Pug lovers unite online to save injured dog

Hundreds on Internet offer donations for canine in need of surgery

Tom Sweeney / AP - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Colleen Bighley, holds her 2-year-old pug named Buck in Forest Lake, Minn., on March 27.

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updated 9:35 p.m. ET March 28, 2006

FOREST LAKE, Minn. - A little pug named Buck has been saved, thanks to a group of dog lovers who bonded through the Internet.

After the 2-year-old pug was hit by a car last week and broke three legs, owners Colleen and Jim Bighley were faced with a $3,000 surgery bill they couldn’t afford.

Colleen Bighley shared her grief on a pug-lovers’ Web site and she wrote about her plans to give the dog one night at home before putting it to sleep.

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But 14 minutes after Bighley’s post, a pug owner in Australia offered to donate money for the surgery. Others followed, and more than 200 donations totaling about $2,000 came in from as far away as France and Alaska.

Buck is home recuperating now.