A pug’s life for Pedro and Poncho

While they might all be relative newcomers on the block, pugs Lizzie and Stephen Michael have been helping their mates Pedro and Poncho settle into life in Southbank. Southbanker Lizzie (yes, same name as her pug!) told Southbank News that she and her husband Michael purchased their Southbank apartment just before the outbreak of COVID-19 last year. However, due to travel restrictions and other complications caused by the pandemic, they were only able to move in during January this year, having relocated from Hobart, Tasmania with their pug companions. “We bought Lizzie from a rescue shelter and didn’t want to change her name as she got used to that name,” Lizzie said. “We sensed that Lizzie has a beautiful maternal personality and felt that she needed someone to love. So, we recently got this baby pug, Stephen Michael, for her and for us. He came over from Tasmania on a ferry with our son-in-law, and straight away bonded with Lizzie and the family.” Just as the pug pair has been busy getting used to life in Southbank, their friends Pedro and Poncho, owned by Lizzie’s daughter Sam, have joined them in recent months after also moving from Tasmania into Freshwater Place. “This is the first time for these dogs in Melbourne. Poncho loves only her mummy and is aggressive towards everyone else, he is quite vocal and protective of Pedro,” Sam said •