Woman offers $1,000 for pugs kept outside in 105-degree weather and cries when he refuses

Thank goodness for people like Izabella St. James — she is the saving grace for so many dogs’ lives. She runs an organization called The Pug Queen which rescues abused and neglected dogs.

St. James received a message on Facebook telling her about two Pugs that were outside in 105-degree heat. They weren’t going to live much longer.

“I always tell people, ‘If you see dogs that are being abused or neglected, or if there’s any way I can help, let me know, because you need to be the voice for the voiceless,’” St. James told The Dodo. “So one of my followers on Facebook sent me a message and said, ‘I drive by this house every day and I see these pugs. They’ve been out there for years — in the pouring rain and the heat.’”

St. James raced to the house as fast as she possibly could. When she arrived — her heart sank. The dogs were outside on a concrete patio. One of them had a slight bit of shade, but not enough to provide relief. Both of the dogs were panting heavily.

“I thought, ‘I’m going to get these dogs, no matter what I have to do,’”she says.

She lovingly dubbed the dogs Lewis and Clark. Lewis seemed to be doing okay, but Clark was on the brink of death.

“I thought he was dead,” St. James said. “He was just lying there.”

St. James rushed over to the door of the owner’s house — an older Hispanic gentleman answered.

“I asked him if he spoke English, and he said, ‘A little bit,’” St. James said. “So I began a conversation. I told him that I had recently lost my senior dog, and I wanted to enquire whether he was willing to sell these dogs to me. I would like to give them an indoor home, where they don’t have to suffer in the heat and 105-degree weather. I told him that pugs are not made for this kind of weather, and they’re suffering — they can barely breathe.”

Despite her pleas to the dogs’ owner, he refused to give up the dogs. She was getting desperate at this point.

“I said, ‘They’re not OK,’” St. James said. “And the one I thought was dead, who I later named Clark, he started coughing. And it was a horrible, guttural cough. He still laid there with his eyes closed, coughing and coughing. And I said, ‘He’s sick. He needs medical care. He needs to go to the vet.’”

The man, however, stood his ground. He refused to give her the dogs. This time, she decided to offer money. First, she offered him $500 for both dogs. Then $750. After he continued to say no, she offered him $1,000 for both dogs.

After being refused an offer of $1,000 to take both of the Pugs, the man still would not let her take them. St. James left crying.

“I started crying because I just thought, ‘That dog is going to die,’” she said. “And with the other one in the hole, it was just the saddest, saddest thing I had ever seen.’”

St. James was heartbroken but she wasn’t going to give up on those dogs. She couldn’t just leave them there. She decided that she’d come back the next day with some food and medication for the poor, neglected dogs.

On her way back to her car, she was stopped by a neighbor that gave her more insight as to what was going on in that household.

“[The neighbor] said, ‘You know, they never take care of those dogs. They barely get fed and they never get any attention. They never go for walks. No one ever comes and pets them. They’ve never been to the vet. They’re just literally out there in the dirt by themselves 24/7,’” St. James said.

St. James decided to leave a note for the man’s son — he ended up calling her the next day. He told her they would sell the dogs.

“This guy said, ‘I hear you came here trying to buy my dad’s pugs,’” St. James said. And I said, ‘Yeah, I did, and I would still like to do that.’ And he said, ‘My dad will take the money because he has zero money.’”

Of course, she loaded up her car with everything she’d need to remove Lewis and Clark from the property and get them to a vet clinic.

“I arrived with crates with food and treats and everything for the dogs, as well as harnesses and leashes,” St. James said. “And [the man] came to the door, and I gave him cash, and I took the dogs in the car.”

MISSION SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE, ACCOMPLISHED!

Posted by THE PUG QUEEN on Monday, September 11, 2017

As soon as the dogs were placed in St. James’ car, they were immediately relieved. Lewis was happily wagging his tail. Clark, however, couldn’t stop coughing.

She rushed them to the vet clinic immediately and the doctors went to work. They were both suffering from over-heating, malnutrition, rotting teeth, eye problems, and arthritis. Poor Clark, of course, had his terrible cough.

CLARK's horrible cough.

Posted by THE PUG QUEEN on Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Clark was going to need some serious medical attention, so he’d have to stay at the animal hospital until he regained his health. Lewis, on the other hand, was able to go home with St. James that evening.

“When I first brought him into the house, he was scared to move,” St. James said. “He was never allowed in [at his old house], so he looked at me like, ‘Are you sure? Am I allowed to be here? Am I allowed to move?’ And he went into one corner and he didn’t want to leave.”

It wasn’t long until Lewis was feeling right at home with St. James. He seems to have taken to a fluffy pink bed.

“His favorite bed is this little fluffy pink bed that I bought for the girl puppies, but that’s just the one that he likes the most,” St. James said. “His big, chunky butt barely fits in there, but he likes it. I think it makes him feel very snuggled up and secure.”

Clark is still battling with his cough and vets are having a hard time getting it under control. In the meantime, St. James visits him as often as she possibly can. When she can’t make it — she’ll have a friend help her take over.

“I take him out into the sun,” St. James said. “The days I can’t go, I have a friend who does it. She picks him up and takes him out in the sun. He was barking and so happy. Even being there is so much better than where he was.”

St. James is serving as Lewis’s foster mom until he and Clark can find forever homes. Interested in adopting Lewis and Clark? Reach out to The Pug Queen.

Source: The Dodo/Facebook