Our pets pay the bills: The moggy & doggy Insta-stars earning more than their owners
PINK POODLE VENICE
Do you have a cute pet? Does it have an Instagram account? You could be earning money from it, while having fun with your animals! We spoke to owners whose star pets have turned into furry moneyspinners
Venice is a real doggy superstar. She has appeared on The Only Way Is Essex, featured in commercials for O2 and Virgin Media. She has even starred in a pop video and been photographed by top snapper Rankin in a shoot which also involved Brooklyn Beckham’s pets. Owner Daniela Forshaw from Essex is a skilled dog-groomer, who initially bought Venice as a pet, but quickly saw her star quality. ‘ When she was six months old, she was totally pink, and she did a shoot with a photographer where she wore a tiara.
‘These pictures became very popular when they were syndicated through an agency, and that led to other work.’
Venice is quite a skilled girl; not only is she wellbehaved, but she also likes cars – Daniela has bought her a remote-controlled Bentley and pink Mini – which make her a popular choice for TV.
‘For a photo shoot, a dog can earn anything between £50 and £2,000,’ says Daniela. ‘For a commercial, they can earn between £500 and £2,000, depending on what they have to do.’ On one shoot, Venice had her own vet and caterer, so she is clearly at the upper end of the doggy market when it comes to earning money.
Daniela and Venice often come as a pair, as Daniela works as a doggy chaperone to Venice and other dogs on shoots, using her grooming skills to style up the dogs.
Daniela is building Venice’s career, and hopes she can one day get some deals as the canine face of major fashion houses, which could shoot her into the stratosphere and possibly earn a cool £1m a year.
In the meantime, Daniela is choosy about the jobs Venice does: ‘I was offered quite a lot of money for her to do four nights launching a nightclub – I turned it down as I didn’t think it was right for her.’