Chris Hedrick founded Pug Rescue of North Carolina because she realized there are too many dogs in need of help. She decided she might as well focus on the breed she loves the most.

 

Since its incorporation as a nonprofit in 2000, the Summerfield-based operation has grown rapidly to encompass rescue efforts in nine states, including as far away as Pennsylvania.  "I thought North Carolina was pretty big," Hedrick said. "Lo and behold, there was a lot bigger need."

 

That need was apparent when Hedrick's organization took on 51 dogs from a puppy mill in Wilson County.  "I need to help them," she said. "They can't talk, so I'm the voice for them."

 

The organization's volunteers foster the dogs in their homes, getting them healthy and socialized before adopting them out to a permanent family.

 

Since its inception, Pug Rescue has had to alter its rules to prevent people from becoming volunteers solely to get first dibs on a dog without paying an adoption fee.

 

Still, many of the volunteers have adopted rescued dogs, which they can do three times in a five-year period.  It's called a "foster failure," said Kim May, a foster parent for Pug Rescue.

 

May said rescue organizations such as Pug Rescue are great places to get a dog because the volunteers don't lie. They want the new owners to know exactly what they're getting.  "We're very careful," she said. "We don't want a dog to have to be rescued again."

 

That's because what they've seen is heart-breaking for any dog lover. One dog, Tinkerbell, came to them with burns all over her body.  "It breaks your heart, but you're just glad to get them out of there," May said.

 

Another dog, Marguerite, is listed on the Pug Rescue Web site as a "death row" puppy. When she arrived at Pug Rescue from a pound in Virginia, Marguerite was dehydrated and covered in mange. Less than two months later, she is on her way to a full recovery and can be adopted soon.

 

Hedrick and her volunteers said they help pugs because they love the breed's sweet, resilient nature.  "It's like Lay's potato chips. You can't have just one," Hedrick said.

 

Thom Koch said he was skeptical of the breed at first.  "I used to think that pugs were wimpy and fragile," he said.  His pug, Jake, with a thick neck and a strong pull on the leash, changed his mind.

 

May said a pug is a "big dog in a little body -- portable and sturdy.  "If you don't want one of those little dogs that looks like they'll break, this is for you," she said.

 

The success stories keep the volunteers going, Hedrick said, admitting that rescue work can be overwhelming. 

 

Caroline Steed, a member of the organization's board of directors, recalled Fortune, a pug from the Wilson puppy mill. She weighed only 9 pounds when she arrived. Fortune was used to communal meals where the food was thrown out for the dogs to fight over.

 

"The first time I put a bowl out, she looked at the bowl and looked at me. You could see the change in her face -- 'You mean this is just for me? I don't have to fight for it?'  "She didn't know what a treat was. She didn't know what a soft place was."

 

But Steed said pugs don't let a rough past stop them from having a good life.  "No matter how bad they've had it, they bounce back," she said.

 

Contact Kavita Pillai at 373-7157 or kpillai@news-record.com