Pug

The RSPCA is reporting an upturn in the number of “designer breeds” such as French bulldogs and Pugs being abandoned. Becoming fashionable can have dire consequences for a breed, for as more people choose to buy a puppy of a specific breed, more people will sadly choose not to keep the dog long-term. Some of the unfortunate dogs who are cast aside by their owners end up being taken in by the RSPCA.

In 2016 the charity rescued several Pugs and French bulldogs who had been abandoned. Here are some of their stories:

Poor Petunia

Petunia was found collapsed in the road in north-west London

The RSPCA has appealed for information after a pug was found collapsed and dumped in a north-west London street riddled with infection.

Petunia - as she was later named by RSPCA staff - was found abandoned in Links Road, Cricklewood, at around 11pm on Friday 18 March. She was curled up in blanket with her head down.

Charity surveyed hundreds of dog owners to find out what makes their pets happy..

Running, eating, and sleeping are some of the activities that make our pet dogs the happiest, according to an RSPCA survey.

The animal welfare charity spoke to hundreds of pet owners to find out what makes their dog happy.

90% of dog owners revealed that their canine companion loves nothing more than exploring and investigating, 81% said that their pet enjoys going for a walk off-lead, and 82% said that their pet enjoyed going for a run.

Well the Lemongate scandal rumbles on and gathers pace - the national media is beginning to pick up on it now. The Daily Mail is today running the story ITV under fire for allowing 'Keith Lemon' comedian Leigh Francis to give away puppy as a prize on primetime show.
 

The Kennel Club was appalled to see a puppy being given away as a prize on the ITV show Keith Lemon's Lemonaid and the following is our statement:

The Kennel Club is disappointed and shocked that a puppy was given as a prize on a prime-time ITV show and is writing to the television producers and to Ofcom to outline its concerns.

When I settled down to watch Keith Lemon's Lemonaid on Saturday evening, I had no idea that the show would provoke a furore in the dog world, but as soon as it became clear that the program intended to give a puppy as prize to the child that succeeded in a competition, my stomach twisted. Three children who were each pestering their parents for a dog had been selected to compete against each other to win a puppy, and when a little girl won the competition a tiny six week old Pug puppy was duly produced and given to her to cuddle.