Philomena the Pug charms her fans with costumes, sass
By Cherese Cobb and Lisa R. Schoolcraft
Philomena the Pug might be seen out and about in metro Atlanta sporting her ballerina outfit, nurse’s costume or even unicorn hat.
Those outside the city can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube. She’s built quite a following, including fans who follow her recovery journey after a spinal injury left her partially paralyzed.
But for owners Stefan and Nina Glazer of Alpharetta, Philomena, or Phil as they call her, is their “super sassy” girl.
Here’s a little more about Philomena:
Q: Where did you get Philomena from? How did she get her name?
A: Stefan: We got Philomena from Penwood Pugs in Pennsylvania. How we gave her the name Philomena is a cute story. When Nina had a surgery, and she was recovering, I had bought her a stuffed pug animal. We had always loved pugs but could never have dogs where we lived. Nina named the stuffed pug, Phil and vowed to name our first pug Phil. Well, we saw that our little sassy pug was a little girl. So, we had to figure out a feminine name that we could still call her Phil. So we named her Philomena and call her Phil for short.
Q: What originally attracted you to her?
A: The very first image we saw of her, she had this super sassy “head over shoulder looking back” look toward the camera. We instantly fell in love with her.
Q: What’s Philomena’s personality like? What’s the last thing she did that made you laugh?
A: Philomena is literally the sassiest dog, let alone pug, that we know. She loves people, other dogs, everything, but her personality comes out and she does diva-esque things all the time. She loves to lay in the sun and will ring her potty bell to go outside if it’s sunny. If she wants to be in your lap, she lets you know until you invite her up to lay with you. We are never short of instances of her making us laugh; even when we are being stern and teaching her new obedience tricks and training, it’s hard not to laugh. This morning was a great example. She is used to her routine of getting to “brush her teeth” in the morning with a dental chew. So when she doesn’t get one, she gets grumbly and will try to get your attention. If that doesn’t work, she seeks you out, leads you to the cabinet where the treat is, sits (because she knows to sit to get what she wants) and will wait patiently for you to give her the treat. Now, if you walk away, she will get mad and grumble and do tiny little barks to get your attention again, then come back and re-lead you back to the cabinet. All throughout the day she does things that make us laugh.
Q: Philomena is seen on her website in lots of costumes. What’s her favorite outfit?
A: Phil loves wearing clothes and her signature pearls. She has so many outfits that we love. I would say our favorite outfits are her rainbow tutu or any of her personalized Treat Lord jackets. She has so many outfits and clothes, it’s hard to choose one.
Q: Philomena suffered a spinal injury. How did she respond to her hydro and physical therapy sessions?
A: It has helped her come a long way. She will literally do anything we need her to do for treats. She is highly food motivated, so physical therapy, training, obedience or even learning simple tricks are all learned quickly and dutifully with treats.
Q: What’s her favorite snack?
A: If it begins with an “F” and ends in “ood,” it’s her favorite. But she loves her veggies, greens like spinach and kale. Her big favorite is cabbage! She loves both red and green. She also goes crazy for any of the Stella and Chewys raw treats.
Q: You were at the Atlanta Pet Expo in April. What other events have you attended with Philomena?
A: We have been to the Mid-Tennessee Pug Festival and The Pet Expo in Edison, New Jersey. The Las Vegas Pug Party this year was a big one. Also, any event that our Etsy shop, SNG Design Co., is a vendor at, Philomena will be there with us. People love seeing her and meeting her wherever we go.
Q: You have a calendar that came out this year. Do you plan to release any more Philomena merchandise this year?
A: We plan on doing another calendar, and we do have plans for other Philomena merchandise. A lot of our designs at SNG Design Co. are inspired by Philomena. We have a few Phil-based pins, cute little cards and such. But we are looking to do even more this year!
Learn more about Philomena at her website, philomenathepug.com, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @philomenathepug
