She is one stylish pooch and a definite influencer, who has over 135,000 Facebook and 9,000 Instagram followers, of both the furry and human kind. She is Nigella the Pug – a gorgeous fur ball and social media queen. Here we chat to Nigella the Pug about family, friends, her favourite past times and what it means to have found Facebook Fame.
It’s great to talk to you Nigella, tell us a bit about how you met your forever family and what family life is like for you?
There is me, my pug brother Bobby who came to live with us when he was 6 months old, as he has an inflammatory brain disease, and nobody wanted to take on the responsibility and my little sister Finella who is 2 and really annoying. They are both annoying actually – I mainly spend my days ignoring them.
I came to live in my forever home when I was 8 weeks old and we live on the northern beaches of Sydney and love our little beach outings.
We also have little Silkie chickens and I just adore them. We raised them from when they were 1 day old and I’ve always been very protective of them.
Nigella, you are considered to be a social media star. Tell us how you came to have such a strong social media presence and how many actual followers you have?
I have just under 140,000 friends – many from Australia, USA, UK, Europe and Brazil. There are many pugs with more followers than me – Doug the Pug has millions, but his grandmother tells me that I am her second favourite pug in the world – nepotism.
My mum started my account just for fun. She likes to think she can sense what I am thinking, so can capture my mood and facial expressions. I guess she is a little bit like a pageant mum wanting to dress me up. Within a few months, I had 10,000 followers, then 20,000 and within 12 months I had over 100,000.
Why is it that you think you are such a “Fur” sensation?
We don’t take it too seriously – I am just a simple girl, enjoying life. We don’t stage photos or situations. Everything you see is captured with a quick photo of me or my pug siblings, doing what we do. Many people tell us they follow me because they can’t have a pug of their own at the moment, due to travel or work or living situations, and they feel like they get to experience the joy and fun of having a pug vicariously through my posts.
Do you love being in the spotlight? Do you ever find that your family and friends get a little jealous of your success?
I do actually, when we go to the meet and greets with the fans, I adore all the attention and love the pats and cuddles from people. Professional photographers have told my mum they can see my persona change, like I know when I am ‘on’, My pug siblings come to these events with me, but they get over it in a few minutes, whereas I love it. My friends and family are not jealous at all – they think it’s fun.
When you are not being a social media sensation, what do you like to do in your “down time”?
Sleep! I spend a lot of my day perched on top of the couch, looking down at the street below, intermittently barking at kids riding their bikes, the garbage man, the postman and cats.
Pugs are a brachycephalic breed, so you need to be careful not to pull on their necks while walking.
Now, your mum Kasey is a very clever lady and has actually designed a range of pet products inspired by you. Tell us a bit about it?
Pugs are a brachycephalic breed, so you need to be careful not to pull on their necks while walking. Many harnesses are made all in one piece, so any tension on the back also applies tension around the neck, so mum designed a magnetic harness that pulls around the back and chest only. The harnesses and adjustable leads are made from designer fabrics, so they are not only functional but dress us for any occasion.
Ok, Nigella, if you had one piece of advice for other pooches wanting to become a social media star, what would it be?
Be authentic, don’t try and copy what someone else does, we are all unique and have individual personalities – capture and share what makes you – you.
If you want to find out more about Nigella and her various adventures you can follow her on either Facebook or Instagram or visit
website: www.nigellathepug.com
facebook: @nigellathepug
instagram: @nigellathepug