Earl the Grumpy Puppy

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About

Grumpy Puppy is a nickname given to Earl, a puggle (pug-and-beagle hybrid) from Davenport, Iowa who became the subject of online fame for its adorably irritated-looking facial expressions, in a similar vein to those worn by none other than Grumpy Cat.

Origin

On June 8th, 2015, Redditor Do1717 submitted a photograph of Earl to the /r/aww subreddit, where the post garnered more than 5,180 points (96% up votes) and over 500 comments. That same day, a subreddit devoted to Earl was launched at /r/EarlThePuggle.

The Dog

The second generation Puggle, a pug-and-beagle hybrid, was born in February 2015. According to Earl's 25-years-old caretaker Derek Bloomfield, the dog has always had the same grumpy expression since day one, and despite his irritated appearance due to the underbite, wrinkles and dark complexion, Earl is a "very laid-back pup and loves to cuddle."

Spread

On June 9th, Redditor submitted an image macro based on the photograph from the previous day in a /r/AdviceAnimals post titled "Earl the Grumpy Puppy" has had enough of your bullshit", garnering over 1,761 points (84% up votes).

On June 15th, Bloomfield created a Facebook fan page for his puppy, followed by a dedicated Instagram account. Over the course of the next month-and-a-half, Earl has amassed more than 18,000 likes on Facebook and over 16,300 followers on Instagram.

News Media Coverage

On July 29th, Earl's rise to social media stardom was picked up by Discovery's Animal Planet Blog, Bored Panda, Mashable and BuzzFeed, followed by additional coverage from CNN on the next day, with many likening the angry looking Puggle to Grumpy Cat.