Big Poppa: Dog Becomes a Viral Mascot for Quarantine

A bulldog from Atlanta named Big Poppa has become a mascot for those living in quarantine. Millions of Americans are living life in isolation because of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and a picture of the bulldog sums up how many people are feeling.

Big Poppa’s owner, Rashida Ellis, snapped the famous picture of the bulldog. In an interview with Buzzfeed, she saw Big Poppa on the patio staring down at a couple of children playing in the courtyard. She said, “He kept making noises to get their attention, but we’re six stories up and they can’t hear him. I was like, Oh my god, he’s really sad.”

Ellis then took a picture of Big Poppa looking depressed, and she posted it on Twitter. Here is the picture:

At the time of this writing, the post has been retweeted over 50,000 times, and it has almost 500,000 likes. The reaction was very surprising for Ellis. She told Buzzfeed, “Normally, I’ll post a picture of Pop and two people will like it. And now it’s everyone in every different country!”

Ellis Described How the Quarantine Has Affected Her Dog

Like most Americans, Big Poppa would rather be doing something else instead of quarantining. Ellis told Buzzfeed, “The sad thing is we have to social-distance even him. When he’s inside, he just walks out to the patio looking for people. 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.”

Americans can relate to Big Poppa, as people have not been able to see friends and families because of social distancing measures.

According to Ellis, Big Poppa is a big fan of children and other dogs. She told Buzzfeed, “He loves children and then other dogs and then adults. In that order.”

Twitter Users Love Big Poppa the Bulldog

Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams tweeted:

She said, “not being dramatic but I would literally die for big poppa.”

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres posted:

She said, “Stay inside. Flatten this curve. Do it for Big Poppa.”

Another Twitter user posted:

He said, “Somebody show this picture to the virus. It’ll leave on its own to make Big Poppa happy again.”

A user named Kim tweeted:

She said, “Big Poppa is all of us.”

A Twitter user posted:

They said, “My COVID-19 priorities have now shifted to whatever is best for Big Poppa.”

Another Twitter user posted:

Melisa wrote, “BIG POPPA EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE, OK? I LOVE U, I LOVE U SO MUCH.”

Two Twitter users posted:

Roxanne said, “I am not a dog person but I have thought about Big Poppa all day,” and one user replied, “It should not have taken a global pandemic for all of us to come to know of Big Poppa.”

Author Jessica Valenti posted to Twitter:

She said, “We need to make the world a better one for Big Poppa.”

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