Pugs and their people take over Surry, Maine

On Saturday, October 14, over 60 pugs and their people, as well as countless pug lovers congregated in the town of Surry at the town wharf for a first annual Pug Parade to the legendary Pugnuts Ice Cream Shop. The idea of having a pug parade was the brainchild of Pugnuts Ice Cream Shop owners Eric Treworgy and Karlton Holmes. Their love of pugs started their wonderful pug themed ice cream shop; and then branched into wanting to do a community event that would bring pug lovers together, as well as raise money for Green Mountain Pug Rescue.

When they reached out to me to see if I could get members of the Bangor Area Pug Society involved, I jumped on the opportunity for so much fun! Our group gets together every Halloween for a costume party. To have it be a parade this year would simply take it to the next level!

They asked about how many pugs would be there, to which I answered: “Oh probably 30.” What none of us realized was that there were, even more, pug lovers on the coast of Maine who were just as excited about an opportunity to dress up their pugs and gather in one place. Well, gather they did.

The event exceeded all expectations! Why might that be? Pugs and all of their silliness bring happiness to all who surround them. There were people in the mix who had just recently lost family members who came to smile a bit and see the pugs. Some people in the mix with chronic conditions who saved their spoons and rested up for this one afternoon of not thinking about being sick. Others were battling cancer but for that one afternoon they didn’t think about treatments or figuring out how to manage side effects. There were custody battles, financial concerns, people who were unemployed or under-employed. Some had faced prejudices and others had faced peril. However, for that one afternoon, laughter filled the air and over $200 was raised for Green Mountain Pug Rescue.

Thank you, Eric and Karl, for your generosity, creativeness, and stamina for pulling off such an event. All of us pug lovers can’t wait for an even bigger event next year! Perhaps Surry, Maine will become the Pug Destination of the world!

Photos in the video thanks to Tammy Packie and the video talents are of Eric Treworgy.

Photos throughout this post were thanks to a pug enthusiast who just came along to join the fun, Richard Shute.

Dawn DeBois

About Dawn DeBois

Florida born and Maine grown, my life has been atypical. My childhood was full of loss and severe physical pain. Both emotional and physical stress during childhood has been found to contribute to autoimmune disease. My first autoimmune diagnosis was at the age of 28, which has led to juggling multiple autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto’s, Fibromyalgia, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Psoriatic Arthritis and most recently LEMS- Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome). I am officially now classified as having “Multiple Autoimmune Syndrome.” You know what they say, go big or go home! You can now follow my LEMS jouney on my weekly column, LEMme Tell Ya, on LambertEatonNews.com.