Big Poppa The Bulldog Becomes Online Celebrity After Picture Of Him Looking Sad During Lockdown Goes Viral
"Not being dramatic but I would literally die for Big Poppa."
A photo of a glum-looking dog has gone viral for representing how many of us feel during lockdown.
Rashida Ellis lives in Atlanta, United States, with her three-year-old English bulldog, Pop (nicknamed Big Poppa). When she uploaded a picture of the pooch appearing to feel sorry for himself to social media, the post absolutely blew up.
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Writing on Twitter, Rashida said: "Big Poppa has been so sad today, I think he miss playing with the kids in the building. He just watches them from the patio."
The 38-year-old uploaded the same picture to Instagram, captioning the photo from Big Poppa's perspective: "All I want to do is play with the kids in my building but due to Covid-19... I can't. I just watch them from the patio. Flatten The Curve please."
Her original post has received more than 650,000 likes on Twitter and has had mentions from people such as Ellen DeGeneres and Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams.
People have pledged to 'fight for Big Poppa' and say they would lay down their lives to make him smile one more time.
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Rashida admitted she's surprised how big her photo has become, but understands it's very relatable at the moment.
Speaking to Buzzfeed News, Ellis said: "I think when people look at that photo, we can all relate right now.
"We can't do the things that we used to do, we can't hang out with our friends.
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"I think it just happened to be this dog - and not only is he so sad and cute and you want everything to change for him, but you want everything to change for yourself, too, because we're all in this situation."
Rashida's life has been turned upside down as a result of the coronavirus as she's a costume designer. The virus has caused loads of TV shows and movies to stop production, so her normal work has dried up, and she's been creating outfits at home to sell online.
She says Big Poppa has certainly been feeling lonely because he's not able to go out and play with people like he normally does.
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"When he's inside, he just walks out to the patio looking for people," she told Buzzfeed. "He's sleeping more. He's a little sluggish. I can tell he's not as happy and excited as he usually is. He's probably tired of just me playing with him."
Hopefully this will all be over soon and Pop can go out running in no time.
Stewart Perrie