Sounds Inspired Dog Names

When it comes to dogs going viral, very have rivaled the one who has been coined by his owner and nearly every other to see him as “the cutest dog in the world”: Boo. 

If you’re not familiar, feel free to do a search for those words exactly. Chances are that his pictures will be some of the very first on almost every search engine’s image results. It’s clear to see why. The little fluff ball not only looks like the softest thing in the world, but between his coloring, face, haircut and adorable expressions, he looks almost surreal, as if someone had infused life into well thought-out stuffed animal — and since he went viral, he’s actually become an official stuffed animal as well. 

But unlike most other viral dogs, Boo did have a leg up from his owner, who despite avoiding the limelight for years after crafting his multi-million views Facebook page, actually turned out to be Irene Ahn, a finance lead at Facebook who came over from Yahoo! In 2008 — yes, we know, that’s a pretty huge leg up to be the equivalent of a canine social media insider. But his advantages aside, it’s nearly impossible for most people to deny his outright cuteness, and the hype around him proves it. 

Born in 2006, the perfectly groomed Pomeranian didn’t become a sensation until a few years later, when his owner set up a Facebook page for him that came with the simple phrase “My name is Boo. I am a dog. Life is good.” along with a good handful of some perfectly staged, heart-melting photographs. His rise to stardom happened nearly in tandem with another young talent on the rise: Kesha. Just five years into her musical career it took off, and with it, the fluffy little pooch who, in 2010, was mentioned by Kesha to be her “new boyfriend” with a link to his page. 

By the following year Boo had 5 million Facebook fans and his owner was then approached by Chronicle Books, who suggested he be the subject of one. The title ended up being Boo: The Life of the World’s Cutest Dog, and it eventually needed to be published in ten different languages due to its extreme popularity. 

He went on to be featured in a total of four books, was featured as an official Fund stuffed animal, and was even named the Official Pet Liaison of Virgin Airlines in 2012, shortly before having his owner outed as a Facebook employee later that year, creating a massive stir of controversy.