Let’s face it, some pets are a lot more interesting than people, so who gets to say that only people can be celebrities?

One tried and true means for becoming a celebrity is to have a successful You Tube video. If a video, for whatever reason, gets the attention of enough people  it will spread like wildfire. Boom, instant hit and an overnight celebrity is born. But what if that potential celebrity is curled up at your feet every night keeping you warm? Well, you’re in luck, because when a pet becomes a star they handle the fame so much better than we do. No unreasonable demands, big salaries, theatrics, or paparazzi! Pets are just in it for treats, a pat on the back, and your love.

That being said, there are four basic ways a pet can become famous on the internet, and with these methods, some luck, and good timing they can achieve celebrity status.

The first way is to have a talented pet. It’s really good if your pet can do something that has rarely or never been done before. Or (And this is the charm of YouTube), you need to showcase your pet’s talent in a humble and sophisticated way that is hilarious or awe inspiring. 

Enter Matt and Alina Gardea, the owners of 8-year-old “Mishka, The Talking Dog”, who is proving that animals, just like people, have a taste for the limelight. Using YouTube as their promotional vehicle, the pair have posted more than 400 short videos of their pet speaking, and the response has been tremendous. Back in February of 2008 this beautiful husky helped send a message around the world, that love is universal because dogs can say it too. And this original video currently has over 72 million views! A more recent  video of Mishka telling Alina “I love You” has garnered 4,126,139 views so far, and a video of Alina asking Mishka “Are you stupid?” and him responding “Nooooooooo” has achieved an amazing 22,903,169 million views. But above all, Mishka loves to sing! (Yes, you read that right). 

Now, Mishka is so popular that he has his own U-Tube Channel, and his younger siblings Laika and Moki are climbing up the ladder of fame as well. It should come as no surprise that the popular talking dog has hit the talk show circuit, recently making an appearance on the Today Show. And I know what you’re thinking. Did Mishka talk to hosts Kathie Lee and Hoda? Answer, Of Course! And by the way, Mishka held her own in the spotlight, having much more interesting things to say than your average TV or Movie Star.

Another way to get your pet on the fast track is to already be a YouTube Celebrity yourself. This way you already have a built-in audience, and when your fans see that your pet is cuter, or smarter, or more talented than the already oh-so-fabulous you, the number of fans and subscribers will skyrocket! Kind of like how it happened for Corey “Mr. Safety” of SMP Films (his own production company in Thousand Oaks, California). Corey already had a generous following of viewers, but his internet celebrity status topped the charts after he directed a music video starring his brand new cat, Sparta. The Mean Kitty as Sparta has come to be known is a hit on YouTube to this day and like Mishka, he has also appeared on daytime talk shows.

This next road to fame is the craftiest and most challenging method so far, and it yields the best results. The craziest thing is that you don’t even have to have a pet, you can use other people’s pets! Take your average footage that has been floating around the interwebs and make it better! By far, the best examples of this are the videos assembled by Klaatu42. What he does is find footage of animals moving their mouths, and then he gives them a voice! The trick is that the editing is precise,  the timing is perfect, and he manages to catch  the pet’s facial expressions to give the pet a clearly defined personality as well. His account has several videos on it that have surpassed tens of millions of views. And one cat named Jupiter who appears multiple times in his videos, now Jupiter has his own Q&A show called “Ask Jupiter”.And finally, the fourth way to make your pet a star on YouTube is to animate him. This is almost cheating, but if you can pull off some decent animations then this is the way to go. And just think, you don’t even need to provide him with food, a litter box, or toys of any kind. To see what I mean you should check out “Simon’s Cat,” an always hungry and unwittingly funny feline who pesters his British owner and creator Simon Tofield incessantly. He does all the work for his famous cat videos and whenever he comes up with a new one, its popularity almost overwhelms YouTube. Needless to say, Tofield’s real life cat Hugh serves as inspiration for his videos. “Simon’s Cat” may be a just a cartoon, but he is definitely a pet celebrity.

And by the way, pet celebrity is an equal opportunity employer, with any imaginable species more than welcome. Check out the remarkable careers of Yvonne, the crafty German runaway cow, the scrawny Madonna chipmunk, Patrick the penguin on Pet Star, and so many more.......