Owning a pet: It’s a dog’s life ... online

SINGAPORE — Scroll through Instagram and you’re likely to spot these popular social media stars. They are just like any other — they smile and preen, post about outfits of the day, talk about their life problems and brood over the Monday blues. Sometimes they post photos of their gatherings with like-minded pals, and their followers can range between 200 and 3,000 (or hit more than 9,000 followers for the really popular ones).

But here’s the catch: Actually, they don’t really upload the images themselves. Their self-professed “social media managers” do. See, these online stars have four legs, not two. They usually come in shades of black, brown and white and they have a tail to boot. If you haven’t already realised, we’re talking about pups aka Man’s Best Friend. Or in these cases, MBF.

Dogs are fast growing in status in Singapore (remember those news articles talking about people spending big bucks to pamper their “furbabies”?), so perhaps it’s not puzzling that we are now seeing more and more dog owners here setting up social media accounts on behalf of their canine friends, posting regular photos and clips and assuming their pet’s “voice”.

But beyond just cooing over cute doggie photos, many have gone one step further, striking up a close friendship with each other through their pet’s accounts and forming informal groups among themselves. They first connect through various Instagram hashtags such as #singaporespecial and #dogsofinstagramsg before joining Facebook and Whatsapp groups, where they update each other on activities, share photos or gather dog-related advice.

These groups organise gatherings at beaches or dog cafes, go for walks, runs or pet fairs, and celebrate their pups’ birthdays through joint parties.

STRANGERS TURNED FRIENDS

Last Saturday, National University of Singapore undergraduate Toh Zu Mei, 24, organised a gathering at Sentosa’s Tanjong Beach to celebrate her dog Skippy’s birthday, and invited her social media friends and their dogs.

She had set up Skippy’s account (@skippyandscramble) one-and-a-half years ago because her friends had complained she posted too many dog photos in her personal account. She was already following many animal accounts because they make her happy, so she thought: Why not set up her own as well, and get to know the others at the same time?

One of her pals is fellow dog owner Clara Lim, a 17-year-old junior college student, whose dog Leah also has its own account, @layers_of_leah. They became fast friends after following each other’s accounts, and were roped into the #sginstamongrels Whatsapp group, which now has 27 members, to discuss weekend activities. After they decided to meet up at Sengkang Riverside Park at the spur of the moment last month, the owners and their pups clicked, and the rest is history.

“I did not know her at all when we met. But to me, as long as you have dogs, you will definitely have things to talk about,” said Toh.

As fate would have it, it rained heavily that day, so they had to seek shelter and spent the time chatting. After that first meeting, they began hanging out almost every week, and got to know each other’s families, helping each other out with their dogs. Lim has helped Toh care for Skippy for a day, while Toh helped look after Leah and Lim’s other dog, Butter, for 12 days when Lim and her family went on vacation.

“If I didn’t create the Instagram account, I would never have been able to meet her, since we are of a different age group,” said Lim.

Toh said there were very few mongrel accounts a year or so ago, so she felt she could use her Instagram of Skippy and her other mongrel Scramble (who has since passed away) to educate others on how harmless the dogs are, and to hopefully break the stereotype people usually have of street dogs. Shortly after, she set up a Facebook group — Singapore Specials Club — for owners with mongrels to share photos of their pets and discuss tips or dog-related news. There are now more than 6,200 members in the group.

Lim, too, started Leah’s account because friends were “a little irritated” that her personal Instagram was getting too crowded with Leah’s photos. “At first, I just wanted a collection of photos for Leah; I didn’t have the intention to get to know more people,” she said.

But as time passed and owners interacted with each other on the accounts, she got to widen her social circle. “My circle of friends are not really interested in dogs so I got to meet other people who were interested in the same passion as me,” she said. That also got her interested in dog rescues and stray feeding around her neighbourhood, as well as dog treks with the other owners, she added.

Another dog owner Charissa Ee, 43, said she realised people respond to cute photos and funny captions after she joined Singapore Specials Club last year. So the Gallup StrengthsFinder coach started a Facebook and Instagram account for her dog Lady Mae (@theroyaltail). Similar to Toh, she wanted to use Lady Mae’s photos “to inspire people and to show people that mongrels are not that scary after all”.

She also wanted to share tips and get people to think about training their dogs. “Being a mongrel owner, you have your challenges because you face quite a lot of public reaction and fear,” she said, adding that she used to have neighbours who would scream when they saw Lady.

She also realised many dog owners do not have experience in dog handling. “I wanted to spread the message through social media that dog ownership is really about training. With proper training and knowledge, we can get scared neighbours on our side. It’s possible to have a well-behaved big dog,” she said.

She plans her posts according to weekly or monthly themes. For example, snaps would come with leadership tips and inspirational quotes, or feature places to visit.

GROUP COHESION

Through the accounts, Ee got to know several dog owners and they grew into an informal group of 10. They would go on dog walks, train their dogs together and brainstorm ideas on how to help their dogs overcome issues, such as separation anxiety or excessive barking. They grew so close that they would take every opportunity to meet “whether it’s because of humans’ birthdays or dogs’ birthdays”, she joked. “Because of social media, I had a new group of friends to walk with. I got a new community who shared the same passion and desire for the kind of dog ownership we want to see in Singapore.”

One of the group members is Victoria Ti, 33, who initially decided to set up an Instagram account (@thefurrytales) along with a blog of the same name with three other friends — Sisi Soh, Vivien Chin and Tanya Rongkavilit — because they wanted to document their regular activities with their dogs.

“We wanted to share with others (on our blog) the fun things we can do with our dogs in Singapore, and hopefully inspire them to spend more time with their dogs and try out mental stimulation games or training methods,” said Ti, adding that they blog about activities like agility and obedience training, and also feature various dog and dog-friendly cafes.

The Instagram account allowed them to connect with other dog owners in Singapore and around the world. And the interaction was what gave the quartet confidence to organise events this year, such as dog yoga for 18 dogs and a dog walk, which saw almost 80 dogs signed up.

Research coordinator Janicia Tan, 28, set up an account for her dog Mango (@mangothesheltie) in May last year. A month later, she set up the Dogs Of Instagram Singapore (@dogsofinstasg) account on Instagram and Facebook after she found that it would be easier “if there was a common place to connect with like-minded owners and maybe keep track of events”, she said.

For her former account, she had set it up purely as a diary made up of pictures rather than words. “I’m into photography and Mango makes for a good subject. And I feel that it’s also a way some people connect with others,” she added. It has benefited Mango as well, because the social media following gives him a chance to meet more people and dogs.

Tan said she has noticed an increase in events and parties this past year compared with last year, as well as an influx of “Singapore Special” accounts on Instagram. She also noticed there are more dog-friendly places available now. In a way, the social media proliferation “helps to promote responsible pet-ownership”, she said.

“I’ve seen people asking for advice with regards to allergies or training, and sharing their experiences at establishments they’ve visited. It (makes for) a better-informed pet-owner.”

SHOWING LOVE AND SUPPORT

But why would anyone set up social media accounts for pets who can’t speak? “Dogs fulfill a growing need in society for unconditional love — people are staying single longer, finding it harder to have children, or are just more focused on work than relationships. Dogs, and pets in general, fill this gap easily,” reasoned Ti.

So social media and Instagram is a way for people to express their love for their pets, and also to connect with others whose dogs may have similar issues, habits or training, she noted. “There is a lot of support on Instagram for those who need advice, encouragement, or who want to celebrate an achievement with like-minded people.”

People tend to humanise dogs on social media, said Ee, who added that she alternates between speaking in Lady’s voice and giving instructional or inspirational quotes so she can reach out to more people. “Even though I was initially not comfortable with it, I realised it was a powerful way to connect to people.”

Added Tan: “There are more couples who don’t want children these days but have pets instead. The pets are treated as family and naturally, you would want to document your life with your family, which probably ends up on a social media account somewhere.”

On whether such behaviour — posting and speaking on behalf of their dogs, for example — could be perceived as too extreme or strange, Toh said she doesn’t really care what people think. “I’m just role-playing and imagining how they feel and what they may say through their expressions. I’m just having fun,” she said. “In a way, I also treat them like humans.”

Agreeing, Ti said the group feels that the funny photo captions “somewhat reflect each of our dogs’ personalities”.

“We don’t see it very differently from, say, cartoons and comics,” she added. “It is light-hearted and meant to be entertaining. Just enjoy it and laugh!”

“There are people plastering their baby’s photos and videos all over IG and FB, so why can’t pet owners do it too?” said Tan.

“Our pets are our babies, too! Furrier and cuter too,” she joked. “If they don’t like to see those pictures, just unfollow.”