How my pet became a social media influencer

Ryan Davies’ day could have ended, as planned, with him buying a sofa. There are currently more than 63,000 Instagram users who are glad it didn’t.

The professional photographer from Nottingham was ready to go furniture shopping when he got a call asking if he fancied going to look at some dogs with his then-partner’s sister.

“Me being such a pet lover,” he told BBC Bitesize, “I said ‘yes, absolutely.”

The next thing they knew, they were surrounded by Samoyed puppies. Samoyeds are herding dogs originally from Siberia in Russia, famed for their snowy fur, eyes like twinkling onyx and near-permanent docile smiles. One in particular caught their attention. The runt of the litter, her brothers and sisters had pinned her to the floor and was in serious need of an intervention.

Ryan explained: “I said to my partner: ‘do something!’. He put his arm out and she jumped up and attached herself to his arm. Clinging on and wouldn’t let go.”

And that was it: Skylar, a nine-week-old ball of effortless adorability, had clung on hard enough to earn herself a direct ticket to their home.

To keep friends and family up to speed on the unexpected new arrival’s progress, Ryan set up an Instagram account, and the likes began to grow. And grow.

They now stand at just under 64,000 and interest in Skylar is so great, she is represented by the Liverpool-based animal talent agency Urban Paws UK.

'To me, she’s my dog. To everybody else, she’s some celebrity.'

Having appeared in adverts, magazine spreads and even a fashion campaign, Skylar is one of the growing number of pet influencers appearing on social media.

It means exposure to a proven audience, sometimes as many as 9.3m people, the current follower tally for Jiff Pom, the Pomeranian dog who appeared in a Katy Perry video and posed on the orange carpet at this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards on US cable TV.

“It’s crazy,” Ryan said. “It’s quite surreal. We’ll be walking down the street, people will pop over and ask if she’s Skylar the Samoyed? To me, she’s my dog. To everybody else, she’s some celebrity.”

'He has more friends than me!'

Megan Roberts is the owner of Dobby, a sphynx cat notable for its lack of fur, who also appears on Urban Paws’ books and has more than 2,000 followers on Instagram. Having recently modelled as the cheeky villain in a forthcoming novel, Dobby’s cache is pretty high, with a highspot in his career coming when he attended the premiere of the cartoon series Unikitty in London’s Leicester Square.

Megan said: “He’s not a lot of work but he certainly keeps me busy. He’s more like a dog than a cat, he’s a lovable companion and he constantly wants attention.”

She continued: “He’s popular on Instagram, certainly keeps me busy with his friends on there. He has more friends than me!”

Dobby’s success is similar to Skylar’s in that it all began when Megan created a profile of him.

When asked for tips on success in the pet influencer market, she replied: “Learn how to use a camera.

“Your phone can do good pictures, but I’d definitely recommend getting a camera. Learn about Instagram statistics and the best things to post. Have lots of videos on your stories and enjoy it.

“Don’t set out to be world famous, just enjoy taking the pictures.”

The Grumpy Cat effect

For the past four years the Urban Paws team has worked with animal actors and influences like Skylar to provide animals as diverse as llamas and tarantulas for adverts, films, TV shows, plays and photo shoots. In 2015, its original mission was solely to provide dog models.

Paula Stewart, one of the company’s talent managers said: “Most of our clients advertise on social media now rather than TV.

“They get more exposure for their product.”

She believes the appeal in pet influencers comes from animal lovers who may not be able to keep animals at home. If they are allergic to dogs, but like dogs, they can still see them on an Instagram account.

Paula thinks what kicked this trend off was Grumpy Cat, the scowly feline face of a million memes. The internet sensation passed away in May aged seven, and retains almost 3m Instagram followers: "We became so enamoured, seeing animals in daily life. It makes a difference, it cheers people up.”