“The pug is living proof that God has a sense of humor” –  Margo Kaufman

The world was robbed of a wonderful point of view when popular humorist, radio commentator, and writer, Margo Kaufman, died in 2000 of breast cancer at the young age of 46. Her book titles were all one needed to know that inside the covers, there would be chuckles: “1-800-Am-I-Nuts?,” “This Damn House: My Subcontract with America” and especially,  “Clara, the Early Years: The Story of the Pug Who Ruled My Life.”  Kaufman was an actual Hollywood correspondent for Pug Talk magazine (the actual title on her business card) and was the tickled owner of three Pugs named, “Bess,” “Sophie,” and “Stella,” who decorated her refrigerator with pictures of the dogs dressed as bumblebees or sitting on Santa Claus’ lap.  Only Kaufman could get away with saying, “”Pugs have absolutely no purpose in life except to look ridiculous, and they do look ridiculous. You can’t walk the dogs without people coming up to you and going, ‘What is that?’ Did it walk into a wall? Someone hit it on the head with a shovel?  I mean, they don’t look like dogs. They look like things.”We doubt she believed her own humor because she clearly adored them.

“Anatomy of a Pug” by Sophie Corrigan. You can find more of Corrigan’s wonderful work at Etsy, on Facebook, and on her own website.