A terrifying yet hilarious picture of a pug dog taken in an MRI machine highlights just how deformed the species has become, a vet has claimed.
"My friend's pug went to the vet," comedian and TV host Andy Richter captioned the black-and-white image, which has since been shared more than 130,000 times.
"Pugs may be the only creature to look exactly the same in X-ray as in visible light," one person said, mistaking an MRI for an X-ray.
Some compared the image to British actor Marty Feldman, famous for his prominent, misaligned eyes; others said it resembled Steven Spielberg's stranded alien E.T or one of the invaders from comedy film Mars Attacks!.
While Richter said the dog was given a clean bill of health, vet Rory Cowlam told UK paper The Independent it was "pretty odd-looking", even by pug standards.
"Their faces have been shortened due to intensive breeding by humans, unfortunately. They have these massive eyes, bunched up noses... The condition is called brachycephalism. We have, through human selection, bred them to look more like a human baby because we find that cute. But unfortunately that cute look is not very good for the animal."
Many pugs have serious breathing problems, and also frequently suffer from spine malformations, eye prolapses, hip dysplasia and brain inflammation. Thousands have signed petitions in the past to have them banned.
But in pugs' defence, most animals look pretty bizarre in an MRI scan. Other Twitter users showed off scary-looking images of other dogs, fish and even people.
