Pug Hotel Senior Sanctuary hosts first fundraiser as a nonprofit

Both people and pets gathered in Rohnert Park Saturday for Pug Hotel Senior Sanctuary’s first fundraising event.

Pug-O-Ween at Ladybug Park featured a pet costume contest, a selfie photo booth and a pet painting activity to raise money for Rohnert Park resident Michelle Grady’s pug hotel, where she cares for rescue dogs at her home. The event also included a silent auction and raffle, with donated prizes such as jewelry, gift certificates, gift baskets and potted succulent plants.

Grady partnered with the Pug Rescue of Northern California and the Santa Rosa Pugs Facebook group to organize the event. Although Santa Rosa Pugs has held Pug-O-Ween fundraisers since it was established in 2006, this was the first fundraiser for the sanctuary.

“I really love when rescues work with rescues … We should be in it for the pugs or the dogs or the cats,” Grady said.

Tickets to Pug-O-Ween were $20, and dogs were encouraged to come dressed up.

While Grady didn’t have a fundraising goal in mind, she hoped to raise enough money to cover medical, dental and other expenses for the rescue pugs, she said. She currently is caring for six from around the world.

Grady has been self-funding the pug hotel for years before becoming a nonprofit agency earlier this year, she said.

“It’s something I wanted to do, and when I was married, my husband was like ‘No, you can’t have 10 pugs’,” she said. “But now I’ve been on my own for a while, and yes, I can have 10 pugs.”

For more information on the Pet Hotel Senior Sanctuary, visit its website thepughotel.com.