People_USA_June_26_2017

‘He’s
handsome,
composed,
smart’
—CRUSOE’S
OWNER RYAN
BEAUCHESNE
Crusoe
@crusoe_dachshund
“We never had a plan from the
start to make this something big;
it was just a creative outlet for me,
a hobby,” says Crusoe’s owner,
Ryan Beauchesne. Fast-forward
several years, and the Canadian
dachshund who became a Vine
sensation has more than 375,000
Instagram followers and millions
more on Facebook. But the
fame hasn’t gone to his head.
“He’s super-easygoing,” says
Beauchesne, 29, who manages his
7-year-old pooch professionally.
“We base everything we post on
his real personality—he’s a bossy
guy who knows what he wants.”
Otitis
@adventuresofotitis
Hamlet the Pig
@hamlet_the_piggy
Hamlet is more than a star: She’s an emotional-support
pet—helping owner Melanie Garcia, 30, deal with seizure activity
and anxiety due to epilepsy. “Having her around makes me
feel better,” says Garcia, who lives in L.A. and is a full-time
“pigarazzi” to Hamlet. The pig’s Instagram followers (300,000
strong) love not only her work but her crazy costumes too, found in
baby and dog stores, and some sent straight from fans.
Otitis is named for Otitis externa,
a condition that caused him to develop
cysts on his ears; because his first owner
didn’t treat it, his ears were removed.
Baltimore resident Molly Lichtenwalner,
23—having survived a car accident
that left her with anxiety—adopted the
10-year-old and shares his adventures
with their 24,000 Instagram followers.
Glee the Golden
@goldens_glee
New Yorker Jared Kasner, 28,
started an Instagram account
sharing shots of happy golden
retrievers until he got one of
his own, Glee. Now he totes the
5-month-old around N.Y.C.,
stopping to meet strangers, give
them a smile and post pictures
of them online. “Her name says
it all—she’s about optimism
and happiness,” Kasner says.
“Nothing gives her more joy
than making her [296,000]
followers smile and encouraging
them to see life through her
rose-colored glasses. She
believes the future is golden.”
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY RYAN BEAUCHESNE(2); COURTESY JARED KASNER(3);
COURTESY MOLLY LICHTENWALNER; COURTESY MELANIE GARCIA
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June 26, 2017 PEOPLE