Mid Michigan Pug Club was formed in 1978. We are affiliated with the Pug Dog Club of America and follow their code of ethics as well as our club's code of ethics.

MMPC came about when a group of breeders and show people decided to form a club to help educate the public about the Pug Breed, to support the sport of showing dogs, and to have a place for all who love Pugs to get together. To this end, we support certain dog shows with either monetary awards or trophies.

We used to have a Sanctioned Fun Match (sanctioned by the AKC) where the dogs were shown like they would be in shows, without the points, and the winners would get ribbons and rosettes along with trophies. We also had fun classes and obedience with prizes given out. We, as a club, have changed our format because we now have a larger number of pet owners attending our match than show people. We have renamed the Match and it has become our Semi Annual Pugnic. We hold two Pugnic's a year in (June and September) where we have ONLY fun classes and games for the pugs and we still give out prizes to all entered along with having a Pot Luck Lunch for all. We have a silent auction with all kinds of pug items as well as a raffle.

We also educate the public using as many venues as possible. One of these venues is the Cobo Hall benched Dog Show each March. Club members, usually Charlene Angell and Diane Rismann, attend to show their pugs and bring educational material to hand out and to talk to the many spectators that stop by their exhibit. When asked, they also give a seminar on the Pug Breed. They will be speaking this year on Sunday, March 2, 2008. Members of the club have also attended the Pet Expo in Novi, Mi to educate the general public and have been at local pet stores to do the same thing. We have an education person that can be called at any time along with a puppy referral person.

MMPC has always rescued Pugs as part of our agenda is to protect the breed, but we did not have a rescue as it is now. As rescues and pugs became more popular, we have evolved into doing more rescuing and taking care of more and more pugs.

As a club, which is associated with the Pug Dog Club Of America, we have nothing to do with auctions, nor do we actively solicit for dogs.

We do not take in dogs from out of state unless the rescues that are operating there have no more homes for their dogs. Then we will step in to help, as long as the dogs have not been purchased from a puppy mill auction.

We do, however, step in when a mill is closed down by the state. We donate money, food, supplies and people to help with the dogs. When the state releases them, we then pay the standard fee for the shelter that has them. We then place them in foster homes (to keep them from having to grow up in a cage) until we find the right home for them. Most breed clubs operate in this fashion.

Breeders are now asking $800-$2000 for pet puppies. We ask that people make a donation of between $150 and $350, depending on the dog. We realize that many people cannot afford the price that many breeders ask, but are able and willing to make the small donation for the dog and keep up the medical on it. If possible we ask that a further donation be made toward medical expenses that the dog has incurred.

We have saved a Pug from heartworm, had two operations on a dog with a broken leg and paid medical expenses to examine a growth on another Pug. This particular Pug did have cancer and was adopted out for the short time that she had to live at no expense to the adopter.

We also found homes for the two Pugs that were held by the state for over four months when the Lapeer puppy mill was closed down. One of the pugs had neurological problems due to abuse. This pug's puppy was temporarily blind from urine dripping down from the cage above her. She also needed surgery on one rear leg and the other one never grew because of the conditions she had lived in. Both of these dogs went to excellent homes at no cost to the homes. Both of the adoptive homes did, however, pick up the medical expenses for the pups because they had been waiting for them since they had seen them on T.V.

Our Chairpersons, Gwynne and Roy Turner work with a number of dedicated foster homes. Pugs are surrendered to us for various reasons. When a person calls to surrender a pug due to behavior problems, our chairpeople try to work with them in the hope that they can properly train their Pug themselves and keep their pug with them rather than give them up. They also work with other rescues when they are over whelmed with Pugs and they work with us when we are over whelmed. No pugs are turned away!