National Pug Day 2024: Date and 5 Fun Ways to Celebrate

National Pug Day is celebrated on October 15, every year, and 2024 is no exception. Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle expert, known for starting multiple pet days for dogs and cats, breathed life into National Pug Day in 2012. Since then, each new year brings new festivities and a growing movement.

All of Colleen Paige’s holidays were born in the United States and have since spread worldwide, with many cultures embracing them as well. It’s not just about dogs either. Colleen embraces all animals and makes that fairly clear on her website.

Pugs are a short-muzzled, short-legged breed that is instantly recognizable across the world. Their wrinkled faces are just too interesting, and cute in their way, to ignore. They belong to the AKC (American Kennel Club) toy dog group and are sturdy, loving, and worthy of celebration.

What is National Pug Day?

For the most part, National Pug Day is personal and community-driven. It’s not as if there is a federal holiday and an employer-funded day off across the United States when October 15 rolls around. Like many things these days, a huge part of the celebration takes place on social media—especially Twitter, where the hashtag #NationalPugDay takes on huge meaning.

Of course, there is more to the holiday than just celebrating pugs. On this day, shelters and rescue organizations across the world strongly encourage families and individuals to adopt a pug from them. It’s also about bringing recognition to the breed as a whole.

There’s hardly a better way to bring recognition to a dog breed than to set up a National Pug Day, which was certainly a part of Colleen Paige’s purpose. After all, the pug is already a well-known dog breed and it would take a day of recognition to up the hype, so to speak.

Fun Facts About Pugs

In some ways, pugs share a link with royalty. They are to ancient Chinese emperors what cats are to the upper echelons of ancient Egyptian royalty. That means that pugs are a fairly old breed. Anything that has a history of rubbing elbows with ancient Chinese emperors has to be pretty old itself.

• Pugs are brachycephalic, which means they have a flat face, in case it wasn’t noticeable
• Between two and four pug tails are considered correct by AKC standards
• Pugs are bred to be social and companion animals
• Pugs are heavy and extensive sleepers
• More than one pug is known as a grumble of pugs
• Pugs are surprisingly muscular
• A pug’s flat face has a variety of human-like expressions, which is a huge part of their appeal
• They are comfortable running solo or in a pack

We could list these interesting little tidbits all day, or write a book about them. As with many dog breeds, a lot went into the canine bloodline to result in a pug. Since then, they’ve gone from royalty to a pet for all occasions, never descending into obscurity or regional recognition.

Fun Ways to Celebrate National Pug Day

One of the best ways to celebrate National Pug Day is to spend the day doing fun activities with your pug. Or, since they seriously enjoy their nap time, just spend the day chilling with your pug on the couch, watching TV, or reading a good book.

Adopt a Pug

One of the biggest reasons for the inception of National Pug Day was to create awareness for pugs and to get people to adopt them. This is especially true for animal shelters and the various rescue organizations that exist out there.

While it’s perfectly okay to purchase a pug from a respectable breeder or a business, it serves a better purpose to adopt them from a rescue home or a shelter. Rescue dogs are those who have had a rough time of it, without getting into the specifics of the kind of animal cruelty and abandonment that goes on in the world.

Donate to Shelters or Pug Rescues

Shelters may be non-discriminate in the type of animals they bring in. However, the odds are good that a pug comes through from time to time. Even if that’s not the case, donations are the primary funding behind some of these organizations. Who is to say that a pug won’t come through eventually, hurt or abandoned?

Your donation could mean the difference between life and death, re-homing, or permanent abandonment.

Social Media, of Course

A huge part of National Pug Day is openly and happily celebrated on various social media platforms but it’s typically a bigger deal on Twitter. When October 15 rolls around each year, follow the hashtag #NationalPugDay. Regardless of the platforms you have access to, uploading pics, videos, or just conversing and spreading the word about pugs is all a big part of it.

Plus, if you have any knowledge about shelters with pugs or pug rescues, social media is a good way to get the word out. Apps like Nextdoor (iOS and Android) are perfect examples of local community apps where word of mouth is far more effective.

Pug Events

The only drawback to this one is there might not be any pug-specific events in your area. But, it never hurts to look. Throughout National Pug Day, mini-dog shows and other pug-related events are fairly commonplace.

If nothing else, you may be able to attend pug events via video conferencing apps or software. Many social media platforms have live feed tools that just about anyone can use. Eventbrite is a good place to look for pug activities, competitions, and dog shows. If there is something nearby, you may even consider entering your pug.

All Things Considered

National Pug Day is a community holiday, created by Colleen Page in 2012, and it takes place on October 15 each year. There are several ways to celebrate, even if you just stay home and have a “chill day” with your pug family member. Never forget, they are descended from royalty, so it never hurts to treat them as such!