The Tales of Pug People visited with the uber-adorable Louie and his Person, Serena, for a chin-rest fest; Louie spotted a sucker immediately and proceeded to plop his royal head into our more-than-willing hands. His pugaliciousness was very distracting; the recording of our interview has long spaces of silence where we found ourselves unable to ask questions because we were busy breathing in his glorious Frito-paws scent. We’ve never been more tempted to commit a pugnapping felony.
PP: Serena, did you grow up with pugs?
When I was little, my mom surprised us with a pug puppy that my sister named Lucky. Everyone thought it was because of Britney Spears, but really it was because in her five-year old mind, we were going to get a second pug named Charm. Charm never happened, but Lucky and I were best friends. And that was it. Pugs forever for me.
PP: Was there a pug in between Lucky and Louie?
No, Lucky passed when I was in college and it was just so hard, but I knew I had to wait until I had the time and money to have my own. And my husband was not a dog person, but he knew from the beginning that it was going to be me and a pug—it was a package deal.
PP: We gotta say, it’s hard to keep interviewing you when we’re distracted by the ultimate cuteness of Louie.
I know, I get it.
PP: Seriously, the furry flap over his button nose is killing us. Anyway, trying to move on… Serena, when did you officially know you were a Pug Person?
I don’t think it was a choice. How could it ever be any other way? Oh, and when I fangirled pugs on the street, even the really crazy-looking ones, the ones where their eyes are pointing in different directions-- okay, maybe objectively probably not the cutest dog, but OMG, it’s a pug. You can’t help it.
PP: We are longing to own a pug someday that has eyes pointing in opposite directions and the tongue hanging out about six inches. Oh, and with three legs.
Yes. YES.
PP: When Louie looks at you, what do you think he’s thinking?
“Food”. He has a one-track mind. Fruit is his favorite, especially bananas, but seriously, he’ll eat anything. He’ll eat dust. The vet was going to give him a pill and was looking for some peanut butter to put it in and I said, “don’t bother”. He ate it, no chaser needed.
PP: Does Louie have a voice?
Oh, absolutely. It’s kind of an exasperated, whiney, demanding, ‘woe is me’ voice. Like, “Maaaamaaaa…”
PP: Really? ‘Cause, look at his face, he looks so innocent.
Don’t let him fool you. Don’t let the chin-rest cuteness fool you.
PP: He really loves the chin rest. His head is fully in my hand, the full weight.
He’s obsessed with chin resting. It’s like he’s saying he can’t possibly hold his own head up, he has no neck muscles. Last week I had to drive with one hand because I had to hold up his chin with the other one.
PP: Besides being completely committed to the chin rest, does he have any other quirks? “Louie” quirks or just general pug quirks?
For the longest time we thought this was a Louie quirk, but now we’ve seen other pugs do it: the three-legged poo. One leg fully up in the air, like a split, as he’s pooping.
PP: Wait, you’ve seen other pugs do that?
Yes! Do you know Puggy Butters? He hovers the leg. Not quite as high as Louie, though; maybe Louie does the biggest split I’ve seen.
PP: Any other quirks?
In the morning, he inches up in the bed and double crosses his paws on your face.
PP: You realize you just confessed that he sleeps with you.
Yeah, that was a Covid mistake. When we were all here and cuddling so much, it just progressed to the bed. And you know there’s no going back with a pug.
PP: They hold you to it.
Yep. If you try to move him, he does this funny fake snore to convey the message, “I’m sleeping here, people.”
PP: Is there any significance to his name?
I was set on an old man name. Before we got him, when he was just a hypothetical, I called him Henry. Then Harold. Then Humphrey. By the time we actually got him, we had progressed to Louie and kept it. And honestly, he’s such a Louie.
PP: The Louie-est.
