Pugs — you know, those little tan dogs with the smashed-in black faces that always have their tongues hanging out — are by no means the sharpest arrows in the quivver. In fact on a canine intelligence test, they rank way down at 57th out of 79 listed breeds. (By the way, Afghan hounds, the beautiful blondes of the dog world, rank 79th. It figures.)
It thus occasions considerable surprise to learn, thanks to the Chronicle of Higher Education, that a pug with the improbable name of Chester Ludlow has been awarded an MBA. I mean, it’s not as though Chester is a border collie. If you told me that a border collie had just been named president of Harvard, my reaction would be “Well, they must have hired him to clean up Larry Summers’s messes. Good choice!” Border collies are scary smart. But a pug with an MBA? That just can’t be right.
Well, no, it can’t, for the degree was awarded by Rochville University (not a major football power), which offers online masters degrees in recognition of life experiences. Apparently the life-experience itemized on Chester’s curriculum vitae is so impressive that he easily qualified.
My ninth-grade algebra teacher used to shake her head and say, “Sigelman, you’ve got a strong, strong back and a weak, weak mind.” I think she would be less surprised to learn that a pug has an MBA than that I have a Ph.D. But if she knew anything about dogs, I think her response would be “But a pug?”
[Hat tip to Carol Sigelman]