Dressing up in costumes, taking business trips with her humans and dining around New York City were just a few of the social media posts that gained Chloe @chloetheminifrenchie<\/a> (and her owner, Loni Edwards) nearly 200,000 Instagram followers within a few months of starting the account.<\/p>\n So, in 2017, when 4-year-old Chloe died from a medical error at a veterinary clinic in New York, it was devastating not only for Loni but for her fans.<\/p>\n Loni, a lawyer and owner of The Dog Agency<\/a>, a talent management agency for the top social media animal influencers in the world, used her grief to bring awareness to the issue that after a pet\u2019s death due to medical error, owners typically get compensated for the cost of adopting another dog, but there\u2019s no compensation for the emotional stress.<\/p>\n Through Chloe\u2019s account, she launched a campaign that raised $20,000 through the Animal Legal Defense Fund<\/a>, an organization that furthers the legal rights of animals.<\/p>\n Even though Chloe and Loni had a significant social media following, the most prominent pet influencers say the size of your fan base isn\u2019t what is most important when you are promoting a cause.<\/p>\n With the right messaging, photos and purpose, any account \u2014 especially coming from an adorable dog \u2014 can inspire change.<\/p>\n Here, three social media influencers share their tips for promoting a cause through your dog.<\/p>\n Photo: MrasWonderland | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After Chloe\u2019s death, Loni\u2019s campaign was a way for Chloe\u2019s followers to honor the mini Frenchie, but also support Loni.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best strategy is to have a cause that you\u2019re really connected with,\u201d Loni says.<\/p>\n In the 6 years that Joey Teixeira and his partner Michael Keeney have lived with Mervin @mervinthechihuahua<\/a>, the 3-pound pup has endured numerous life-threatening health issues, which Joey shares with Mervin\u2019s 125,000 followers to raise awareness of canine medical conditions. He also gets people talking about the plight of animals with special needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of a theme of our account,\u201d says Joey, who’s also rescued a hearing-impaired dog as well as two blind cats.<\/p>\n Joey and Michael are involved with the human Special Olympics<\/a>. This year, because the event is virtual, they posted pictures of Mervin \u201csupervising\u201d over the computer as a way to introduce Mervin\u2019s fans to the event.<\/p>\n Mervin, a 3-pound pup has endured numerous life-threatening health issues, which Joey Teixeira shares with Mervin\u2019s 125,000 followers to raise awareness of canine medical conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many private and independent rescue groups need help generating social awareness and fundraising.<\/p>\n Those smaller, local groups are also typically more responsive to partnering than the larger national organizations that don\u2019t have the capacity to answer each email, Joey says.<\/p>\n Be proactive: Reach out to different groups and ask what you can do to help promote their messages.<\/p>\n \u201cThe smaller ones \u2026 will need more help,\u201d Loni says.<\/p>\n Always research each organization first to make sure it aligns with your mission, has a good community standing and can clearly share how incoming funds are utilized.<\/p>\n @tunameltsmyheart, a 10-year-old chiweenie with an endearing overbite asks followers at the end of each year for recommendations of shelters or organizations that need financial support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtney Dasher, the human behind @tunameltsmyheart<\/a>, a 10-year-old chiweenie with an endearing overbite and 2.1 million Instagram followers, asks Tuna\u2019s followers at the end of each year for recommendations of shelters or organizations that need financial support.<\/p>\n She vets the suggestions, makes sure the shelters are no-kill, then promotes them on her page. Courtney rescued Tuna from an adoption day at a farmer\u2019s market in Los Angeles in 2010. Since then, she\u2019s been an ambassador for rescuing dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cMy main mission is to bring people joy and laughter,\u201d she says, by posting pictures of Tuna in costumes, at the park with her daughter and making funny faces.<\/p>\n But, he\u2019s also a rescue, she continues, \u201cand that\u2019s something that\u2019s important to share with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Courtney encouraged her followers to spread awareness about adoption by posting photos of their animals and sharing their adoption stories on their own pages.<\/p>\n Followers will start to overlook your message if the photo and text are redundant. \u201cFind ways to make it organic,\u201d Loni says. \u201cKeep it relevant and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n The same advice goes for hashtags: Creating your own, unique hashtags specific to your cause or your dog will get the most attention.<\/p>\n You never know who will come across your post, Courtney says. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a celebrity and then they post it on their account. It\u2019s so cool how it all works.”<\/p>\n The post Instagram Dogs with a Cause<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Instagram Dogs with a Cause<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Dressing up in costumes, taking business trips with her humans and dining around New York City were just a few of the social media posts that gained Chloe @chloetheminifrenchie<\/a> (and her owner, Loni Edwards) nearly 200,000 Instagram followers within a few months of starting the account.<\/p>\n So, in 2017, when 4-year-old Chloe died from a medical error at a veterinary clinic in New York, it was devastating not only for Loni but for her fans.<\/p>\n Loni, a lawyer and owner of The Dog Agency<\/a>, a talent management agency for the top social media animal influencers in the world, used her grief to bring awareness to the issue that after a pet\u2019s death due to medical error, owners typically get compensated for the cost of adopting another dog, but there\u2019s no compensation for the emotional stress.<\/p>\n Through Chloe\u2019s account, she launched a campaign that raised $20,000 through the Animal Legal Defense Fund<\/a>, an organization that furthers the legal rights of animals.<\/p>\n Even though Chloe and Loni had a significant social media following, the most prominent pet influencers say the size of your fan base isn\u2019t what is most important when you are promoting a cause.<\/p>\n With the right messaging, photos and purpose, any account \u2014 especially coming from an adorable dog \u2014 can inspire change.<\/p>\n Here, three social media influencers share their tips for promoting a cause through your dog.<\/p>\n Photo: MrasWonderland | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After Chloe\u2019s death, Loni\u2019s campaign was a way for Chloe\u2019s followers to honor the mini Frenchie, but also support Loni.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best strategy is to have a cause that you\u2019re really connected with,\u201d Loni says.<\/p>\n In the 6 years that Joey Teixeira and his partner Michael Keeney have lived with Mervin @mervinthechihuahua<\/a>, the 3-pound pup has endured numerous life-threatening health issues, which Joey shares with Mervin\u2019s 125,000 followers to raise awareness of canine medical conditions. He also gets people talking about the plight of animals with special needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of a theme of our account,\u201d says Joey, who’s also rescued a hearing-impaired dog as well as two blind cats.<\/p>\n Joey and Michael are involved with the human Special Olympics<\/a>. This year, because the event is virtual, they posted pictures of Mervin \u201csupervising\u201d over the computer as a way to introduce Mervin\u2019s fans to the event.<\/p>\n Mervin, a 3-pound pup has endured numerous life-threatening health issues, which Joey Teixeira shares with Mervin\u2019s 125,000 followers to raise awareness of canine medical conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many private and independent rescue groups need help generating social awareness and fundraising.<\/p>\n Those smaller, local groups are also typically more responsive to partnering than the larger national organizations that don\u2019t have the capacity to answer each email, Joey says.<\/p>\n Be proactive: Reach out to different groups and ask what you can do to help promote their messages.<\/p>\n \u201cThe smaller ones \u2026 will need more help,\u201d Loni says.<\/p>\n Always research each organization first to make sure it aligns with your mission, has a good community standing and can clearly share how incoming funds are utilized.<\/p>\n @tunameltsmyheart, a 10-year-old chiweenie with an endearing overbite asks followers at the end of each year for recommendations of shelters or organizations that need financial support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Courtney Dasher, the human behind @tunameltsmyheart<\/a>, a 10-year-old chiweenie with an endearing overbite and 2.1 million Instagram followers, asks Tuna\u2019s followers at the end of each year for recommendations of shelters or organizations that need financial support.<\/p>\n She vets the suggestions, makes sure the shelters are no-kill, then promotes them on her page. Courtney rescued Tuna from an adoption day at a farmer\u2019s market in Los Angeles in 2010. Since then, she\u2019s been an ambassador for rescuing dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cMy main mission is to bring people joy and laughter,\u201d she says, by posting pictures of Tuna in costumes, at the park with her daughter and making funny faces.<\/p>\n But, he\u2019s also a rescue, she continues, \u201cand that\u2019s something that\u2019s important to share with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, Courtney encouraged her followers to spread awareness about adoption by posting photos of their animals and sharing their adoption stories on their own pages.<\/p>\n Followers will start to overlook your message if the photo and text are redundant. \u201cFind ways to make it organic,\u201d Loni says. \u201cKeep it relevant and interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n The same advice goes for hashtags: Creating your own, unique hashtags specific to your cause or your dog will get the most attention.<\/p>\n You never know who will come across your post, Courtney says. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s a celebrity and then they post it on their account. It\u2019s so cool how it all works.”<\/p>\n The post Instagram Dogs with a Cause<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Instagram](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Loni-Chloe_4627.png\")
<\/p>\nMake it personal<\/h3>\n
![\"Instagram](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Mervin2.png\")
<\/p>\nPartner up<\/h3>\n
![\"Instagram](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tuna_2.png\")
<\/p>\nGet interactive<\/h3>\n
\n\u201c(Your followers) are the ones who are supporting, giving, donating through your recommendations,\u201d she says. Including them will connect them to your mission and give you leads to the local organizations that need the most help during crises.<\/p>\nKeep it relevant, interesting and unique<\/h3>\n
\nShare personal stories, ongoing fundraisers, give updates on your mission, explain new laws that are passed and when a petition is available for signing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nMake it personal<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nPartner up<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nGet interactive<\/h3>\n
\n\u201c(Your followers) are the ones who are supporting, giving, donating through your recommendations,\u201d she says. Including them will connect them to your mission and give you leads to the local organizations that need the most help during crises.<\/p>\nKeep it relevant, interesting and unique<\/h3>\n
\nShare personal stories, ongoing fundraisers, give updates on your mission, explain new laws that are passed and when a petition is available for signing.<\/p>\n