Thelife- Rashida Ellis is social distancing with her 3-year-old English bulldog, Pop — also known as Big Poppa.
- While working at home, Ellis saw Pop on her apartment patio looking especially forlorn in what turned out to be a timely photo opportunity.
- "I heard Pop on the patio whining and then he just sat down and dropped his head," Ellis told Insider, saying that she thinks her
dog was sad because he heard the sound of kids playing outside but wasn't able to get their attention. - Overnight, the picture of Pop had been shared thousands of times, and he's now become a dog celebrity of sorts.
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Pet owners know how special it is to have a human-animal connection, and especially during quarantine, being close to a furry friend can be especially meaningful.
That's how Rashida Ellis feels about her 3-year-old English bulldog, Pop — who she sometimes refers to as Big Poppa.
"It's just me and him, so without him, being [inside] during quarantine would be a lot harder for me," Ellis told Insider. "Some days, he does the silliest things, and it just makes me laugh so hard."
Recently, Ellis, who lives in Atlanta, was working from her living room when she heard whines coming from her apartment patio, where Pop was sitting in the sun.
"He just sat down and dropped his head," Ellis said. "I grabbed my phone and took the picture to share with my friends because he was so sad. I went to go and give him a rub, and I noticed two children outside — they're brothers — that Pop plays with sometimes on his walk, and I realized he was trying to get their attention but could not."
Instead of being able to play with his friends, Big Poppa watched from the balcony above in what made for a sad but adorable (and photo-worthy) moment, Ellis said.
Ellis shared the picture of Big Poppa in a tweet on Tuesday, and the next morning, she said, she woke up to find that her dog had become an overnight canine celebrity. To date, the picture of Big Poppa looking sad has been retweeted more than 93,000 times.
—Rae Elle (@RaeElle) April 22, 2020
"I posted the picture and thought nothing of it," Ellis said.
Following the original, now-iconic picture of Pop looking sad on the balcony, Ellis has shared some updates about her lovable dog. For example, Ellis ordered Pop a new dog bed, and even though it was a bit small for his size, he didn't seem to mind.
—Rae Elle (@RaeElle) April 24, 2020
People all over the internet can't seem to get enough of Big Poppa's forlorn expression and relatable dilemma of just wanting to spend in-person quality time with friends.
—roxane gay (@rgay) April 23, 2020
—Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) April 22, 2020
—Manón Mistó (@shesAphenoMANON) April 24, 2020
—Jaq Lugg (@jaqinthewild) April 22, 2020
She also tweeted that Big Poppa continues to longingly look out the balcony for other human and canine friends.
—Rae Elle (@RaeElle) April 24, 2020
When quarantine is over, Big Poppa just wants to play with friends again, Ellis said.
"Pop loves children more than anything in the world," she said.
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