You’re probably used to seeing your social media feeds flooded with selfies from celebs, viral memes, and angry rants from some person you attended comprehensive school with who you couldn’t care less about now. Alas, do not fear, a new era is awakening; we’re entering the age of the Internet Pooch.

Pet accounts have been around ever since the dawn of social media time and their popularity continues to grow, the Telegraph stated that “1 in 10” (Williams, 2013) UK pets now boast a social media account. One may assume that only the friends and family of the animal in the spotlight will be the people to click ‘follow’ on the account, however, recently animal accounts have begun to hit the mainstream, with millions of like-minded dog lovers following accounts such as @marniethedog and @tunameltsmyheart on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

So, why are we so bloody interested in the lives of other people’s dogs? Kelly Hepworth, creator and editor of Urban Pooch Magazine, said: “I think it’s fair to say that most self-confessed ‘dog people’ like dogs just as much – if not more – than they like people, so it makes sense that they would like these accounts.

“Each account offers something different. There are the fashionable pups like @remixthedog and @mensweardog, the underdogs like @tunameltsmyheart, and just the generally cute ones like @bearcoat_tonkey. They’re all really innocent, light-hearted and fun; and I think people need that.”

Internet famous pooches aren’t just popular across the pond. A Gateshead born and bred pug named Heisy has amassed a large social media following, with over 1,300 fans spanning across Twitter and Instagram.

The 18-month-old black pug even has some celebrity followers, including singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran.

Mickey Welch, owner of Heisy, is a newsreader for Newcastle based Metro Radio Station, and claims that his pug’s popularity is due to the station’s audience. He said: “When we shared photos of Heisy on the station’s social media with the Metro branding, our listeners totally fell in love with him.”

People may ridicule the idea of having a social media account for your pet, but it’s undeniable that the use of Instagram and Twitter has led to some huge communities forming online. The hashtag #pugsofinstagram has over two million photos, while the hashtag #dogsofinstagram houses over 29 million pictures of people’s four legged friends – that’s nine times the amount of people who live in Wales!

Mickey has also found a supportive online community within Instagram: “Before we got Heisy, we set up a Twitter and Instagram account because we knew our friends and family wouldn’t want to see mine or my fiancee’s social media accounts full of dog photos. Heisy’s account began to grow more popular when we started posting very cute puppy photos, and we even had other pug accounts follow us, well – Heisy, too. It’s nice to have that sense of community because if we need some advice about how to train Heisy or if we think he might not be feeling too great, we can ask his online followers for advice on what to do or how to act”.

Although some may mock the idea of pets having their own social media presence, and think the whole thing is totally pointless, there’s no denying that the communities which have been created through these unusual Instagram and Twitter accounts are something rather fantastic. What better place is there than the internet for people to share the lives of their four legged companions with the whole world? After all, dogs are a man’s best friend.