A little boy has become an internet superstar after gaining more than 110,000 Instagram followers for posing in cute pictures – with PUGS.
Lynne Flynn, 31, brought up her 11-month-old son Louie surrounded by the pet pugs – and her photos and videos of the child with the tiny pooches have turned him into an online sensation.
Every time she posts a picture of her son playing with a pooch to Instagram account pugsnkisses84 it gets flooded with likes within minutes.
She has been uploading the photos for the past four months – and the internet just can’t get enough of Louie the little dog-lover, with his infectious giggle.
Lynne, who lives in Dundee with Louie and husband Neil, said: “The friendship between Louie and the pugs has got to be the cutest thing on the internet.
“Anyone can see the love between them is genuine.
“People message me all the time to say my videos cheer them up.”
Now the savvy mum, who works in customer service, has started endorsing pug-themed businesses in her posts to her thousands of followers.
Her clips have been featured on shows such as Good Morning America and Channel 4’s Rude Tube, and the success shows no signs of slowing down.
Lynne said: “It’s so special – Louie and his pug friends are spreading joy across the world!”
Little Louie has basically been brought up by pugs according to his mum – and he can’t get enough of Sassy, 11, Goose, aged six and Maisie, who is five years old.
He also enjoys hanging out with his grandma Elaine’s pugs – four-year-old Ana and three-year-old Bee.
Mum Lynne said she wanted Louie to become accustomed to dogs at an early age, so she always let the pups wander around when Louie was in his cot or pram.
She said: “By the time he was four months old he would reach out to stroke them and then giggle when they’d nuzzle his toes.
“He developed a special relationship with my eldest pug, Sassy.
“It was adorable – Sassy was so gentle with Louie and his eyes would light up when she came into the room.”
The footage was an instant hit – and in just one month, the page had gathered 2,000 followers.
Lynne said: “I was flattered. People started commenting and sending private messages to say thank you for cheering them up.
“I put the popularity down to the fact my page combines everyone’s favourite things – a gorgeous baby and adorable animals.”
In just a few months, business owners had started contacting Lynne asking her to help promote their pug-themed products on her page.
And ever since she has been sent a continuous flood of puggy goods, from jewellery to dog leads to baby clothes with puppy designs.
She said: “All I have to do is feature them and within seconds my followers would be pledging to buy what they saw.
“By September we became so in demand we had 55,000 followers and started getting messages every day.
“I tried to feature as many products as possible – helping small companies made me feel like we were doing this for a good cause.”
As Louie‘s ‘InstaFame’ gained momentum Lynne said followers all over the world started following to see “the cutest thing on the Internet”.
The pug-lover said she has no interest in fame, and no interest in being a pushy parent – she just wants everyone to enjoy the uplifting videos.
Fortunately she says 90 per cent of the comments she receives have been positive – and she enjoys the messages she gets sent.
She said: “People from all over the world message and thank me for brightening their day.
“For me that’s the reason I do this.”
To this date Lynne has posted more than 1,300 pics and videos to her Instagram and she’s also created a YouTube channel for Louie‘s videos.
Now, she wants to get in contact with television producers as she thinks Louie and his pug family would be “perfect” for a children’s show or cartoon.
She said: “As well as being adorable, he’s sending out a positive message about treating animals nicely.
“What’s more, being around the pugs teaches Louie to be kind, considerate and careful – skills that will help all his life.
“But most importantly, Louie and the pups make people happy, and I’m so proud of him for that.
“It’s a friendship like no other – and I can’t wait to show him the videos when he’s older.”
