Photographed In Nashville
Doug the Pug has more friends than you. Online mostly, but probably in person, too. His avid fan base — coming in at more than 5 million strong across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter — has fallen in love with the 20-pound pooch thanks to careful curating by Leslie Mosier, Doug's "celebrity dog momager," who films the pug in mini-movie re-creations like Jurassic Pug and photographs spoofs of scenes from Titanic and Harry Potter.
Mosier, a 22-year-old Belmont University graduate, got Doug after years of wanting a pug. And after buying Doug from a breeder in Ohio, Mosier filled her Instagram feed with puppy photos. After some encouraging from friends, she decided to make Doug his own account.
"It kind of happened really fast," Mosier says. "I knew it would be popular because when I posted photos of him on my personal account, people freaked out."
What she didn't count on, though, was that the account would grow so popular that she'd quit her job to manage her dog. During her junior year at Belmont, Mosier started working for Aware Records, a Nashville label that manages artists like Matt Kearney, Five for Fighting and Mayday Parade. After graduating, she started her own graphic design company. But today, she's "momaging" full time.
"I've always had such a passion for marketing, and everything that I'm doing for Doug, I essentially did for the artists that I worked for," Mosier says. "But it's taking off in a completely different way, because it's not the music industry, and it's like, he's easy to market, he's a cute little dog."
Billed as the "King of Pop Culture," the 3-year-old Internet sensation also has a merch website, stars in online ad campaigns like Mountain Dew's Puppy Monkey Baby, and travels to appear at events all over the country. In December, at the CoolSprings Galleria, more than 600 people showed up to meet the pup in person.
"He's also been part of four marriage proposals, and they've all said yes, so I think Doug has the magic touch to seal the deal," Mosier says, holding the fawn-colored pup in her lap and stroking his wrinkled head. Doug snorts, shifts his small sausage-like body, and then falls asleep.
In Mosier's home office near Belmont, fan art is everywhere. Coasters depicting Doug sit on the sleek metal desk that lines a full wall of art in her living room. There's a painting of Doug wearing a neon pink, sprinkle-topped doughnut like an inner tube, with a slice of pizza floating behind his smiling mug. Another framed piece portrays Doug in a stately wrinkled-face silhouette. Props from some of his most viral videos — like the one where Doug pulls a crowd of pug-shaped balloons through Dragon Park — are scattered here and there throughout the apartment.
Doug is often seen on the Instagram account wearing a white robe and lamenting work or exercise with a quote below like: "I told myself I'd go on a run this morning" or "Just another day wondering what I'm doing with my life."
"He's like a little human trapped in a dog," says Rob Chianelli, Mosier's boyfriend, who also produces Doug's videos. "And the pictures are great, but I feel like the videos actually show his personality and, like, how well he can just sit on a couch and just not care about anything."
In a sea of pet owners attempting to seize on the cute craze of #dogsofinstagram, Doug stands out because Mosier decided to narrow his account's focus.
"Doug's voice is more aimed towards millennials," Mosier says. "And we've decided to focus on pop culture. Because as long as pop culture is relevant, so is Doug."
More From the 2016 People Issue
The Celebrity Chef: Maneet Chauhan / The Gold Medalist: Scott Hamilton / The Perception Changer: Kent Wallace / The Blogger: Melissa Watkins / The Biker Chaplain: Allen Tanner / The Man: Charles Kaster / The Islamic Leader: Rashed Fakhruddin / The Tubatroll: Joe Hunter / The Dog: Doug the Pug / The Emancipator Impersonator: Dennis Boggs / The Booker: Kathryn Edwards / The Right Brain/Left Brain: Coke Sams and Clarke Gallivan / The Professional Ass-Kicker: Eric Young / The Watcher: Debbie Field
