Bert the Pomeranian is somewhat of a celebrity when it comes to both his online and offline presence. The Paddington Bear look-alike took the world by storm when his owner dressed him up as the loveable bear. And with more than 410k followers on Instagram, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since.
But life wasn’t always easy for the Instagram pooch. When he was only 5 months old, the Pomeranian was dumped at a shelter by a breeder who deemed him too big to sell. Kathy Grayson, who owns an art gallery in NYC called The Hole, was browsing PetFinder when she saw Bert was up for adoption.
“There was just something about the look in his eyes,” Grayson shared with The Dodo. “I think that next day in NYC we had an opening at my art gallery with hundreds of people and a dinner and after-party. From day one, Bert was ready to join the art world!”
He has since turned into the art gallery’s unofficial mascot. “He is so calm and like… introspective,” Grayson reflected. “He’s been to dozens of openings, scores of art fairs in NYC, Miami, L.A. and the Hamptons even. He’s been to Canada and Seattle and D.C., to clubs, restaurants, bars, even the opera once! His motto is ‘Happy to be included!'”
We’re just as happy that he’s included!
