Meet Nellie the space dog – she’s even been vetted by NASA

Split image of Nellie the puppy with the bubble around her head and on the other side Nellie and her owner Rhianon.
One small step for dog, one giant leap for animals everywhere (Picture: @nelliebritishbulldog/Caters News)
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Sally Ride have just been joined in the astronaut hall of fame by a highly unusual character – mostly because she isn’t even human. Nellie the bulldog has gone viral after getting snapped by her owner Rhianon Wilson, while walking around the garden with a massive bubble around her head, which resembled an astronaut helmet. The photo was shared by a popular Twitter dog account that rates pooches, captioned: ‘This is Nellie. She is an astronaut. Please don’t interrupt her spacewalk.’

She got 13/10 – that’s quite the rating.

The tweet has so far racked more than 250,000 likes and over 31,000 retweets.

‘Nellie was going crazy for the bubbles, jumping up and popping them,’ said Rhianon, who was joined by her son Jack at the time.
Nellie the bulldog walking with a bubble around her head
Look at her confident stride upon Earth (Picture; @nelliebritishbulldog/Caters News)
‘As Jack was blowing the bubbles I decided to catch some pictures of her.

‘I couldn’t stop laughing when I see the image I took of her.

‘It was a complete fluke shot! It looked like her head was stuck inside the bubble.

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‘Within hours it had reached over 250k likes and had thousands of shares.’

Nellie with her owner Rhianon
Nellie with her owner Rhianon (Picture: @nelliebritishbulldog / CATERS NEWS)
Not only has Nellie become famous, but the pup, who is just 10 weeks old, has even been approved as an important part of the world’s space crew by NASA.

The US space agency replied to the original tweet by saying ‘That’s one small boop for the pup; one giant boop for pupkind.’

That’s one small boop for the pup; one giant boop for pupkind. 🐾🚀

— NASA (@NASA)

‘I was getting images sent to me by random strangers telling me that NASA had tweeted about Nellie,’ added Rhianon, who works as a nurse.

‘I honestly couldn’t believe how viral my little puppy had gone over one innocent picture.

‘And to get a response from NASA was insane. I’m completely overwhelmed with how this has gone.’

People are loving the unusual pic, and many have shared retouched versions which show Nellie walking on the moon. One woman even drew an illustration of the popular pooch.

And fellow dogs also joined in on the fun, asking Nellie questions about space.

pup, pup, and away my friends pic.twitter.com/MXpj7WFoFW

— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates)

GIANT STEPS ARE WHAT YOU TAKE pic.twitter.com/EOPb10IJTL

— darth™ (@darth)

Keep Them Active. Energy varies between breeds, says Dr. Becker. “Greyhounds, Labs, Golden Retrievers, Jack Russell Terriers, Border Collies, and other active breeds have unfathomable energy.” He continues, “wolves spend 80% of their time awake, moving. With cats, there’s not such an exercise requirement,” but providing outlets for play at home is still crucial. For both cats and dogs he recommends food-dispensing that “recreates the hunt,” and puzzle feeders that engage your pet’s “body and mind.”

i did an nellie art, i hope she likes it pic.twitter.com/VaAYoqD4LO

— margo hates the dnc (@prollymarlee)

What is it like in space, Nellie?? 💛 pic.twitter.com/VfFnaT6kxw

— JimJamesTheDog (@JimJamesWoofs)

‘Lots of people have been sending me images of Nellie walking on the moon, sea diving and going into space.

‘I absolutely love them. It really has made me smile the whole experience.’

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