Sad news for WeRateDogs fans, as the brand mascot Pippin has died from old age.
Pippin, a blue-eyed dog used as the profile picture for wildly-successful online brand WeRateDogs (@dog_rates), died Friday, according to a post from creator Matt Nelson.
He was at least 14 years old, dying from old age. His final rating was a rare 15/10.
(If you don’t understand how the rating works, see our guide to DoggoLingo internet dialect.)
This is Pippin, but you know him better as my profile picture. He was the catalyst for the kindest online community ever and his intense expression will never be matched. Pippin passed away this week due to complications of old age, but he’ll live on with every post. 15/10 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZEPWXfPOY4
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) December 21, 2018
Pippin also served as the face of the sister account Thoughts of Dog (@dog_feelings), though the anonymous dog’s actions (told from first-person point-of-view) and thoughts are inspired by Nelson’s parents’ Golden Retriever Zoey, and her new sister Sizzle, a fellow Golden adopted about a month ago in November.
“It’s such a weird relationship. He wasn’t my dog but he meant so much to my entire online community,” Nelson told BuzzFeed.
Nelson found PIppin’s picture by doing a Google search for “funny dog” in 2015, about a year after he started WeRateDogs in his dorm room after taking a picture of of a friend’s dog in Applebee’s. It was originally a stock photo, though Pippin’s owners have formed a relationship with Nelson in the time since.
“It’s crazy to think that one picture has turned into so much,” Nelson told BuzzFeed. “I’m just thankful the family has been so welcoming and such good sports to allow one picture to be turned into a brand.”
WeRateDogs currently has about 7.5 million Twitter followers, and 700,000 on their Instagram page. They recently wrapped up an anti-cancer campaign with ESPN called “h*ck cancer” (DoggoLingo again).
In happier news, Nelson and WeRateDogs recently teamed up with Gabriel of I’ve Pet That Dog at the 2018 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin in Orlando, which will air on Animal Planet at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2019.
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