Teddy (and his Person, Jill)

We've been watching the deliciously fluffy and chonky Teddy for a while and were so excited to finally meet him and his Person, Jill! Her stories about her pug OG, Posy, made us weepy and honest-to-dog, her True Pug Confession is one of the weirdest and best we've ever heard (and we've heard some truly weird ones). Enjoy!

PP: Okay, Jill, let’s have it: how did you become a Pug Person?

Jill: When my daughter was little, she became obsessed with pugs and we didn’t know why—we didn’t know anyone with pugs. Every year she would get a stuffed pug for Christmas, until we finally decided it was time. Both my husband and I had grown up with big dogs, so we didn’t know much about small dogs, but… needless to say, we drank the kool-aid.

Jill: This was twenty years ago and we didn’t know about rescue, so we went to a breeder. Posy got in my lap, and that was it.

PP: You were a goner.

Jill: Total goner. And we surprised the kids. It wasn’t a holiday or a birthday or anything.

PP: Your daughter must have lost her mind!

Jill: All three of the kids burst into tears. They were 11, 9, and 5, so they literally grew up with Posy. My youngest, in particular, doesn’t remember life without a pug.

PP: If only every child could experience that, we’d be happy Pug People.

Jill: Posy was by my side for almost eighteen years and it was such a blessing. When she passed away, it sent shock waves through our whole community, because all my kids’ friends had never seen our house without a pug in it. My daughter’s friends put together a care package for me with vanilla wafers in it because Posy loved vanilla wafers. And the Instagram community was so amazing. I started her account in 2012, so they’d been watching Posy for a long time.

PP: The Instagram Pug Community is incredibly special. When did Teddy come on the scene?

Jill: Only two months after Posy passed and I was like “I’m not ready.” But I found out that he was actually distantly related to her and I felt like, if I could just have—I’m going to cry—if I could hold a pug with even one drop of Posy’s blood, I think I’ll be okay.

PP: You’re going to make us cry now!

Jill: When we went to go meet Teddy, I kept saying, “We’ll see, we’ll see if I’m ready” and my daughter was like, “yeah, right, you know he’s coming home with us.”

PP: A Pug Person knows when another PP is just blowing smoke.

Jill: I didn’t have time to think too much, which was obviously a good thing. I mean, I got my heart shattered with Posy and what did I do? Signed right back up, take my heart again!

PP: Jill, what do you love most about pugs?

Jill: They have no other agenda than just to love you. And food.

PP: Ah yes, a pug’s two obsessions. Does Teddy sleep with you?

Jill: Oh, absolutely. He sleeps on my head and I wake up not being able to move because he’s on my hair.

PP: If Teddy was a celebrity, who would he be?

Jill: Well… he loves naughtiness for naughty’s sake. And he’s a huge goofball. Who would that be?

PP: Have you seen our True Pug Confessions? We’re thinking you might have one.

Jill: I have a glass jar of pug butt tufts. You know what I’m talking about? Those little fur tufts you pull from their butts? It’s so satisfying. I have a friend who calls them pug paintbrushes. Insane, I know.

PP: Well, now that’s a winner, Jill.