Buttercup, a Chihuahua mix residing in Santa Barbara, recently won Wild Earth pet food’s national modeling competition, beating out a field of more than 600 pooches. Wild Earth, which developed a new vegan dog food, was looking for a fresh face to feature in a commercial and documentary about the brand. The company put out the call on Instagram, and Buttercup, the active social media influencer that she is, saw the announcement and had to enter. (She may have had had a little help from her owner, Kristen Weiss, a marine ecologist and science communicator with UCSB.)
When she isn’t winning modeling contests, Buttercup likes to make Instagram posts about the importance of conservation, the environment, and science. She hopes that her new platform will allow her to spread the word about unethical practices in the pet food industry and give kudos to Wild Earth for trying to change to that. Keep an eye out for Buttercup’s commercial debut set to air in late August. In the meantime, give her a follow at @buttercup.the.ocean.pup.