Meet Beast Zuckerberg, your new favorite dog rug

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan may have a new baby now, but their first baby -- an eye-catching dog, named Beast, who looks like a giant mop with a smile -- still takes the cake for cuteness.

No Puli, No Cry

Beast is a Puli, a type of ancient Hungarian Sheepdog with a very distinct sort of fur, which basically equates to dreadlocks all over its body.

A rare beast

Pulik are super rare. In fact, according to the American Kennel Club, there were only 83 registered in the U.S. in 2015. By contrast, 69,587 Labrador Retrievers and 41,512 German Shepherds were registered that same year.

Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg -- a rare breed in his own right -- was attracted to that quality of uniqueness.

Far From the Matting Crowd

When Pulik are born, they don't yet have the breed's distinctive coat, as demonstrated by Beast as a puppy in this picture. That coat is the result of a matting process that gradually turns their fur into thin rope-like cords.

A beast in the making

In this photo, Beast is seven- months-old, and you can already see those dreadlocks starting to form.

A high maintenance beast

A Puli's dreadlocks take a lot of time maintain. In fact, Puli owners have to groom their pets daily by first individually splitting each cord down to the skin, then bathing the animals. The process generally takes hours.

Beast at bath time

After a bath, it can take up to three days for a Puli's cords to fully dry.

A wet beast

So, it's a good thing Beast looks like he doesn't mind being wet.

A beast at the eye test

Pulik actually have very good eyesight, despite the fact that their eyes appear almost completely covered by their distinctive cords. Who knew?

Looks like a rug, but doesn't act like one

Despite the fact that Pulik like Beast look like corded rugs, they're far from sedentary. Pulik are actually very fast and agile.

An epic dog explosion

Pulik also have a ton of drive and intensity. So, they're very good at agility events.

As Beast puts it on his Facebook page, "When I run, I am an epic dog explosion."

The center of attention

Pulik form close bonds with their owners and love being the center of attention. As such, they can make excellent family dogs, but the breed generally does best in families without young children. So, little baby Max, who arrived in November 2015, might be a bit of a rude awakening for the internet's favorite Puli.

The rarest Puli of them all

According to the AKC, Pulik come in three colors: black, gray, and white. The vast majority of them are black, however, because sheep respond best to dark-colored dogs. Only about two percent of Pulik are white, which makes Beast even rarer.

An ancient beast

Pulik have been helping sheep farmers work the Hungarian plains since the 9th century. And interestingly, they have a very different style than other herding breeds...

A unique herder

While Border Collies use eye control to stare sheep down and Australian cattle dogs nip at their heels, Pulik herd using unique high-pitched barks and assertive, jumpy motions.

Here, Beast gets his first taste of the work he was bred to do. Looks like a natural, doesn't he?

Beast

Pulik are especially easy to train because of their high intelligence and willingness to work. As is apparent from Beast's Facebook page, though, they're also open to chilling out with the family on a sunny day at the park.

Beast

Like most things in nature, the corded coats on Pulik actually have a function. They create a barrier from both the elements and predators. So if, for example, a Californian coyote were to try to take a bite out of Beast, the animal would probably only end up with a mouth full of thick hair. How's that for deterrent?

Beast

Beast's profile states that he enjoys "herding things, cuddling, loving and eating." From the looks of it, though, he also loves riding with his head out the car window.

Beast

Beast was born on January 10, 2011 in Grants Pass, Oregon, and met his famous new parents three months later in March of that year. He is now four-years-old and lives in Palo Alto, California, where he has developed quite the online following.

Beast

A Puli's coat is so thick that it's essentially weather-resistant. In fact, as long as they get enough exercise, Pulik can live anywhere in the world. So, California suits Beast just fine.

Beast

He even gets to go to the office sometimes with his dad.

The caption for this photo, dated April 27, 2011, reads, "Went to my first hackathon at Facebook last night. Writing code seems pretty fun, but the whole thing was a bit louder than I would have liked."

Beast

As one might imagine, Beast hopped on the Facebook bandwagon at an early age. The day Mark and Cilla picked him up as a three-month-old puppy in March 2011, to be exact. Ever since then, he's made blending into furry couches, chairs and rugs, trendier than ever.

A bonafide Zuckerberg

As of December 2015, Beast has a whopping 2,220,212 followers on Facebook, where he's billed as a "public figure." And his stock will likely only rise from there.