Pug club is launched for pet lovers

A PET owner has launched a pug club in the Rhondda, and is hoping hundreds of dog lovers from across the Valley will sign up to create a community of hundreds.

Freya Ellingham is the brains behind Rhondda Pug Club, and although the group currently has a modest number of members, she is hoping it can emulate the success of a club in Eastbourne, East Sussex she used to attend, which boasts more than 500 members.

“Pugs are one of the oldest breeds recorded. They go back to ancient China,” Freya, 45, explained.

She added: “There has been some bad breeding going on and they have had some bad recent press, but the fact is that they are out there and they are excellent companions with not much wolf instinct.”

The end goal for Freya, who moved to Treherbert a year and a half ago, is a community of hundreds of pug lovers and owners in the Rhondda who are on hand to look after each others’ pugs, meet up on dog walks and provide advice as well as be on hand to foster and rescue too.

Freya, who is a charitable legacy officer with three dogs – two of them pugs – said: “The club in Eastbourne is a huge support network for a lot of pug owners down there and I just thought it would be great to get that idea up and running in the Rhondda.

“I have seen a lot of people walking around the Valleys with pugs so I think there is real scope here.

“We have a couple of members at the moment we have given advice to and things like that. It’s a really good opportunity for quite a breed that has some very specific needs.”

Sean Welsey, president of the British Veterinary Association, recently warned owners to think twice before buying breeds with “flat-faced” features like pugs, because the dogs “can suffer from a range of health problems, from eye ulcers to severe breathing difficulties”.

But Freya, who said she is very aware of the warnings, said: “Although they have specific needs they are not difficult to look after – no more difficult than other dogs.

“As long as you keep them fit and healthy they look after themselves, really. It’s a shame they are getting bad press with vets at the moment.”

She also said the dogs do not shy away from long walks.

“Pugs will happily do eight to 10 miles and ours often do that going up and down the mountains around here.

“People think the problem is that they are bought because they are cute, but all puppies are cute so I don’t think it’s any different to buying dogs with the same sort of problems.

“I would always defend the pugs. They are jolly nice companions and easy dogs.

“I wanted to promote them a little bit but not on a merchandise scale. These are proper creatures but we are very responsible and always offer to foster and rescue as well.”