PugFest 2012 Comes To The Gwinnett Fairgrounds

Each year, on the last weekend in October, the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds exhibit hall is filled with the sounds of snorts, the sights of waging curly tails, and Pugs in costumes. Crowds (yes crowds !) travel from far & wide to join in the fun & games.

But it's not just fun & games. The hall is filled with precious Pugs looking for a forever home. SEPRA takes in Pugs & Pug mixes from all over the country. Some have critical medical needs. Diabetes, arthritis, & eye problems are just a few issue that plague the breed.

With love & compassion, foster parents open their hearts & their homes to care for these precious dogs' needs. Once healty & rehabbed enough they go on the website for adoption. Today SEPRA had some of these Pugs at the event today, although none were allowed to be adopted today. Today was a fund raiser & a meet & greet for the dogs & prospective owners.

PugFest is, like the name implies, a festival. There are vendors with dog supples, arts & crafts (a true Pug owner's home is covered in Pug art of many sorts), homemade dog treats, & more. There's also the contests. These are the most popular part of the event.

The contests are for: who traveled the farthest, talent (lots of rollovers), the oldest, the best kisser, the longest tongue (some Pugs suffer from a condition that causes their tongues to hang out), and of course, the ever popular costume contest. Two categories for costumes, store bought & homemade.

All in all, it was a great turnout today. Last count showed over 400 Pugs, Pug mixes, & other small breed dogs attended. For those of you who attended, THANKS for your support. For those that didn't make it, you missed a real party.

David Binder is a photographer from Loganville and an enthusiastic Pug Daddy!