Pug, actually

When her pug was feeling lonely, Anushka Fernando, 35, went in search of some much-needed furry friends

- BESS BROWNING

Watching my pug, Bertie, staring longingly out of the window, my heart ached. It was 2017 and my poorly pup had recently endured critical surgery on a spinal condition, and now the poor thing couldn’t go outside.

By the time he was allowed back to the doggy park a few months later, he was wary of other dogs, and would back away, scared.

‘This isn’t good,’ I said to my fiance, James, 35, as I stroked Bertie’s blond fur.

But as I wondered what I could do to help, I had an idea. ‘I’m going to set up a pug meet!’ I said. I didn’t waste any time, appealing to other dog owners on Facebook the very next day. People loved the idea, and soon, Bertie and I met up with dozens of other pugs in the local park.

As soon as he saw the other dogs, every one of them small and squishy just like him, his curly tail was wagging. He had a great time, so we tried to make it a regular thing. The only problem was, the weather often let us down.

Sitting in a cafe with Bertie one rainy day, I was chatting to the owner when I suddenly thought about a pop-up pug cafe. James loved the idea, too, so we advertised on social media and held our first event in May 2017.