Pug Love

Let’s face it: pug owners are a little eccentric. So, like many pug owners, Berkeley author Nancy Levine likes to dress up her dog and take photos of the little darling, who is named Wilson. When Levine added Taoist sayings to her black-and-white pictures, she landed a book deal. Her 2003 book, The Tao of Pug, sold so well that Penguin Group wanted a sequel—and soon, a series. Counting the most recent release, The Ugly Pugling, the fourth in the series, there are nearly 100,000 Wilson the Pug books in print.

“This time, Wilson falls in love with an adorable bullmastiff puppy,” Levine reveals. “She quickly grows to be much, much bigger than Wilson, so it’s an impossible love—kind of the Romeo and Juliet of dog romances. I don’t want to give away too much—let’s just say there’s a very gentle spay-neuter message to the story.”

The Ugly Pugling also features a celebrity appearance. Kind of.  “Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen’s pug, Roxie, is in this book,” says Levine. “Wilson goes to Roxie for advice on his romance. Roxie tells him to make sure to get a prenup.”

For information, go to www.wilsonthepug.com.