Empress Bonaparte's pug - Napoleon's 'Mis' Fortune!

Fortune (with an acute accent on the ‘e’ software permitting!) was the adored pug belonging to Josephine who had become so accustomed to sleeping on his mistress’ bed when she was single that after her marriage to Napoleon, the Empress refused to change the dog’s sleeping arrangements. Napoleon was forced to share the bridal bed and it is said that on one occasion he was bitten by Fortune on entering the bedchamber.

The dog cannot have held too much of a grudge as he would deliver messages that Josephine tucked into his collar to Napoleon when he was imprisoned in Les Carmes.

While many historians believe that the great General was not a dog lover, there is a quote in ‘The Difficulty of Being a Dog’ that suggests they may be wrong.  In the Memorial of Saint Helena Napoleon describes walking in a battlefield in Italy from which the dead had not been removed and seeing a dog sitting beside the body of its dead master licking his face and howling. 

He recounted, “ No incident, on any of my battlefields, ever produced such a deep impression on me.

“I had, without emotion, ordered battles which were to decide the fate of the army; I had beheld, with a dry eye, the execution of those operations, by which numbers of my countrymen were sacrificed; and here I was upset, my feelings aroused, by the mournful howling of a dog.”

OTHER FAMOUS PUG OWNERS INCLUDE: 

Edward and Mrs Simpson ( names: Disraeli, Imp, Trooper and Davey Crockett.)

Musician Billy Joel  (names: Fionula and Sabrina)

Author George Elliot (name: Pug)

Mickey O’Rouke (Name: Raphael)

PUG FACTS:

The Pug originated in China approximately 2500 years ago and was miniaturised from the Mastiff.

Pugs were once the companions of Buddhist priests and in the 16^th century they were introduced into Holland to become the pets of aristocrats and Kings.

References:

http://www.dog-breeds-and-dog-gifts.com/pugs.html

Fogle, B. (1995)  Encyclopedia of the Dog. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. London

Grenier R.  Translated by Kaplan A (2000) The Difficulty of Being a Dog. University of Chicago Press Ltd. London

Zaczek, I. (2000) A Dog’s Life In Art and Literature. Ivy Press Ltd. New York