That’ll do, pug
THEY have been court jesters to royalty from the House of Orange to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, charming everyone from couturiers to Churchill along the way. Immortalised in Meissen porcelain and by the artists William Hogarth and Sir Joshua Reynolds, they are now the influencer’s companion of choice. Those comical, Instagram-friendly faces are capable of breaking the internet—Doug the Pug, based in the US, has some 13 million followers on social media.
Pugs are one of the oldest dog breeds, favoured by Chinese emperors since the Shang dynasty of about 400 BC . Following their flat-faced cousin the French bulldog (‘Vive le bulldog français!’, March 22, 2017), pugs’ endearing features and affectionate natures have seen their popularity soar in recent years.
‘It’s the amusement factor,’ thinks author Raffaella Barker, whose pug, Flash, is the source of
