Since 2012, the Internet has been ruled by a crabby-faced kitty named Grumpy Cat. You may have heard of her. Well, now the canine side of the world can claim a permanently perturbed pooch and bring some parity to the world of peeved pets. His name is Earl the Grumpy Puppy, and this is what he looks like.

After the above photo of Earl was posted on Reddit in July, his profile skyrocketed and he even snagged a spot on Good Morning America last week. Having been born with an underbite, it seems the world has become obsessed with the way this Puggle (a Pug and Beagle mix) always looks like he’s annoyed with something.

Even with Earl fast becoming a pop culture sensation, I managed to sneak in a quick chat with his owner, Derek Bloomfield, and got the scoop on this superstar pup’s plans for world domination.

When did things start going crazy in Earl’s world?

It was Tuesday of last week. We had an article and photos that were officially released in the morning, and then there was Good Morning America. It was kinda cool how quickly it happened.

Were you surprised at the interest in him?

Absolutely. Actually, my fiancé and I had a lot of reservations about doing any of it, and we didn’t think anything was really going to come of it. But we decided to try it and see what happened, and it blew up and went viral. It’s very overwhelming now, to be honest with you, trying to contact everyone and deal with everyone. But it’s fun at the same time.

Going right back to the beginning, where did you get Earl from?

We got Earl from a breeder in Missouri, a little mom and pop breeder. We just found him one night on the Internet and saw his photos and thought he was the funniest looking puppy ever, and we couldn’t stop laughing.

What was Earl like the first time you met him?

Well, he had just gotten off the plane and was kinda shellshocked. They flew him up from St. Louis to Chicago and then to our local airport here. He didn’t know what to think, and of course he didn’t know me or my fiancé so he was freaked out. He was hesitant to fall asleep because he didn’t trust us at first. Actually, when we first got him, he was up all day because he didn’t know what to do, and then he passed out straight for like 12 hours! He was very reserved at first, but he’s a very loving dog.

Did you always plan to call him the Grumpy Puppy? Or were there other titles you considered?

We were trying to figure out a title for him, like how people could identify him. The original post on Reddit used Grumpy Puppy as a title, and it kinda stuck.

Is Earl the Grumpy Puppy a fan of Grumpy Cat?

To be honest, I don’t think he’s ever met a cat! We’ve talked about whether he could meet Grumpy Cat, but I’m sure they’ve got plenty on their plate, and we haven’t reached out to them yet. Maybe at some point, but I’m guessing that, knowing Earl, he’ll just want to play with Grumpy Cat.

As Earl gets older and bigger, is there a chance that his facial expression will change and he’ll look less grumpy?

I don’t know, to be honest. He’ll always have the underbite, and there are mornings when you can hear him rubbing his teeth together, but I don’t know how he’s going to develop. I also don’t know how much bigger he’s going to get.

Looking at his pictures online, he seems to very much enjoy napping.

Oh, yeah, he does. The days I’m off of work, we’ll get up in the morning, I’ll feed him, he’ll run for an hour or so, and then he’ll go to nap on the couch. If he isn’t taking a nap, he’s running around the house. Earl’s fun to have around.

One of his Instagram pics mentions him watching a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game. Is he a fan?

I watch hockey sporadically, to be honest, so when the playoffs are on I’ll watch, and the Blackhawks are the closest team.

Any chance of Earl becoming the Blackhawks mascot for a day?

I’d happily take him up to Chicago to a Blackhawks game; that would be kinda cool actually.

So what’s next for Earl?

Right now we’re working on a website and a logo. I’m meeting a web developer soon, and there’s all the legal stuff like trademarks. The plan is to have everything integrated through the website and his social media, and we’re getting ready to sign a book deal, a T-shirt deal, and a toy deal. Right now that’s the plan. We’ll see what happens.

Does Earl seem to have any idea that he’s becoming so famous?

I think the only time he has any clue is when we took him to a charity event the other day, and he was just happy there was a room full of new people to meet. He ran up to all of them and just wanted to run around playing with a little girl that day. If Earl has any inclination about what’s happening, it’s just going to be that he’s happy to meet lots of new people. That’s going to be his big joy out of it.

Read more celebrity interviews on Dogster:

• We Chat With Lee the Primate About His Web Comic “Sofa Dogs”
• Andy Murray’s Dog Maggie May Is a Star on Twitter
• Meet Australian Actor Harry Cook and His Adorable English Bulldog, Poppy

---

Featured Image Credit: EarlGrumpyPuppy