How Farked Up are Pugs?

How farked up are pugs?

Consider this: When financial services startup "Bought By Many" decided to invite groups of people with specific insurance needs to club together in a Groupon-like way in order to negotiate better policies on their behalf, one of the first groups to stand up was... Pug owners.

It seems these little dogs are such walking veterinary basket cases with breathing problems, soft-palette issues, bulging and wrecked eyes, twisted spinal issues, and the like, that the avergae pug owner is left gasping for financial relief (yes, how ironic!).

But wait, there is more.

It seems that pug owners are such emotional basket cases about their dogs that this too creates an insurance-related problem. As the U.K. edition of Wired magazine notes:

Wrinkly and spade-faced, pugs are some of the most comical canines on offer. But their absurd attributes make them prone to health issues. Those bulging eyes? They have a tendency to pop out after an enthusiastic neck squeeze. Those squished faces? A recipe for respiratory disaster.

Thieves, however, are seemingly unperturbed by the dogs' physiological failures. Pugs' high financial value, small stature and inquisitive nature mean that they are not only sickly but also highly nickable. These factors combine to make it quite tricky to insure a pug, with the breed being excluded from some policies or charged a high premium.

Right. Quite tricky to insure. But it's a veterinarians dream, isn't it?

There is nothing better than a dog that presents with a two-page litany of serious congenital health problems, unless it is that same dog owned by someone who is willing to spend any amount of money to make little Tricky-Woo all better. And the client has insurance, you say? So much the better. Now no one has to feel bad for running up the tab. But advise people to stop breeding these dogs? Oh no! That would be rude. We can't do that, say the veterinarians. Besides, you see that big spot in the garden? That's where the jacuzzi is going!
.