Boo the Pomeranian: The “World’s Cutest Dog” of Early Social Media
Before Instagram made dog fame routine, one Pomeranian with a teddy-bear haircut built an audience most human celebrities would envy — on Facebook, of all places. Boo was arguably the first true social-media dog superstar, and he got there almost by accident.
Who Boo was
Boo was a Pomeranian born on March 16, 2006, owned by Irene Ahn, who worked at Facebook. His fame came from a haircut: clipped down into a round, plush teddy-bear shape, he looked less like a dog than a living toy. Ahn ran a Facebook page for him, and in October 2010 the singer Kesha tweeted that Boo was her new boyfriend and linked the page. The post detonated, and within a short stretch Boo went from a personal account to a global phenomenon.
How big he got
At his peak Boo’s Facebook page carried roughly 16 million likes — a staggering number for the early 2010s, and more than most actors and musicians had at the time. He was marketed as “the world’s cutest dog,” a title that stuck in headlines worldwide. The brand extended into a bestselling photo book, a plush toy line, and a run as the official “pet liaison” for an airline. Boo helped prove a pet account could be a real business years before “petfluencer” was a word.
The legacy
Boo died on January 18, 2019, at age 12. His owners shared that after his longtime companion dog Buddy passed in 2017, Boo began showing signs of heart trouble, and in their words his heart seemed to break when Buddy left. His page stayed up as an archive, and his teddy-bear look launched countless grooming requests that outlived him. The template every Instagram dog later followed — a single distinctive signature, run like a media property — Boo built first.
Boo belongs to the founding generation profiled in our guide to the most famous dogs on Instagram, and he appears in the internet’s most famous dogs.
Frequently asked questions
How many followers did Boo the Pomeranian have?
At his peak, Boo’s Facebook page had around 16 million likes — more than most human celebrities had at the time — which made him one of the first true social-media dog stars.
What breed was Boo?
Boo was a Pomeranian, made famous by a teddy-bear haircut that trimmed his coat into a round, plush shape.
How did Boo the Pomeranian die?
Boo died in his sleep on January 18, 2019, at age 12. His owners said he had shown signs of heart trouble after his companion dog Buddy passed away in 2017.
