Gizmo
What do you think? What do you say? My heart was literally broken today. Two months ago you came to stay, So shy, so scared- you wouldn't play. I sat in the chair right next to you, just waiting to love someone new. I finally brought you home, I said your free Gizmo. .free to run. Not knowing at all about the damage that had been done. As time went on, I loved you more. Right at my heels, my shadow, pug form on the floor. My mom and I did things that were pretty cool. She took me swimming while Dana was at school. Gizmo mom said. .I lifted my ears. Do you want a snack or go outside? I tilted my head. Ok.. come on Giz she said..lets go for a ride. That was the best part, being by your side. We tried to fix what had been done. You loved us all, our hearts you won. And no matter what the others did, Michigan Pug Rescue excepted you as our new kid. The day you left it poured down rain, my heart so broken.. I love you Giz. I know your sending kiss licks back from Rainbow bridge. So here is the bottom of a second chance at life.. Got held through storms and under the covers at night. But I know now that I was loved from the second I walked through the Barnett’s door to Rainbow bridge. .forevermore. .love mom

Jake
It is with great sadness that I am writing to you today. I lost Jake this past August and today is the first time I have felt strong enough to give you the news. My life took many turns during the time I had him and he remained my one constant and the true love of my life. I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of MS 8 years ago and my marriage ended about 18 months later. Through it all Jake never left my side and in the end I was able to return the favor. 2 years ago this month he was diagnosed with cancer. I made the decision to bring him home and keep him loved and comfortable for as long as I could. He and I had a great 18 months together and I viewed every day as a gift. On August 8 he suffered a seizure at home, and became paralyzed as a result. My son and I made the choice to let him go at that time. While I was not able to stay with him, Alex held him while he drew his final breath. We both know what a hard start that little man had. I was my great honor to be able to love him and give him the life he so deserved for as long as I did. Thank you again for the gift that was my Jake. I asked the kids to pick their favorite picture of Jake and this is what they came up with. Two things have taught me to be a better mom, daughter, sister and friend, the first was the absolute devotion Jake had not only to me but to the kids. He showed us all the true meaning of unconditional love. The second had been my illness, it has made me kinder and far more patient than I was. Fondly, Sarah Ries

Scooter
Scooter was a fun and happy little dog. We figure he was around 16years old but he certainly didn't act like it when he was "guarding" his unopened bag of dog food! His rescue buddy Riley misses him too! He will be greatly missed by us and everyone that met him....Good luck in you "new" home Scooter..we miss you here! Joni Price and The Clapp Family

Mickey
"We adopted Micky a decade ago when he was about 4 years old. He and his older brother Rocky were looking for forever homes and we knew they would be perfect for us. Since we live in Philadelphia, it was perfect that Rocky and Micky were named after the fighter and his coach in the Rocky Balboa movies - they were destined to be Philly dogs! Years went by and Rocky passed away, leaving Micky on his own. A year later we returned to Michigan Pug Rescue to adopt Lucy. Lucy also passed away a few years later which left Micky alone again. We decided Micky deserved all the attention we could give him and agreed he'd be the only dog in the house. Micky was always a sweet dog, welcoming a cat we rescued and visiting a hospital to visit one of my sick relatives. Twice he escorted me (in his tie) to the Pennsylvania SPCA gala. He was such a gentleman! Micky will always remain the smartest dog I've ever known - one who truly loved his family. We miss him!"

Harley
Since it is so many years and many pugs latter, I don't know if you will remember us, but we are the Schmidt family from Cadillac, Michigan. We adopted a black pug named Harley in April 2002 when he was 2 1/2 years old. He came with a toy frog that yelled "TOUCHDOWN" when it was thrown and a toy squirrel. His favorite treat was baby carrots. On our way home we stopped at the mall and bought him a Harley Davidson collar. We came to the pug picnic in 2002 and 2003, and he always remembered the man he was fostered with, I can't remember his name, but it may have been Jim. He came home to a cat sister and they got along well, until she died a year ago. Shortly after he turned 4 he had his first seizure and it freaked us out because we didn't know what was happening. The vet said it is fairly common for pugs. After that he only had a seizure maybe 3 or 4 times a year, there were times when it was 6 months between seizures and the vet said he couldn't see medicating him every day when the seizures were so infrequent, so we just dealt with them as they came along. According to the paperwork we got with him he was born Sept. 20, 1999, so in just a couple of weeks he would have been 14 years old. It has been just the last couple of years that he started to show his age and he recently got sick and last Thursday we had to put him to sleep. I had taken him to the vet 2 weeks before that because we knew he wasn't feeling well, but the medicine didn't help and we knew there was nothing else to do for him. It was a very sad day for all of us, but we had 11 1/2 great years with him and will miss him very much. He was a very special dog and he brought us much joy. We were told that when we came down to meet him if he liked us he could go home with us, but we found out after having him for a short time that it wasn't a very fair test because he liked everyone. He was great friends with all of our neighbors that we saw while taking him for a walk. I just wanted to say thank you for Harley. I can't imagine another dog like him, but maybe in the Spring we will think about adopting another pug. Denise Schmidt