Sofia Coppola, the dog, not the celebrity.

"She just needs a warm body". That's what my boyfriend (Jason) always says about my three year old pug, Sofia. I beg to differ.

In a bold attempt to find a new pooch for her brother (who had recently lost his own dog, Boston) Kami Darling drug me to a pug rescue. Now when I say "drug" I don't mean that she came over and pulled me out the front door kicking and screaming, I simply mean that I didn't know what to expect, I knew nothing...nada... zilch about dogs. As a matter a fact, I hadn't owned a dog since I was seven, and that one was only around for six months. My brother and I didn't meet my mother's expectations of "properly caring for dear old Peanuts". He was adopted by some church members who lived on a large farm.

I was reluctant, to say the least.

I went anyways, I sat on a sidewalk for a couple of hours, chatted with some awfully nice folk (all-pug owners and lovers), and tried my best to get into the mode. " This is a tad-bit cultish", I thought to myself. "These people really seem attached to this breed, it's kind of weird" More thinking. The next thing I knew countless vans pulled into the driveway... full cargo's...lots of pugs. Now Jason had specified that he wanted a puppy and to my delight all of the dogs coming out of the vans were just that. I remarked to Kami "Wow, they're ALL babies, we're sure to find a puppy here" Kami answered "Um, Susan, Pugs are small dogs, they just look like pupppies"

Boy did I feel stupid. The next couple of hours were spent in a back yard where all of the cultish Pug-people were bonding with the new arrivals, trying to pick mates best suited to their personalities. I didn't get it, "these people are nuts" I thought. Just then...I saw her...a timid, shaking little thing cowering in the corner. I approached, she sunk her nose down in the grass, I gently and somewhat awkwardly picked her up. She held on for dear life and she hasn't let go since. I get it, I confess...

I am a CULTISH PUG PERSON. Sofia is my shadow, my soul-mate and my best friend. I can't imagine my life without her, we are inseperable, when I leave the house she waits in a downstairs window, watching patiently until I return...a match made in heaven, love at first sight, the perfect paus-de-deux. Oh, and in case you're wondering about Jason ever getting his "own" dog, he did. Kami accessed the situation immediately and presented him with a three-month old black male Pug two weeks later. Guess you could say we're one big, happy Pug family...err, I mean...cult.

Susan Quinn, proud member of Ohio Pug Rescue/Cult.