HONG KONGISH港人．港語
The city’s biggest Instagram star – on four legs城中最紅IG名犬
HAD INSTAGRAM EXISTED in the early ’90s, Whisky and Soda would’ve been Hong Kong’s most-liked pups.
Probably.
The two terriers of former governor Chris Patten were well-known in the territory, both because of their antics (getting lost on walks, eating poisoned chicken) and their habit of nipping government employees. The pair were a frequent sight trotting around the streets of Central and the hills of the New Territories.
Twenty-five years on, Hong Kong’s first canines might not be living in Government House, but they are royalty – of the Instagram sort.
The social media platform isn’t just a platform for sharing images (ha!) any longer
如果Instagram在1990年代初就出現，那麼當時港督彭定康的愛犬威士忌和梳打就很有可能成為全港最受人愛戴的狗狗了。
這個說法雖不中亦不遠矣。其實彭督養的兩隻㹴犬當年以種種糗事聞名全港，們牠 曾因散步時走失，誤食被人下毒的雞翼險死，還有咬政府僱員而上報，因此備受市民注目。中環的街道與新界的郊野山間，經常都可以到對見 這 「香港第一犬」的蹤影。
四分一個世紀過去了，禮賓府（即前總督府）內也許再沒有香港第一犬居住其，中 但是毛孩依然地位尊崇，在Instagram內獲得無數追隨者的崇拜和讚。美
– it’s the nine-to-five for some of Hong Kong’s dogs. The most-loved canines in the city attract thousands of followers and a regular stream of heart-eye emojis underneath pictures of them dressed in booties/raincoats/bow ties.
Hong Kong didn’t invent the Instadog (America’s best-loved Instagram dogs have millions of followers and a dedicated social media festival, PetCon, launched last autumn). But while the US has the numbers, Hong Kong has the lunar calendar. This month marks Chinese New Year, ushering in the Year of the Dog. And if that’s not a good excuse to dress up one of Hong Kong’s Instagram dogs, take photos of them and write a flimsy 550 words then I don’t know what is.
There are a handful of dog Instagram stars in Hong Kong – best-known perhaps are Whiskey the yorkie, Sasha the sharpei and the many, many corgis – but the only one I’ve ever had tea with is Japanese shiba inu Yoshi, the super-cute dogchild behind @shiba_adventures.
For this incredibly serious interview, we meet Yoshi, appropriately, on Instagram Pier in Kennedy Town – one of his regular hangouts, according to his ‘momager’ Caryn Yap. His usual doggy dominion is Caine Road, and he’s a frequent visitor to dog-friendly cafe Elephant Grounds. (Despite the obsession, this isn’t the most canine-friendly city, and there are only few places that dogs can hang out in freely – Elephant Grounds being one of them. Only an utterly ordinary dog would ever be papped at Cyberport Waterfront Park.)
Yoshi, ‘a cheeky little shiba living in Hong Kong’, has over 1,800 followers, and ‘lives for adventures, going to the beach and ice cream’. ( While he does love the beach, he is diva-ishly scared of water, and won’t put his paws near the pier’s edge.) His Instagram is full of him flopped out on junks, in cashmere jumpers and posing with giant pink flamingoes. He snarfs Gino’s doggy ice cream on The Peak, toro sushi at his favourite in-town Japanese restaurant and is recognised around Hong Kong thanks to a handsome supply of neckerchiefs.
Hong Kong’s dogs provide such effective social media marketing that brands have mushroomed around them.
There’s Sniffie, a luxury dog fashion brand that makes silk bomber jackets, red and black houndstooth capes and the very same khaki camouflage jacket that Yoshi has squeezed his muscular chest into today. It was set up by Hong Kongbased Caroline Roberts last year, and has already enjoyed a showing at London Fashion Week last autumn. Then there’s the personalised gourmet food from Hong Kong-based Dogalicious, which offers meal plans for dogs that include ingredients such as sole fillet, quinoa and kale.
Back on Instagram Pier, Yoshi is the complete professional: he’s absolutely still for the camera in his mini Sniffie camouflage jacket, staring doe-eyed into the middle distance (eyes resolutely fixed on a bag of gourmet snacks held in front of his nose), with amber aviators sliding down his snout.
He cycles smoothly through a couple of costume changes – a pair of McQueen glasses, a camouflage backpack and a pillar-box-red raincoat (left). The next job: giving Discovery a very exclusive interview.
We settle on some palettes looking out across to West Kowloon’s ICC. I get my notebook out. My first question (what it’s like being an Instagram star?) is met with a friendly little nod, a split grin and quite a lot of panting. In doggy speak? ‘Girl, talk to my agent.’
對香港某些狗狗來說， Instagram這個社交媒體平台不再停留於只是一個分享照片的平台，而是一份全職工作城！ 中最受人喜愛的狗狗吸引數以千計的追隨者，而牠們足踏小靴、身披雨衣或帶上蝶形結領的照片下面，總有一大串「的 心心眼」表情符號。
將狗狗的照片放上Instagram分享、然後在網上成名這種風氣，並非由香港開始。美國最受人愛戴的Instagram狗狗有數以百萬的計 追隨者去， 年秋更季 推出專為牠們而設的社交媒體活動PetCon。美儘管 國狗多勢，眾 但是香港卻有農生曆 肖。助陣今歲戊年 次 戌屬犬，即是狗正年， 好趁機邀請一隻港香 Instagram上的名犬來，穿上各款時尚服飾為我們拍攝一輯精采照片，然後寫一篇550字的訪問光， 大本地犬族的名聲。
香港實有其 也 不少Instagram狗明星，最廣為人知的有約瑟爹利Whiskey、沙皮狗Sasha以及數之不盡基的哥 犬，不過我與只其中一位飲過下午茶，就是這隻名叫Yoshi的日本柴犬。這隻可愛指數爆燈的小毛孩是就Instagram帳戶@shiba_adventures的主角。
這是一趟十分認真的訪問，所以我們約了Yoshi在有Instagram Pier之的環稱西貨運碼頭見。面 根據「他的 媽媽兼經理人」
Caryn Yap所說，這是他經常前來遊玩的其中一個地方。他通常在堅道一帶出沒，也是Elephant Grounds餐廳的常客，因為這裡歡迎狗顧客光臨雖。 然香港有不少愛犬人士，可是這個城對隻市 犬 的需要並沒有周全的照顧，可以讓狗狗自由自在地玩樂的地方少之又少， Elephant Grounds就其是中之一。數碼港公園當然有也 不少狗狗前去遊玩，不過少Yoshi這樣的犬界星然明 當是不會隨便踏足的。
Yoshi這隻「居於香港的調皮小柴犬」有1,800名以上的追隨者，「喜歡求追 新奇的體驗、灘海 和雪糕」。雖然他喜歡到海灘，去 可是卻十分怕水，可說達到誇張的程度，連碼頭邊的 緣也不日走近在。他 Instagram上的照片包括興高采烈地遊船河、穿上漂亮的茄士咩衣毛 ，以及擺出姿與型勢 巨 的粉紅色紅鶴合等照 ；還有在他 山頂Gino's意大利糕雪 店大啖供狗狗食用的雪糕，在城中他最喜愛的日本廳餐 品嚐金槍魚腩刺身的美味時刻。他的頸上經常圍著醒目漂亮的領，巾 在城中到處遊逛時，經常認被人 出來。
香港的狗狗在社交媒體上的市場推廣效果顯著難， 怪不少品牌圍繞牠們如雨後春筍般出現。
例如Snif fie，這是一個奢華狗狗時裝品牌，出品的服飾有絲質飛行員外套、紅
黑雙色犬牙格子花紋披肩，還有今天Yoshi穿得非常帥氣的卡其迷彩外套等。這個品牌由居於香港的Caroline Roberts於去年年底創立，雖然歷史尚淺，但在年已去 秋季的倫敦時裝周內亮相。除了衣冠之外，狗狗的口福亦有人妥善照料。位於香港的Dogalicious按狗狗的需要制定美食餐單，食物包括比目魚柳、藜麥和羽衣甘藍等。
回西到 環貨運碼頭現場， Yoshi的現表十分專業，穿他身 Sniffie迷你迷彩外套，在鏡頭前紋風不動，一副茶色太陽眼鏡滑到鼻樑上，雙眼則凝望面前不遠處（其實是緊盯著別人拿在他鼻子前面的一包高級小食）。
他輪流換上了多款不同服飾，包括副一McQueen眼鏡、背迷彩 包和郵筒紅色的斗篷雨衣（頁對 ）。然後接受《Discovery》的專訪。
我在堆們 一 卡板上坐下來，那裡可以望見維港對岸西九龍的環球貿易廣場。我取出筆記簿，然後提出第一條：問題身「為Instagram上的明星有什麼感受？」Yoshi親切地微微點頭，然後咧嘴露齒再加上連串喘氣。翻譯成人話，：就是「小姐，你去問我的經理人好」了。