Lady the Golden Retriever (@ladyandtheblues) is at the center of her parents’ lives, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. The smart and sassy dog makes an amazing animal influencer, but this pup uses her influence for more than just growing her fanbase—she also applies it to her role as a big sister to her parents’ foster dogs.
Dog parents Rasmus and Erika Ekman met in Tokyo, Japan, but it wasn’t until they moved to Orange County, California that they met their fur baby, Lady. “When we moved [to Orange County], he ran out of excuses not to get a dog,” says Erika mischievously. “And then, when we got Lady, he fell in love. Now, he’s cuddling with her in the bed.”
While it was easy for Lady to sweep Rasmus and Erika off their feet, her social media popularity was coincidental. When The Ekmans moved to the U.S., Erika wasn’t permitted to work for a few months. It was during that period that they got Lady, and Erika started her social media accounts, which ended up turning into a full-time job.
“The first viral video was Lady’s watermelon ‘boop,’” notes Erika. (A “boop” is when Lady puts her nose through an object that has a hole in it.)
“Everybody loves ‘the boop,’” says Rasmus. “You would have something that has a hole in it, and she would come running up and put her nose into it,” explains the dog dad.
While Lady’s content may look happy and carefree, Erika follows a rigorous posting schedule. “8 a.m., you start posting and you have to engage for like a couple hours, and then you write new content, and then you film them in the afternoon, and then you edit at night,” explains Rasmus of Erika’s day. “There’s a strict schedule to the whole thing.”
“Still better than my office job,” notes Erika.
“At the end of the day, I think my followers just love Lady being Lady,” she explains. “So I don’t really have to do something, but I just feel pressured to make fun content.”
When Lady isn’t making adorable content, she’s being a big sister to her foster siblings. “One great impact that we’re having is we started to foster through rescue groups that we connected to through Lady’s account,” shares Rasmus. “We post a lot of us fostering other dogs and Lady being the big sister of the foster puppies. And I think showing that on [Instagram] Stories has a very positive impact. People show up for funny videos with Lady, and end up learning something about fostering.”
At the end of the day, Lady’s influence is about making people feel good. “I think it’s amazing that we get to have such a positive impact on other people’s lives,” says Erika. “She’s making somebody else’s day by just being herself.”
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