It really is a dog’s life for Popeye, the formerly stray dog whose new owner treats him like a king at a never-ending dog banquet.
Popeye, who lives in LA with Ivy Diep and her husband, is an Instagram sensation, and his trips to some of the West Coast’s best dog-friendly restaurants have everyone eating out of the palm of his paws.
But life wasn’t always this tasty for Popeye. Ivy found him on the streets of LA, after having been abandoned to the life of a stray.
Ivy told Bored Panda:
He was such a mess – super skinny, heavily matted, dirty.
After dog-loving Ivy tried to house Popeye with little success, she decided to take him into her already full house.
She added:
It wasn’t long before he made himself at home at my place with my other dogs.
And of course, my husband and I fell in love.
Ivy nursed Popeye back to health, but the pup never really regained a typical canine appetite, and was always disinterested in her food when she took him out to eat with friends.
She explained:
He doesn’t lunge for food or really even care for it. He just liked to be out. He’ll get nibbles of anything that’s safe for him. I also carry a bag of treats for him, in case there’s nothing he can have.
Ivy’s friend Jane then suggested Popeye have his own Instagram foodie account.
Ivy continued:
One of my friends, Jen, suggested that I create an Instagram account for Popeye because he was cute. Jen and I liked to go on what we call ‘Instagram dates’ and take pics of our food.
I’d bring Popeye any time I can, and we realised he was really good around food.
Popeye now has over 108k followers on Instagram and a vast knowledge of world foods and LA’s hottest dining spots.
Between the pizza, pasta and snails, it seems Ivy and Popeye won’t go hungry – for food or love – again.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.