Many of us are feeling a little down right now as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to social distancing , we can’t see our friends or spend our days the way we normally would.
And now, a dog in Atlanta named Pop is capturing those sentiments in his perfectly pouty expression that’s gone absolutely viral.Big Poppa has been so sad today, I think he miss playing with the kids in the building. He just watches them from the patio pic.twitter.com/gVooqvZ5oI— Rae Elle (@RaeElle)As a quarantined Pop gazed forlornly out over his apartment balcony as people walked by, his mom, Rashida Ellis, snapped his picture on Tuesday and tweeted it out."Big Poppa has been so sad today, I think he miss playing with the kids in the building. He just watches them from the patio,” she wrote.
Immediately, the entire world seemed to conspire online to cheer up the very good boy.
“Big Poppa” was one of the top trending topics on Twitter in the United States on Wednesday afternoon and Ellis’ original post had more than 800,000 likes by Thursday night.Even Maisie Williams, of “Game of Thrones” fame, tweeted about him.“not being dramatic but I would literally die for big poppa,” she wrote.
And TV host Ellen Degeneres tweeted about him too!not being dramatic but I would literally die for big poppa
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams)
“Stay inside. Flatten this curve. Do it for Big Poppa,” she said.
This is a copycat version of the kind made by Greenies.
Ellis told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA she never predicted her dog would strike such a chord with people.Stay inside. Flatten this curve. Do it for Big Poppa. https://t.co/q2c9GYZMgN
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow)
"I would have never guessed that my dog would be the face of the quarantine," she said. "But I get why people are relating to it. We're all going through this right now. He's cute, but he's also sad, he misses his friends — and I'm like, 'I'm the same way! I miss my friends!' And then his little rolls, I think just sent people into emotional overload."
She added Pop is a “very social dog” who has been stuck at home with just her.
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"So it's like, 'Oh God. He can see everyone (from the balcony), he can see his friends if they come outside, sometimes a kid or so will be on the courtyard or another dog,” she explained. “So he watches like literally almost all day long.”
Ellis said she plans to keep staying home to flatten the curve but has a few fun Pop-related requests she is going to make happen during the quarantine.
"I had some requests of people asking for their birthday — if I can write a sign and put it in front of Pop so he can do birthday shout outs," Ellis told WXIA, laughing. "And I was like, 'You know what, I can do that. I can do that. So we're gonna start with Pop giving out his free birthday shout outs for whoever needs them and we'll see from there."Use a Food Dispensing Toy for Fast Eaters. If your dog eats too fast use a food dispensing toy (we love the Kong Wobbler & Bob a Lot), or place a few tennis balls in their bowl to slow their eating. Not only does this keep them from eating too quick, it gives them a nice mental workout.