Yoshini Perumal and Daily News Reporter
STORMI, a Rottweiler from Durban North, has taken her first bites at being a social media influencer and she's revelling in it.
The pooch's social media influencer status was triggered with her first gig in a recent ad campaign for a company specialising in dog treats.
Stormi was anything but flushed by the camera's glare, she loved it. This can be evidenced in videos posted on Stormi's own Tiktok page, created by her owner Nateli Veerabudrun.
Clive Veerabudrun, Nateil's dad, said Stormi and her brother Tyson became kin to their family’s pet Rottweilers, Diesel and Nala, in October last year.
“My wife, Evelyn, and my daughters, Nateil and Leah, were part of the birthing process. They helped Nala deliver the puppies. It was a special moment because our dogs are part of our family."
The Veerabudrun's decided to keep two from pups from the litter, Stormi and Tyson, and they were then put through their paces at the Kindred K9 Training School.
Clive said Nateil noticed how pets overseas had developed influencer status via social media platforms and started Instagram and TikTok accounts for Stormi.
Now that Stormi's role as an influencer was rising, Clive said that development made them ecstatic.
“A yoghurt company in Ballito offered her a sponsorship and she does ads for them. She has attracted many fans and we are looking to expand her career as a model. She has had training as a pup and is disciplined. We would one day like to see her play a role in a film, like the Lassie movie,” he said.
When she not drawing audiences on social media, Stormi loves walks on Durban's promenade and enjoys running in the mud in the garden.
“Stormi also loves chicken necks, which we feed her and her brother, raw, to ensure they have a balanced diet. My daughters enjoy doing videoing their walks together, and they have been documenting Stormi’s journey from the time she was a pup. We are a family of dog lovers. We have six dogs, which include Stormi, her sibling, her parents and two pugs, named Kylo and Kiki. Stormi is our special girl, and I think she was born to be a model and an influencer,” Veerabudrun said.
POST & DAILY NEWS