Armed with selfie sticks, biscuits and some coconuts, a crowd gathers at the Basirhat border of West Bengal to welcome a guest from Bangladesh. Meet Sontu, a seven-year-old Labrador, who connects the two Bengals and has over 15,000 followers on Facebook.
India-born Sontu grew up in Bangladesh and became a star during the Covid pandemic when her human sister Tanusri Roy made a video of her eating cucumber; she begins with the skin first before scarfing down the insides. Currently, Facebook pays her about $300-400 (Rs 24,000-Rs 32,000) for every video with a million likes.
Sontu, the Labrador from Bangladesh
She’s not alone in the world of pets on social media, who are earning dollars, reel after reel. There’s three-year-old Ragnar, a German Shepherd from Ranchi, who won the Internet by travelling across India, including the Char Dham trek, riding pillion with his human parent. In March 2019, five-year-old husky Nawab Tyagi, from Noida, became the talk of the town with his paragliding antics in Manali. Mumbai-based exotic shorthair cat Oscar has done over 450 brand collaborations and starred in multiple ad films earning around Rs 70,000 for each shoot. These pet influencers have carved out their own niche in the booming pet market, post Covid.
Ragnar’s human parent Shiv Shankar, who goes by the handle name ‘The Banjaara Boy’, got him when he was four months old. “It was May 2020, in the middle of the first lockdown. He saw me through my depression and now I have a partner in Ragnar; he accompanies me everywhere on my bike. Since then, we have travelled to Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, and the Northeast,” says the 30-year-old civil engineer, who is a blogger with over 152k followers on Instagram, “He’s my GPS, if he senses danger ahead, he stops me with his paw.”
But it wasn’t a red-carpet welcome for human parents Rohan and Himshi Tyagi, with their paragliding boy Nawab, who have an FIR against them because he touched the Nandi at the Kedarnath temple complex. “At most ancient temples, the priest would often welcome us saying ‘Bhairo ko bhi to andar lao’ so we didn’t realise this would become an issue. Overnight, his page got over 70k followers, some appreciated but the majority were critical. What mattered to us at that time was the joy on Nawab’s face. Since then, there has been no looking back. We have travelled to Ladakh, Spiti, Manali, even Badrinath,” says 33-year-old Himshi. He has over 275k followers on Instagram, where posts show him as ‘Nawab Tyagi’. Himshi keeps the page informative with DIY videos on taking care of dogs in summer and tips on how to walk them or interact with other dogs.
While Sontu had Tollywood celebrities such as Debashree Roy, Chiranjeet and Rupam Islam line up to meet her when she arrived in Kolkata, it’s the reaction of her fans that Roy cherishes the most. “At an event, an elderly woman hugged Sontu and began crying. She said that it was Sontu’s videos that gave her hope when she was alone in hospital with COVID,” says Roy, over the phone from Khulna. She plans to visit India during Durga Puja this month and will take Sontu to Puri beach this time, she says.
Ragnar, the German Shepherd
With Oscar though, it’s been a different journey for Shifa Kazi. The shorthair cat’s love for wearing goggles and being photographed made him perfectly poised for an Instagram handle, Oscar_thebullcat. Mumbai-based Kazi says, “Oscar was just three months old when he came to me in 2018 from New Zealand. His videos have a good reach and are even reshared by celebrities and Bollywood actors. But it’s when he represented India for the World’s Most Beautiful Cat Championship in 2021 and won the pageant for the country that he grew famous; he has over 70.8k followers on Instagram alone,” says the 30-year-old, who is a freelance content creator and a home-decor enthusiast.
Oscar has his own room, a huge closet and a king-size bed. “We do live sessions where Oscar sits for hours wearing his sunglasses and interacting with the audience,” says Kazi. Oscar has done TV commercials for Swiggy, Virat Kohli Foundation and Airtel, among others.
Gladys D’Souza, however, had no such plans when she found Meenu abandoned on the streets of Mumbai in 2018. But soon Meenu had an Insta handle of her own. Her antics can sometimes bring down an entire neighbourhood, says D’Souza. “Once when an injured honey bee flew in through the window, Meenu followed it around the house knocking down everything that came in her way,” she says.
Through the handle Meenu_the_cat, D’Souza shows how keeping a wet towel on Meenu during the afternoons help her deal with summer heat. In another video, she talks of how to effectively remove ticks.
The Husky Nawab with his parents
Pet influencers like Roy and D’Souza share details of how to help dogs socialise and diet plans to follow. There are also dog training videos, which show basic commands and how to leash train them and prevent food and toy aggression.
They advertise pet products that have helped them. From paw creams, shampoos, oils, brushes, to dog boots, clothes, leashes, harness, and brands that sell biscuits, cakes and raw treats, pet influencers command a huge following.
The pet care industry that had grown out of an interdependence of brands and pet owners is supposed to be one of the fastest growing sectors in India, prompting even bigger corporates to enter the fray.
“Oscar recently shot for a web series on Amazon that will go live by year end. We usually work with pet brands as paid and barter collaborations. We charge them for all the deliverables. We have a trial round to try those products ourselves. After the initial screening audition, the production team comes home to meet Oscar. They usually provide him with a vanity van. where he takes power naps and then arrives on set to shoot. For every ad film, he is paid between Rs 50,000 and Rs 70,000, depending on the number of hours,” says Kazi.
Meenu the cat
Along with product endorsements, the pet care industry has diversified into grooming, stay and boarding and food as well. One such example is Manish Kumar Bharti’s XoxoTails. He started a boarding for pets in 2018, which gets over 250 bookings every month. “When I was working in Bangalore, I wanted to keep Sophie, a cocker spaniel, in a boarding, but I could hardly find any. Those that were available charged around Rs 1,000 for a day and even then I didn’t find them hygienic,” says Bharti, who can host around 50 pets daily at his Noida-based boarding facility. His other services include pet grooming, dog walking and pet taxis. Currently, he logs around Rs 20 lakh revenue every month, 70 per cent of it is from offline services.
Another pet start-up Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) has seen an increase of around 30 per cent in their compound annual growth (CAGR) rate. Rabia Mehta Stephens, lead of social media, says, “HUFT launched in 2008 and now we have 16 stores across India. We do around 15 collaborations with pet influencers every month, which works around a barter system. We have been building on our food-and-treat portfolio as well.”
10 pet influencers from around the world
1. Tucker Budzyn (golden retriever)
From: Michigan
Followers: 4.3m on Facebook, 3.4m on Instagram
Claim to fame: This pet influencer award winner for three consecutive years is often seen interacting with his human ‘Linda’ in playful videos. He likes to rate human food and loves to swim. This five-year-old golden boy earns over Rs 9 crore annually through product endorsements and reels.
2. Good_Boy_Ollie (brown labrador)
From: London
Followers: 1.6m on Instagram, 607k on Facebook
Claim to fame: This chocolate boy has his own activity jar and performs tasks like painting, gardening and cleaning a fish tank with his human. He boasts of multiple awards in agility and obedience competitions. He is also the only dog to have had a photoshoot with the Jonas brothers.
3. Meeka_the_huskyy (husky)
From: Tokyo
Followers: 1m on Facebook, 14.5 on Instagram
Claim to fame: This talking husky loves to argue with his dad.
4. Waffles the Cat (shorthair mix)
From: Scotland
Followers: 2.5m on Facebook
Claim to fame: This reel star is famous for his gimmicks.
5. Nala_cat (siamese mix)
From: Thailand
Followers: 2.7m on Facebook
Claim to fame: The brand ambassador of multiple pet food items.
6. Madmax_fluffyroad (corgi)
From: New York
Followers: 1m on Instagram, 471k on Facebook
Claim to fame: This shortlegs is a fashion model for pets and is a mini Hollywood celebrity. He is Ed Sheeran’s go to cuddle buddy and has toured the entire US in 2022.
7. DJ Sunny the Cockatiel (cockatiel bird)
From: Philippines
Followers: 101k on Instagram
Claim to fame: This talking bird loves to eat ramen and sing his own song mix.
8. Brodie that Dood (golden doodle)
From: California
Followers: 1.1m on Facebook, 985k on Instagram
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Claim to fame: He travels the world with his dad and has appeared in multiple short films.
9. The_little_burbs (two love birds)
From: Germany
Followers: 14.5k on Instagram
Claim to fame: Two cute love birds – Eevee and Ducky – play in the house fountain and love to eat all kinds of herbs.
10. White Coffee Cat (shorthair)
From: Manchester
Followers: 807k on Facebook
Claim to fame: He loves to wear clothes and pose for pictures.
