Doug the Pug Has a Media and Merchandise Empire
2,520 views · Published 20 April 2017 · 2:06 · Indexed 12 November 2026
Channel: FOX 5 New York · 2017 · News & Politics
Doug the Pug is the 4-year-old dog who went from household pet to a money-making merchandise machine. Doug the Pug has over 8 million followers on social media, but it all started with a few Facebook and Instagram posts, said owner Leslie Mosier. "One morning I woke up and one of the videos had 20 million views on Facebook," Mosier said. "Then we kept posting videos, it went from 20 million to 40 million, it just went crazy." That was back in 2015. These days, people line up to get their picture taken with Doug, as we saw when we went to the Toy Fair to meet him as he promoted his new line of stuffed animals with Kid's Preferred. The line of toys is just his latest merchandising venture. Doug already has a New York Times bestselling book, a line of T-shirts and mugs, and a top-selling calendar on Amazon. He's also become a favorite for advertisers and has starred in commercials for brands like Flonase and Febreze. His appeal goes way beyond just being cute. "Doug is very relatable," Mosier said. "He makes a lot of people happy. We get emails and letters every day with people just telling us how happy he makes them." Doug is the self-described "King of Pop Culture." He loves pizza and posing with celebrities, and is known for his quirky video spoofs on everything from "50 Shades of Grey" to "Friends" and "Game of Thrones." Mosier and Rob Chianelli were both working in marketing in the music business in Nashville when they first decided to put Doug online. Now creating Doug's content and managing his appearances and endorsements is their full-time job. While Doug has a full management team including an agent and publishers, Mosier and Chianelli stage and produce all of his photos and videos. "It's a lot more than just posting photos every day, we're working really, really hard and trying to come up with new and creative content," Mosier said. Up next, a Doug the Pug coloring book and an animated TV pilot, and countless more spoofs and adventures as this pug tries to win over even more hearts around the world. -STACEY DELIKAT
