He love, he ‘protecc’, he ‘attacc’ and everything else in between. If you’re a ‘hooman’ looking for something to make you smile as you start and end your day, look no further than Instagram. It’s no longer a place for just us humans, but it’s where the best doggos, puppers, and pupperinos rule.
As a pet parent, it is only befitting to also get an Instagram account for your pet-baby. From memes, reels to videos and more, there’s a lot these doggos do on social media. And you thought it was easy being a dog, just lying there in a cosy position, eat when hungry and go back to sleep -- all while pet owners ran in and out of their homes, going to work, running chores and much more.
Then there’s the other kind of dog-lovers (like yours truly) who spend enough time on social media that it starts feeling like a second home, where you travel virtually. My dog-loving tribe follows all these doggos, shares them with friends and wish to be one among them when the going gets tough. In recent years, a fluffy white Bear, a cutesy Momo both of whom live in Canada; Archer in Australia; and Boobie Billie, the one who gives a lot of us plenty fashion goals, have also been keeping a smile on most of our faces, telling us it’s all well, even as times have been uncertain.
Who is a doggo?
In a 2017 NPR article titled, Dogs Are Doggos: An Internet Language Built Around Love For The Puppers, DoggoLingo or doggo-speak, that’s been gaining momentum over the last few years “seems to be quite lexical, there are a lot of distinctive words that are used,” says Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch.
“Some dogs are doggos, some are puppers, and others may even be pupperinos. There are corgos and clouds, fluffers and floofs, woofers and boofers. The chunky ones are thicc, and the thin ones are long bois. When they stick out their tongues, they’re doing a mlem, a blep, a blop. They bork. They boof. Once in a while they do each other a frighten. And whether they’re 10/10 or 12/10, they’re all h*ckin’ good boys and girls,” reads the article.
“On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”
A 1993 cartoon drawn by Peter Steiner and published by the New Yorker is one of the most reprinted cartoons by the magazine. It is an adage and internet meme about Internet anonymity and it all started as a joke, 27 years ago. The cartoon is relevant in the current scenario a lot more than it was at the time of its publishing, especially as the internet is a little over 25 years old itself.
Here’s looking at a few doggos of Instagram, who are the social media stars you ought to follow and get your own inspo, wherever you can apply it.
Mensweardog: Super-stylish and in sync with the current trends, Bodhi, “the most-stylish dog in the world” lives in New York and is seen ‘modelling’ in several menswear fashion in his neighbourhood. Bonus: a dose of inspiration you need just in case you forgot you were awesome.
Manny the Frenchie: His Instagram bio reads that he’s the “World’s Most Followed Bulldog and philanthro-PUP!”
Manny leaves a note with his pictures to keep you motivated and shows what it says to slow down, look around and take your situation into account truly. He’s a big fan of all those snooze-fests too!
Doug the Pug: He’s the king of pop culture and enjoys ice creams, burgers, fries and more. He’s also very aware and makes sure to wear a mask when he steps out of home.
Popeye the Foodie: “Former stray LA pup who travels and dines at mostly pet-friendly restaurants,” reads his Instagram bio, and he’s truly livin’ it up, sometimes digging into sushi, sometimes pizza and the others, cake.
Jiff Pom: So cute that you can hardly take your eyes off her, and if you want to text her, you could do that too apparently. Her stardom has led her to be featured with popstar Ariana Grande too! Jiffpom loves marshmallows but is also diet conscious, so eats salad as well.
BoobieBillie: From Self-care Sunday to Monday motivation, Boobie Billie will make sure you get a complete package. She’s followed by several other popular names on social media and her fashion sense is one that we all want to adopt.
Lokistagram: It started with a Corgi named Loki which has been carried forward by Bear and Momo. They are champions of ASMR and so adorable that you can’t stop watching their videos. Sometimes they’re joined by their friend, a hamster.
Amid the pandemic, “people are spending lots more time online. In one global survey at the end of March, 43% of people said they were browsing social media more because of the pandemic, second only to streaming movies and TV shows,” reads a Bloomberg report.
“According to social-monitoring tool CrowdTangle, the number of posts mentioning puppies jumped 38% in the last week of March, compared with the year-to-date weekly average. “Dog” rose a more modest 11%. “Cat,” meanwhile, showed an even smaller increase, slowly and indifferently rising over the next three weeks to a pandemic peak, up 9%,” the report adds.
