4-Legged Superstars

This small, grumpy-looking dog is famous on Instagram. His name is Sprout. He’s a Brussels Griffon that wears bathrobes, blue jeans, and bow ties.

Sprout’s owner, Sigrid Neilson, didn’t plan to make her dog famous. She began posting photos of Sprout in 2016 to share with her friends. Strangers quickly caught on. “People said he made them smile,” Neilson explains.

This is Sprout. He is a small, grumpy Brussels Griffon. The dog is famous on Instagram. He wears bathrobes, blue jeans, and bow ties.

Sprout’s owner is Sigrid Neilson. She didn’t plan to make her dog famous. She began posting photos of Sprout in 2016. She wanted to share them with her friends. Strangers quickly caught on. “People said he made them smile,” says Neilson.

Now Sprout has more than 107,000 fans on Instagram. People stand in line at special events to meet the 5-pound pup. He’s appeared in ads for fancy dog treats. He even has a talent agent. That’s just like a human star!

Sprout is an animal “influencer,” or a pet with a huge following on social media. Like human celebrities, these animals can attract millions of fans. Once the pets become famous, companies pay their owners to promote products. Some of the animals also appear in books or on TV shows.

Loni Edwards is Sprout’s agent. She started working with pet influencers after her own dog became popular on Instagram. Edwards finds jobs for Sprout and more than 150 other animals. She works with dogs, cats, pigs, and even hedgehogs.

Now Sprout has more than 107,000 fans on Instagram. People stand in line at special events. They want to meet the 5-pound pup. He has been in ads for fancy dog treats. He even has a talent agent. That’s like a human star!

Sprout is an animal “influencer.” This is a pet with a huge following on social media. These animals can attract millions of fans. They are just like human celebrities.

When the pets are famous, companies pay their owners to promote products. Some animals also appear in books. Or they can be on TV shows.

Loni Edwards is Sprout’s agent. She works with pet influencers. She started doing this after her own dog, Chloe, became popular on Instagram. Edwards finds jobs for Sprout. She does this for more than 150 other celebrity animals. She works with dogs, cats, pigs, and even hedgehogs. “To develop a following, the pet has to have something unique,” she says. In Sprout’s case, he has a very unusual frown.

“To develop a following, a pet has to have something unique about it,” she says. For Sprout, it’s his distinctive frown.

As Sprout gets more fans, his owner Neilson tries to keep his photos interesting. She buys him tiny clothes and trains him to do tricks. She rewards him with dog treats when he poses. If Sprout seems sleepy or uninterested, she knows he’s not in the mood and stops.

Snapping Sprout’s photo usually takes just a few minutes. He spends the rest of his time eating, snuggling, and chasing miniature tennis balls. Neilson doesn’t think Sprout even knows he’s a celebrity. “Most of his life is lived off-camera,” she says. “And it’s a very normal dog life.”

Sprout is getting more fans. So Neilson tries to keep his photos interesting. She buys tiny clothes. And she trains him to do tricks. She rewards him with dog treats when he poses.

Sometimes Sprout is sleepy or uninterested. Then Neilson knows he’s not in the mood. She stops taking photos.

Snapping Sprout’s photo usually takes just a few minutes. He spends the rest of his time eating, snuggling, and chasing miniature tennis balls. Neilson doesn’t think Sprout knows he’s a celebrity. “Most of his life is lived off-camera,” she says. “And it’s a very normal dog life.”

Sprout is so small that he can’t eat a whole treat. Sprout practices a trick 72 times in a week. He gets 1/6 of a treat each time. Which expression represents how many total treats he’ll get in one week?

A. 6 × 72

B. 72 × 1/6

C. 6 ÷ 72

D. 72 ÷ 1/6

Sprout is so small that he can’t eat a whole treat. Sprout practices a trick 72 times in a week. He gets 1/6 of a treat each time. Which expression represents how many total treats he’ll get in one week?

A. 6 × 72

B. 72 × 1/6

C. 6 ÷ 72

D. 72 ÷ 1/6

Fill in the whole from part A on this tape diagram. Then divide it into the number of parts and fill in their values.

Shade in the number of parts you need on your tape diagram above. How many treats does Sprout get that week?

Sprout appeared in 33 Instagram photos this past August. In 2/3 of the photos, he was making his trademark frowny face. In how many photos was Sprout NOT frowning? Use the tape diagram below to prove your answer.

A dog named Ella Bean was Loni Edwards’s first animal client. Last February, Ella Bean was in 15 photos on Instagram. She wore clothing, such as a bandana or a leather jacket, in 3/5 of the photos. Use this tape diagram to show how many times she was dressed up.

In 1/3 of the photos with clothes, Ella Bean is also wearing stylish glasses. How many photos is that? Write an equation to show your answer.

A photo of Sprout in a yellow raincoat received 240 comments on Instagram. Of those, 3/20 included an emoji with heart eyes (). How many commenters used this symbol? Write your answer in the form of an equation.

Half of the comments with the emoji also included another emoji, like a dog () or laughing face (). Show how many comments used both and another emoji in an equation.