Wu-Puggy (and her Person, Roxanne)

We here at The Tales of Pug People love everypuggy, but today’s guest is extra special: the one and only Wu-Puggy. This tiny, differently-abled senior lady and her Person, Roxanne, share their profound musings on Instagram at @the_puggamuggas_crew and on Facebook at “Conversations with Wu-Puggy”, but we got to see the sweetness (and the sass) up close and personal. And like all of Wu’s fans, we fell deeply, completely, wholeheartedly in pug.

PP: Roxanne, we’ve been trying to figure it out, is Wu a black pug who’s just going gray or is she a brindle?

Roxanne: Hold on, we’ll do a little striptease for you. (removes Wu-Puggy’s dress)

PP: Ohhhh, she is brindle!

Roxanne: Yes, a beautiful brindle. With her little tiger stripes. (laughs) I made sure she had a bath and was extra clean for her interview. Like you could smell her through the computer.

PP: Well, she looks like she smells delicious and we wish we could crawl through the Zoom to snuggle her for a few hours. Wu-Puggy is differently-abled, does she have a wheelchair?

Roxanne: She does, but she doesn’t like her wheels much; there’s something about the positioning that makes her really sore. But she has a walking sling that she's very fond of. We walk around the house and explore the yard together.

PP: Tell us how Wu-Puggy came into your life.

Roxanne: We drove across the Cascade Mountains in the middle of winter to adopt her in 2018. The woman who had surrendered her to the Humane Society was in an abusive relationship and the man was not only abusing her, he was abusing Wu, too. And this woman was really, really brave; she chose to rescue her dog even though she wasn’t able to rescue herself. We don’t know who she is, but we thank her every single day and hope she got the help she needed.

PP: That is unbelievably heartbreaking.

Roxanne: When we adopted Wu, her name was Lulu and we quickly realized that was her abuse name, because we’d say it and she’d cringe. So, we knew we needed a new name for her that was happy, that was impossible to say in an angry tone of voice. And I don’t know about you, but try saying “Wu-Puggy” in an angry voice.

PP: Impossible. So that’s how she got her wonderful name!

Roxanne: It sort of came together organically from a couple of sources. When Wu gets excited she does this funny “wu-wu!” howl. And Wu was the first female emperor of China. Oh, and Wu is on a prescription diet that gives her these little poop nuggets, so “Wu-Puggy” and “Poo-nuggy” rhyme.

PP: Were you always a Pug Person, Roxanne?

Roxanne: Actually, I was a Boston Terrier person. I grew up with Boston Terriers and that’s what our other dog, Doc, is. So, way back before Wu, we had Leo who was a Boston, then after Leo was Kuki, and she was a Bugg.

PP: A Bugg! So, she was your bridge dog between Bostons and pugs!

Roxanne: Yes! Kuki was preparing us for full pugdom. We’re all about the flat faces. Just a sucker for them.

PP: Flat Faces Rule. We think we know the answer to this, but do you notice a difference between Boston Terrier People and Pug People?

Roxanne: Oh, please. I thought Boston Terrier people were crazy, but Pug People? Much more fanatical.

PP: Right?! And it’s an instant bond when you meet another Pug Person. It’s like, “oh, we know you.”

Roxanne: “We know you wake up with fresh snot on your face. And you’re fine with it.”

*Brief interruption as Wu-Puggy snuffles adorably and the interviewers melt.

PP: We just can’t with how amazing she is. That face!

Roxanne: I know, it’s very expressive. Her whole face tells you stories.

PP: Is that how you started ‘talking’ with her? We absolutely love the conversations you two have.

Roxanne: Yes, she would just look at me with that face and this ‘voice’ came out of her, kind of a sassy, “Well, duh, mum”. We started talking and then having these full conversations. I posted one on Facebook and it really touched a chord in people and that’s how “Conversations with Wu-Puggy” was born.

PP: They’re very deep and loving and philosophical.

Roxanne: I know this is going to sound like the craziest thing, but Wu-Puggy is teaching me to be the adult I needed when I was a kid. There were so many things that I wasn’t taught, so being able to have those conversations and work through those emotions… (tears up) Okay, I feel a crybaby.

PP: No, we love it, Roxanne. Truly. We believe in the magic of the pug.