want to miss the live music by The Norman Number!

Last year's event was such a hit and we are so excited to be doing this again. We expect lots of fun and pug kisses to be had! Tickets are $20 until September 1st, and $25 after that.

Also, don't forget to pre-order your brisket which will be available for pick up at the event, pre-cooked and ready to eat. Supplies will be limited and we expect them to go fast since last year they were such a big hit. $40 gets you a brisket large enough to feed roughly 13 people. MMMMM, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

We currently have more fosters in our care than ever before and the vet bills just keep climbing! Between paying to board some of these poor guys (have we mentioned we always need more FOSTER HOMES??), and the illnesses that often come along with these neglected babies, we are finding it tough to keep up. What better way to support the cause than to enjoy yourself at the same time?

We can not say it enough: thank you to all our supporters for everything you do. Whether the donations be money, time, or support, we could not do it with out you!

If you are interested in making a donation (whether it be to sponsor a portion of the event, donate items for the silent auction, or just make a monetary donation), use the contact form at this link: http://www.pughearts.com/ph_contact.aspx

To purchase your entry tickets, click here:http://www.pughearts.com/ph_blancostickets.aspx

To purchase brisket vouchers, click here: http://www.pughearts.com/ph_briskettickets.aspx

See y'all there!

-The PugHearts “Howdy Pawwdners!” event committee

Here are a few photos from last year to get a taste of the fun to be had!

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Success Stories

Sunday, 21 March 2010 07:20 by cindyr

PugHearts has successfully placed over 400 pugs into loving and caring forever homes. Some of these adoptive families keep in touch. We love to get updates and photos of our fosters after they have found the permanent love and life that they have been looking for. This is one of the things that makes fostering easier. The happiness, love and pure joy of both the foster pug and the members of the adoptive family.

We added another success story to our files yesterday. Noel and Eric were adopted into a forever home together. This is even better than normal, as they had been foster brothers together as well. They will now be brothers forever. Congratulations boys!  Congratulations also to the foster family. These were their very first fosters and they did a great job.

Noel  

 Eric

The boys were adopted near the home of 2 of my personal favorite fosters. Now, this does not mean that I do not love all of the fosters that have come through my home. There are just certain ones that really get in into your heart and take a piece of it with them forever. So, I called the adoptive family for Nicholas and Torrey last night to see if they might be home. THEY WERE! and they were gracious enough to tell me to come on over. Needless to say....I did. Special thanks to Nick and Torrey's family for allowing me this pleasure. I was like a kid at Christmas getting to see them.

For those who may be new with us. These fosters were really special.

Nicholas came to us the day after Christmas 2008. He had sarcoptic mange, severe heartworms, his eyes were crusted over from gunk and infection and his skin was infected from scratching and living on the streets. I thought he was beautiful from the first moment. He had the most serene and happy demeanor. Nicholas loved everyone. He spent over 8 months with me getting well, strong and ready to go to his forever home. I cried all the way to their house and all the way back home. It was a perfect place for him and I am so glad they love him like I do. He looks beautiful now, just as I pictured he would all that time ago. This is Nicholas as he looked in my home just before he was adopted.
 

Torrey has an equally sad story to her time with us. Torrey was living in a neighborhood getting by as best she could. The people knew she was there, but no one did anything to get her to safety. Torrey was scared of everyone and everything. Alica and Dack went to the neighborhood when we were notified about her being there. They had to chase her for a long time. She was finally cornered in a person's garage and caught. Torrey promptly bite Dack when he grabbed her and then totally relaxed in his arms as if to ask him: "What took you so long to come?" That is Torrey...a true character. She took some time to learn to trust, but found my husband an easy touch for treats and adopted him. Torrey had been chronically dehydrated from living as a stray and her kidney values were outside of normal. We worked with her for some time before we spayed her, as we were concerned about what would happen if she was sent to surgery. Torrey was placed on a special kidney diet and I am happy to report that her kidney values are now coming in to the normal ranges. Torrey is now busy running her home and making sure all the people (and Nicholas) are doing things the right way. This is Torrey as she was during foster care.
 

So, why do I tell you all this story? Well...first it is a request for updates and pictures of the successes. We love to hear from our babies after they are adopted and settled into their forever homes. Second...I love for everyone to see the results of all the hard work, tears, money and time that go into the daily operations of PugHearts. We have to make some tough decisions for these needy babies. Some of these decisions are good and some are terribly hard. We do not always win for them. PugHearts has lost the battle for several of our fosters recently. The losses were hard and they hurt. Briscoe, Captain, Ivey, Ashley and Allison are missed. I wanted some good news.

We are so grateful that there are so many people and families out there that love these babies as much as we do. Thank you to all of the families that have adopted and love our PugHearts fosters. You make this work worthwhile.

Remember we are always in need of donations, adoptions, and support to make the fairy tale possible for the next pug that needs us.

Cindy

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What a Week It Has Been!!!!!

Sunday, 28 February 2010 14:29 by cindyr

I sat down tonight and thought about what I wanted everyone to know about this last week.

This week has been a roller coaster ride. I started the week feeling really down and frustrated. This is not an uncommon feeling in rescue, but one that we often do not like to talk about. I was thinking about the fact that we had 96 pugs in foster care. We had a $22,000+ vet bill and several pugs boarding at the vet waiting for a place to learn to be a pet again. I spent a fair amount of time sitting in the floor with the pugs in my house. I needed something to make me believe again, in rescue and in myself.

Wow...did I ever get that. On Tuesday, I received a call from a local vet's office. A puppy mill owner was closing out and I was told he had 12-15 pus that needed to come into rescue. This was NOT good news considering the number of pugs already in our care. I was not sure we could even make this happen. PugHearts prides itself on the ability and willingness to take any pug, at any age, in any condition. I did not think we could do that in this situation. I started with an email to the board and then to our list of supporters. I called San Antonio pug rescue and Pug Rescue Austin. The response was overwhelming.

You are all incredible. The response was immediate and beyond anything I could have dreamed. Offers to foster have been coming in, transportation help and support for what we do have poured in. The monetary donations have allowed us to pay down our vet bills.

The puppy mill did surrender thier pugs and tell us that they are no longer breeding pugs. Sadly, he stated he is moving on to Bulldogs. I will fight this as hard as I can. No breed should have to deal with the life of a breeder's commodity. They should be warm, loved, in a house and part of a family. I will do all I can to fight him on this point.

Update on the pugs surrendered:

There were 11 pugs totoal. 9 females and 2 males.

San Antonio pug rescue took in 9 of the puppy mill pugs. They had 17 pugs in their care prior and has the space to care for that many. They are getting the pugs in their care into their vet tomorrow. We are very greatful for their assistance and know that the pugs are in good hands. Pug Rescue Austin is working to find foster homes for a few of the ones that San Antonio took.

PugHearts took in 2 pugs; a male and a female. The male is a 4 year old that has spent his life in a kennel helping to produce puppies. We have named him Deisel. The female is 5 years old. Her feet are spread from standing on wire crates without towels, paper or solid foundation. She has multiple cysts between her toes. The sadest part is that she is showing signs of either a neurological or psychological issue. She makes odd movements with her head and circles, almost continuously, in her crate. We named her Diamond.

PugHearts will do all than we can for both of these babies. They will get all of the medical care they need and we will find fosters that will allow them to learn to be pets and give and accept love.

We thank you all for your support. We are successful because of each and every one of you that support PugHearts in the work that we do.

I am honored to be allowed to be a part of this group.

Cindy

 

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Wow...3 years old.

Sunday, 21 February 2010 05:40 by cindyr

I have sat down to write this entry several times now. February 14th was our 3 year mark. That's right, PugHearts is 3 years old. It does not seem possible that we have been doing this for 3 years already.

I can still plainly remember the day that Richard and I met, so that I could see Alfie. It was a beautiful January day. Alfie looked so happy and loved. I wanted that for all of the pugs that wander looking for love and care. I starting thinking and asking questions. My husband would tell you that is a dangerous time. PugHearts was born on that day. We officially started on Valentine's Day 2007 (What a better start date for PugHearts, right?) and off we went.

On the date of our birthday, we have rescued a total of 516 pugs (with a few imposters in the mix).

We currently have 96 pugs in our care looking for new homes. That is the hard part. The numbers keep going up and the medical issues of those we are helping are getting more severe and costly. One of the things we are most proud of is that we will take any pug, regardless of their condition. I do not want to change that, but there are times it is hard. The money has to come to pay the bills, the adoption have to happen to allow space for the next needy pug. This is where the public and our wonderful volunteer group becomes so critical. There is always a need for transports from shelters to the vet, foster homes so that the pugs can heal, learn and become ready for their new lives, people to promote us and talk to their friends and families about rescue and why it is so important and above all else...there is a need for people to adopt and love our fosters for the rest of their lives. This is the ultimate goal.

 

Lexi is a senior that is looking for someone to love her and play with her for her golden years. Lexi came to us with a ruptured kidney that had to be removed. She acts like a young dog now.
  

Allie is blind and needs someone to help show her the way. She is a lover and a cuddler that will totally trust you once you form that bond with her.
  

Addison came to us VERY pregnant and delivered within the week. She is a sweet girl that craves love and attention from her people. She is being a good Mom, but will be very happy when it is time to be a pet.
  

Yoda is a diabetic that takes 4 units of insulin twice a day. He is a great guy and takes his medicine well.
  

Eric is a young male that came to us skinny and full of parasites. He is learning to be a good boy and is preparing to make a family very happy.

Why do I show you these pugs? Because I want you to understand that we rescue all ages and all sorts of medical needs. We have youngsters, seniors and everything in the middle. If you are looking for a great match for you and your family...we probably have it.

So please...spread the word, donate your time and/or money, foster a pug in need, or provide a forever home to a pug that is looking.

We are successful only when we work as a team. You are a part of that team.

PugHearts and our fosters need you.

Thank you.

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Puppies

Wednesday, 27 January 2010 16:23 by ChrissieP

Hello all pug-lovers! We hope that everyone is having a great start to the New Year.
 
One topic we would like to discuss is....PUPPIES!! Yes - irresistible, adorable, snuggly little puppies. However, as cute as they are, we all know they take a certain level of work and dedication. Since a higher number of puppies tend to be purchased around the holiday season, we would like to take this time to remind everyone of the many needs of a new puppy.
 
First of all, there are many immunizations a new puppy will need. Don't forget to get them into your vet so they can get their shots and be protected from the various diseases out there. Also, please please please get your puppy spayed or neutered! This is usually done when they are about 6 months old. We also highly recommend getting your puppy microchipped. Even the most responsible dog owners can't always avoid accidents such as your puppy slipping out of his/her collar during a walk. With a microchip, his/her chances of getting returned home are much higher.
 
Second, a puppy is going to take a lot of time and patience. In the beginning, there are going to be a lot of behavioral hurdles such as chewing, housebreaking, and general puppy energy. We encourage everyone to stay patient and focused on providing your puppy the necessary training and discipline. There are a lot of great training programs out there, but it is also possible to do it at home. Just make sure to do your research!
 
And last, and this goes with out saying, love your puppy! At times you may get frustrated, but enjoy their youthfulness while it lasts. Before you know it, you will have a well-behaved companion who will dedicate their entire life to making you happy.

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'Tis the Season!

Tuesday, 15 December 2009 16:41 by ChrissieP

First off, from everyone at PugHearts, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Now, as it is the holiday season and we are fast approaching Christmas week with lots of traveling involved, unfortunately, our four-legged puggy friends seem to be abandoned at an even higher rate than normal. And here we are, to take these babies in and provide them a home when they are no longer wanted (through no fault of their own).

However, we can not continue our intake without the help of all our wonderful volunteers. And right now, we need you more than ever. There are many different ways to help. We REALLY need fosters and we REALLY need funds. As always, the medical bills continue to accumulate. As we bring in new pugs, not only do we have the medical bills, we have boarding bills that will continue until they can be placed in foster homes. As you can see, both foster homes and monetary donations are the key to our continued success. The last thing we ever want to do is to have to discontinue intake, but we are not far from this if we do not get some extra help this holiday season.

Even if you can not become a permanent foster home, please consider this for the holiday season. What better way to spread the holiday cheer than to provide a warm, loving home for one of our babies. If you would like to help, please use the contact form provided on our website.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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FUNdrasing!!

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 12:17 by ChrissieP

Hello everyone!

I wanted to take a minute to talk about our Pugs at Blanco's fundraiser this past Sunday. We are happy to report that it was a great success! We raised a significant amount of funds which will put Pughearts much closer to paying off the vet bills. This means that we can continue to accept, treat, and place the needy pugs in the Houston area. Thank you so much to everyone who attended and graciously donated to our cause.

We had a great cooking team in place who worked around the clock to cook 100 briskets starting Friday evening until the event started on Sunday. A big thank you goes out to the cooks as well as the Holy Cow Cookers cooking team who let us borrow their competition-sized smoker for the weekend. We would also like to send an extra special thanks to our party sponsors JR and Yvonne Parks with Caliber Controls.  This would not have been possible without them.


Part of what made the event so successful was our silent auction. With over 70 different items to bid on, we definitely owe a big thank you to the Sales/Auction Committee Chair, DD, for all of her hard work to get everything in place.


We also owe a huge thank you to our two Event Committee Chairs, Sarah and Brent. Working tirelessly to get every detail in place, the event went on without a hitch and we could not have done it without you guys.

 

Since this fundraiser was so successful, we are already working on booking Blanco’s for next fall. We are also working on ideas for a Spring fundraiser. Stay tuned! Any ideas and suggestions are welcome, just use the contact form at the top of this page.

Again, a huge thanks to everyone who attended!!!

-Chrissie

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Tallulah Belle

Wednesday, 4 November 2009 13:43 by cindyr

Our fundraiser is coming up on Sunday. We are excited and hope to see all of you there.

I wanted to take a minute to introduce one of our newer fosters. She came to us in pretty bad shape. We gave her a fancy name to grow into.

Introducing Tallulah Belle

 

Tallulah was found in the middle of the road and taken to the local shelter. She was thin, scared and very itchy. Tallulah does not see very well.

She is now safe and sound at our vet. She currently has sarcoptic mange and is in isolation for now.

Tallulah is about 10. She will go to foster, when she is ready, and will be spoiled and treated as she deserves.

This is the reason we are here. The reason our vet bills are as high as they are. We DO NOT turn these types away. We want to make sure they are safe and well cared for. Tallulah will most likely live out her life with us as a permanent foster. The seniors are not adopted as often as the younger, often prettier, pugs. They do not want much. They just want to be loved and to love in return.

Please consider adopting a senior pug and making their final time as perfect as their lives should have been. If you are not ready to adopt, please consider donating.

See you all on Sunday.

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It's Coming

Friday, 30 October 2009 13:42 by cindyr

All of us at PugHearts are starting to get really excited. The big fundraiser is coming soon.

November the 8th PugHearts will be having a great party at Blanco's on West Alabama.
We will have delicious BBQ, a live band to keep things moving, silent auctions to satisfy your shopping needs and many, many pugs that need help and homes.

Please come out and join us as we eat, visit, have a lot of fun and raise some much needed funds for the pugs.

 

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