Throughout history there have been many noteworthy
Pugs. One such Pug went by the name of Pompey. He was credited with saving the
life of his master, Prince William the Silent (grandfather of William the
Orange). When the Spanish tried to take control of Holland in the late 1500’s,
William lie sleeping in his tent. As his assassins approached, Pompey began
barking and scratching, finally leaping onto William’s face to alert him of the
coming danger. He narrowly escaped with his life. The camp was totally
destroyed, and the Pug dog was named the honored dog of the ruling house, the
House of Orange. Sir Roger Williams wrote of William the Silent, “Until the
Prince’s dying day, he kept one of that dog’s race, so did many of his friends
and followers”. In 1688 the Dutch Prince William the III of Orange (grandson of
William the Silent) and his wife, English Princess Mary arrived in England to
ascend the throne, bringing with them a plethora of Pugs. Each Pug was adorned
with a delicate orange ribbon around the neck, to denote the dog’s connection
with the Royal House of Orange. Josephine
Bonaparte (wife of the Emperor Napoleon) had a prized Pug named Fortune. It is
said that Fortune bit the leg of Napoleon when getting into bed on their wedding
night in 1796. When Josephine was imprisoned at Les Carme’s, Napoleon sent love
notes to her hidden in the collar of Fortune II. Besides Napoleon and Josephine,
and the House of Orange, other Pug minded royalty included: Queen Victoria,
Queen Mary II Stuart, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Russia’s Catherine the Great,
George III and his wife Queen Charlotte, and many others. The Prince of Wales
gave a Pug named Bully as a gift to his wife, Queen Alexandra.
