10 Animals More Famous
Than You’ll Ever Be
Check your Facebook newsfeed, and you’re likely to
find posts about animals who have become movie stars, divas, models, travel
guides, or wanted criminals.The following is a collection of this decade’s most
impressive animal Internet stars—so prepare to smile, to shake your head, and
to indulge your own jealousy with these animals that are more famous than you
1. Henri, le Chat Noir
Henry the tuxedo cat was renamed “Henri, le chat noir” when
he became film student Will Braden’s
muse in 2007. When he made “Henri,” his first short film starring the blasé
tuxedo cat, Braden was a student at the Seattle Film Institute. In making this
film, he was inspired by the somewhat pretentious nature of existential
philosophers and French filmmaking in the 1950s. For his cat, he created this
French philosopher type character who lounges around the house and indulges in
his ennui. “We cannot escape ourselves,”
the French voice-over says with the sound of piano music in the background, as
Henri looks at his reflection in the mirror. The second installment of the now
fully established Henri web series, is called “Paw de deux,” Roger Ebert praised the clip as “the best internet cat video ever made” on twitter, and it actually
won the “Golden Kitty award” at the
Walker Art Center’s Internet cat video festival (yes, it’s an actual feline
film festival). While he is convincing in the role of the tortured thinker,
Braden has stated that Henry is actually the most cooperative performer: “I just slide him one way or the other”
says Braden, “As long as I give him
treats, he’s happy.”
2. Boo, the Cutest Dog on the Planet
Boo is a small Pomeranian dog whose short haircut gives
him the appearance of a stuffed animal. “My name is Boo. I am a dog. Life is
good” was the profound tagline that his owner, Facebook employee Irene Ahn,
chose for Boo’s profile in 2010, and a star was born. After singer Ke$ha tweeted a link to Boo’s Facebook
page, this cuddly canine really went viral. In the tweet, Ke$ha also jokingly called Boo
her “new boyfriend”. Shout-outs from other celebrities multiplied. Boo was
called “the cutest dog on the planet”
by Khloe Kardashian, and the “ultimate chick magnet” by George Stephanopoulos. Now the subject of four different picture
books, Boo has over 17 million likes on Facebook, and stands as the official
pet liaison of Virgin America. Boo
reached such a high level of celebrity, that a rumor, which suggested that the
Pomeranian pooch had died, temporarily devastated the Internet. The hashtag “#RIPBOO” circulated Facebook as fans
mourned his supposed death, until an update surfaced on his page allowing
everyone a breath of relief: “hi friends!” it read, “I heard the rumors, and I
would like all my friends to know that I am happy and kickin’!” Thankfully Boo
is still with us, and his Facebook page continues to thrive.
3. Beast Zuckerberg
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has an impressive
looking dog named “Beast.” Beast is
a “puli,” a type of Hungarian sheepdog, with long white
cord-like fur. It’s hard to say exactly how Beast got so famous, but his
Facebook page, created by Zuckerberg
and his wife Pricilla Chan, has more
than two million likes. The brief “About Beast” entry on his page is short and
sweet and informs fans of his different interests: “I live in Palo Alto with Mark and Cilla” it says,
“I like cuddling and herding things.” Yes, Beast is a celebrity, but as his Facebook indicates, he is a family man
who likes to keep it real and indulge the small pleasures in life. The pictures
of Beast’s little adventures always come with humble captions, like “Enjoying a
sunny day in the park” or “ cuddle with mom.” Beast’s rise to fame also has a
Boyhood quality to it, as Internet followers have watched him grow from a
little puppy into the dog he is
today. His Facebook feed often recaps his toddler days with pictures and
captions such as: “Throwback to my very first bath.”
4. Biddy, the Travelling Hedgehog
Another Instagram superstar, Biddy the hedgehog became famous after his owners, Toni DeWeese and Tom Unterseher, began photographing him on their travels through
the Pacific Northwest. Biddy was an
expressive character, known to pose for the camera. But what really made the
photos remarkable was the fact that Biddy
was often portrayed in the foreground of breathtaking vistas. From his home
state of Oregon, Biddy travelled to Montana, Wyoming, and Washington,
pausing to visit sights of American wilderness as well as the occasional donut
shop. His Instagram account, which
gathered more than 400,000 followers,
contains pictures of Biddy smiling, waving, and even making silly faces before
all sorts of backdrops. Fans were heartbroken when the following statement
appeared on the Instagram account:
“This is a very difficult post to type and it breaks our hearts. Our spiky
little guy passed away on Sunday, March 1st. Biddy finally seemed better, then
he quickly took a turn for the worst.” He may have lived fast and died young,
but Biddy travelled more than your
average American does in a lifetime. He lived a full life, and his Instagram
account remains as proof.
5. The Tim Horton’s Goat
Back in September 2015, an actual goat, Goliath, was arrested in Martensville, Saskatchewan. Goliath was actually being used by the University of Saskatchewan’s Rodeo team,
and mysteriously disappeared from campus. Since goats are known to be companion
animals, it is assumed that Goliath
did not escape, but rather, was kidnapped temporarily, and dropped off at a
nearby Tim Hortons. The trouble
started when Goliath refused to
leave. Store employees escorted Goliath outside several times, but each time he
turned around and walked right back in, persistently standing his ground. Left
with no other options, one of the store employees called the police, who
arrived ready to set this loitering dissident straight. After they arrested Goliath, the police stated: “He was
very unhappy with this, so the members decided to take him home instead of to
the holding cells at the detachment.” Thankfully, after a rough day of being
kidnapped and then arrested, Goliath was returned to his rightful owners, and
the Tim Horton’s employees went back to serving humans.
6. Grumpy Cat
If you’ve been online at all in the last few years,
you probably already know who “Grumpy
Cat” is. The cat became an Internet
celebrity when her photo first surfaced on Reddit, in 2012. Likely due to an overbite, Tardar Sauce looks into the camera with a disdainful pout, giving
her a permanently “grumpy”
expression. The Reddit photo became
a popular meme with captions such as “There are two kinds of people in this
world, and I don’t like them.” At the 2013 Webby awards Grumpy Cat won Buzzfeed’s meme of the year award. But
her rise to celebrity didn’t stop there— merchandising the meme turned out to
be lucrative. There have been two books released about Grumpy Cat, ‘Grumpy Cat:
A Grumpy Book,” and “The Grumpy Guide to Life: Observations by Grumpy Cat”. A
Grumpy cat wall calendar has also been created, a video game released, and a
Grumpy Cat Christmas movie is in the works, set to debut this November on
Lifetime. If Grumpy cat has become an internet icon, it’s because she
represents two crucial signifiers of hipster culture in the social media age:
cats and cynicism. It’s no surprise then that comedian Aubrey Plaza is lending her voice and her deadpan delivery to the
character in the anticipated Grumpy Cat movie.
7. #DeadraccoonTO
Odd Torontonian tale is that of “#DeadraccoonTO,” the raccoon that only gained Internet fame
posthumously. This wild raccoon was found dead on the sidewalk of a busy Toronto intersection on a Thursday
morning in July. Animal services were notified via twitter, but for some
reason, no one came to collect the carcass until much later. In the meantime,
the dead raccoon, dramatically sprawled out on its back with its tongue
sticking out, caught the attention of passersby. First, someone left a note for
the deceased, and gradually, a memorial was crafted for the animal right there
on the sidewalk. One person left flowers, another a framed picture of a
raccoon, and another a large sign that read “#DeadraccoonTO.” Throughout the day, the memorial grew to comedic
proportions, and by nightfall, when Animal Services had failed to show up, a
candlelight vigil had taken form. City
Councilor Norm Kelly also got involved on twitter, sharing the “#DeadraccoonTO” hashtag, lamenting the
dead raccoon and urging the city to allow him some dignity. In the end, the
vermin-gone-viral was finally taken away just after 11pm, but his memory will
live on through his hilarious hashtag.
8. Ikea Monkey
On December 9th, 2012, small macaque monkey was found
roaming an Ikea store in Toronto. The monkey, Darwin, had escaped a crate in his
owner’s car. Not only was it surprising for witnesses to spot a wild animal
wandering alone in an Ikea, but Darwin was also sporting a small
shearling coat and a diaper. Footage of the episode quickly surfaced online,
and he became known as “the Ikea Monkey.”
One photo in particular, showing Darwin
gazing out of the corner of a window, went viral, and became a familiar meme in
no time. While the Ikea Monkey incident
made Internet users laugh worldwide, it wasn’t so funny for his owner Yasmin Nakhuda, who lost custody of Darwin that day after he was seized by
Toronto Animal services. Darwin was
back in the spotlight when he was declared a wild animal in an Ontario courtroom, and despite her
efforts to appeal and regain ownership, Nakhuda
could no longer afford the expense of the lengthy custody battle, and
eventually gave up. Darwin now resides in the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary
in Sunderland, Ont.
9. Lil’ Bub
Lil’ Bub, a house cat, was born the
runt of her litter. She suffers from a short lower jaw, toothlessness, and
several other deformities causing her tongue to stick out permanently. Despite
her inauspicious beginnings, recording artist Mike Bridavsky met and adopted Bub.
Unbeknownst to them, she would go on to do great things as a multi-media
artist. After her picture went viral on Tumblr
and Reddit in 2011, Lil’ Bub’s
career took off. What really makes this cat unique, what makes her “The most
amazing cat on the planet” is her status as a well-rounded feline personality:
she has appeared on talk-shows such as Good
Morning America, the View and the Today show. Urban outfitters, which
successfully retails Lil’ Bub merchandise, hosted a meet-and-greet for Bub at
one of their stores in Chicago back
in 2013. A conscientious activist too, Bub posed as a spokescat for PETA in a campaign to encourage
pet-owners to spay and neuter their animals. Bub was also the star of a
documentary, released in 2013, called “Lil’
Bub and Friendz” about cats on the internet, which premiered at the Tribecca film festival and went on to
win awards.
10. Menswear Dog
Back in 2013, New York designers Yena Kim and David Fung
started dressing their pet dog, Bodhi,
in couture menswear and instagramming him for fun. To his owners’ delight, Bodhi instantly took to the camera, and
his tumblr page, mensweardog.tumblr.com, quickly went viral. Bodhi, a.k.a “Menswear dog,” is not however, just a tumblr sensation, nor is he just a meme to laugh at. He is a real
model, who actually poses when photographed, sponsors topnotch fashion brands,
and walks the runway at fashion week. In April 2015 Miss Kim and Mr. Fung released a fashion manual for young men
entitled “Menswear Dog Presents the New
Classics: Fresh Looks for the Modern Man.” The book, now available on Amazon, offers men seasonal fashion
advice, for a timeless “classic” look. Now a star, Menswear dog makes on
average $15,000 a month from his
modelling career, enough for his owners to have quit their jobs. Menswear dog
has certainly made an impact in the fashion world, and who knows, he might even
catch Tyra’s attention, and end up on Amercia’s Next Top Model: the Canine
Cycle.
