To listen to Larry Wagman talk about his pet pugs, Pierre and Juliet, one would never know that his wife had to work hard to convince him to get one three years ago.
“I told her I didn’t want a small, yippy dog,” Wagman said in his Hoboken back yard last week. “We got one anyway, and I fell in love with them…They’re a big dog in a small package.”
Wagman – and yes, that’s his real last name – has since hosted several parties for Hoboken pugs and their owners at his home. Seeing the googly-eyed, pug-nosed animals together is good for laughs, and gives the dogs some exercise, as obesity is a problem for the breed.
Wagman and wife Lori LeBec ran the latest “pug party” last Saturday, just before a thunderstorm. Ten black and fawn-colored dogs came out. There was Pugsley, the big one with the really long tongue. Miss Wiggles, Gus, P.J., Lucy, Lia, Cocoa, and Carmine spent time chasing around newcomer Juliet, who is 9 months old.
The party had a serious side. Wagman and Lebec’s 3-year-old pug Isabel passed away suddenly in February due to pug dog encephalitis (PDE), a fatal disease that is believed to be genetic. Isabel began having seizures and had to undergo numerous tests over a period of weeks before being put to sleep. Wagman is now collecting money to support research being conducted by a veterinarian at Texas A&M University.
After Isabel passed away, the couple bought Juliet. Pugs need a lot of attention, and Wagman and LeBec didn’t want Pierre to be alone.
In costume
Besides throwing pug parties, Wagman and LeBec also have a Halloween costume contest each year in their back yard for the animals.
“There was Bat Man, Piggly Wiggly, a pirate, Superman, and an angel,” Wagman said of last year’s event. “There was one that somehow did not win, because the women did not like this one: a pimp.” The pimp was Pugsley, and he wore a purple outfit.
Puglsey is rather large for a pug. The breed standard is 14 to 18 pounds, but some pugs weigh 40 or more. They can live to be 12 to 14 years old, and some live as long as 18 years.
Pugs are believed to have originated in China around 700 B.C. and were brought to England in the 1500s or 1600s.
Pug owner Kelly Ianni, the owner of Lucy and Carmine, explained last weekend why she loves pugs. “They’re such good dogs,” she said. “Especially in an apartment setting. Their personality is terrific. They’re sweet, loving, lap dogs. They follow you everywhere. Especially if you have food. They do their own thing sometimes. They’re very smart.”
But they do need companionship if you’re away a lot, said lifelong Hoboken resident Portia Amato, 28. That’s why she has three of them – Lia, Cocoa, and Miss Wiggles.
Amato said that growing up in Hoboken, she never saw a pug until four years ago. Obviously, they’re increasing in popularity among urban dwellers.
Amato said someone once saw her walking all three pugs and said jokingly, “If you have three, you don’t own pugs anymore. You’re just collecting them.”
But maybe the person wasn’t kidding.
“When I have a big house,” Amato said, “I want to get two more.”