KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Children are considered a blessing but for American Courtney Budzyn, a former house cleaner, it’s her pet dog that’s enriched her life in more ways than one.
Her pet Tucker Budzyn, a five-year-old golden retriever, is the world’s No.1 dog influencer on social media.
He’s a million-dollar mutt, making seven figures a year in earnings from sponsored ads since he was two, reported New York Post.
He’s making so much money that Courtney and husband Mike, a civil engineer, quit their jobs to manage Tucker and his puppy son Todd full time.
“A YouTube-paid post can be anywhere from US$40,000 to US$60,000 (RM184,000 — RM277,000) for a 30-minute pre-roll,” said Courtney, 31. “Instagram, we make about US$20,000 (RM92k) for anywhere from three to eight stories.”
When the Michigan-based couple got Tucker at the age of eight-weeks-old, they made an Instagram account for him. The next month, Tucker’s first video went viral.
“We gave him an ice cube and he was just pawing at it,” said Courtney.
“I was floored that many people were as interested in my dog as me. By the time he was 6 months old, he had 60,000 followers ... It was insane.”
Tucker now has close to 25 million followers across social media: 11.1 million on TikTok, 5.1 million on YouTube, 4.3 million on Facebook. 3.4 million on Instagram and 62,400 on Twitter.
The Budzyns have partnered with companies like BarkBox, a monthly subscription service and King Kanine CBD for dogs, with which they are making their own collection of products.
