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Maddie on Things: The Instagram Celebrity

by ADMIN

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Maddie Book Tour! from This Wild Idea on Vimeo.

Maddie is a two-year-old Coonhound who has become one famous dog. Over 180,000 followers on Instagram eagerly await the next photo of Maddie. Her popularity has led to her own website and even a forthcoming book. In 2012 Maddie and her owner, Theron Humphrey started working on one of their new projects, “Why We Rescue”. The project shares the stories of rescued and adopted pets and the absolute joy these pets bring to their new families.

maddiehoop
Credit: Theron Humphrey

In 2011, Theron Humphrey quit his job as a corporate photographer determined to do something more with his life. “I wanted to be able to look at my kids one day and say, ‘I took a big risk and loved it,’” said Humphrey. He started by visiting his granddad and documenting his granddad’s life story. Shortly after doing so his granddad passed away, Humphrey was grateful he had captured his granddad’s story on tape before it was too late.

It was through this experience he decided to start the project “This Wild Idea.” Humphrey traveled across the United States photographing and interviewing people every day for an entire year. He chronicled his interviews on his websites. Maddie was by his side the entire time. It was during this year of travel that Humphrey discovered Maddie’s acrobatic skills and ability to pose when he attempted to take a picture of her on top of his pickup truck. Soon he was taking pictures of her on all sorts of objects and poses and posting them on Instagram for his friends.

maddiecoffee
Credit: Theron Humphrey

Soon more people than just his friends were seeing the pictures on Instagram. Maddie has over 180,000 followers on Instagram. Many of the amazing photos can be seen at the website Maddie on Things. Maddie’s popularity allowed Humphrey to keep working on projects, the latest of which is called “Why We Rescue.”  Instead of focusing on the sad aspect of animal rescue that so many others focus on, Humphrey wanted to do something different. Instead he wanted to focus on what happens after a dog is rescued; the joy that they can bring, just like Maddie has for him. “The story of the sad dog in the cage with weepy music has been done before,” said Humphrey. “We want to change that perception.”

Maddie and Humphrey will be on the road again to promote their new book, Maddie on Things. The book will be available on Amazon and indie bookstores around the country.  The book can be pre-ordered at the following website.