Order of the Pug

The Order of the Pug () was a para-Masonic society founded by Roman Catholics. It is believed that it was founded in 1738 by Klemens August of Bavaria to bypass the crown's "In eminenti apostolatus" of 1738. The constitution of the "Order of the Pug" allowed women to become members, as long as they were Catholic. The Pug was chosen as a symbol of loyalty, trustworthiness and steadiness.
Members called themselves Mops (the German for Pug). Novices were initiated wearing a dog collar and had to scratch at the door to get in. The novices were blindfolded and led nine times around a carpet with symbols on it, while the Pugs of the order barked loudly to test the steadiness of the newcomers. During the initiation, the novices also had to kiss a porcelain pug's backside under its tail as an expression of devotion to the order. Members of the order carried a Pug medallion made of silver. In 1745, the secrets of the order were "exposed" in a book published in Amsterdam with the title "L'ordre des Franc-Maçons trahi et le Secret des Mopses révélé" which included the ritual and two engravings illustrating their rite.
The order was banned by Göttingen University in 1748. "Loge Louise des ehrwürdigen Mopsordens" or "Lodge Louise of the Venerable Order of the Pug" had been formed the previous year as a student society, mainly drawn from the Hanoverian nobility. The lodge fees and their control over their members formed the excuse for the closure, and after a government investigation, the lodge documents were passed to the university authorities.
While German sources state that the order was short lived, they were reportedly active in Lyon as late as 1902.