E! People’s Choice Awards gone to the dogs

Big names that scooped trophies at the recent 44^th E! People’s Choice Awards included, among others, Chadwick Boseman for Black Panther, much to the oohing and aahing delight of female (and even some male) audience members.

But it was another ebony hunk who really stole the show.

A snappy dresser with over three million online followers, more than one billion Facebook video views and a New York Times bestselling book, he isn’t much of a talker and yet melts hearts with just the slight tilt of his head and his smouldering brown eyes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqEGnQbB3Bf/

Meet Crusoe the celebrity dachshund

Originally from Montreal, this eight-year-old black and tan dachshund is officially the world’s most famous dog. Bitten by the fame bug early on in life, Crusoe made his debut on Canadian television at age one and never looked back.

“It was shortly into my first year of life that I had my first debut on television for winning ‘best trick’ at an annual wiener dog event. After that, my life snowballed into that of a renowned international celebrity. My tagline is ‘the wiener dog who thinks he’s more of a celebrity than he really is’, but I think at this point I pretty much am a celebrity!” he says in his blog.

He may be vertically challenged but, if his book title Crusoe, the Celebrity Dachshund, Adventures of the Wiener Dog Extraordinaire is anything to go by, he is way taller than his 18 centimetre height.

Crusoe the celebrity dachshund

“When I started this blog three years ago, my goal from day one was to get a book deal – obviously so that I could finally buy that island in the Bahamas I’ve been bugging my humans about.”

Crusoe’s owner, Ryan Beauchesne, who not only created the winning wiener dog’s worldwide fame, but also found time to pen his bestselling book, says he sometimes wonders if Crusoe is actually a special dog or if it’s just this online character that makes him seem special. “I think there is something different about him. He was definitely meant to be a celebrity.”

Crusoe’s big win at the recent E! People’s Choice Awards is testament to his massive celebrity status.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbDTHjOjvRY/

The price of fame and beauty

In addition to keeping his throngs of adoring fans happy, his hectic public appearances, dealing with online stalkers and turning down wedding proposals (one fan said she would marry Crusoe if she was a dog), Crusoe still finds time to raise awareness about the health issues of dachshunds as a result of the long torsos and spines.

Having to undergo spinal surgery due to intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in 2016, Crusoe says it’s an issue that affects about 25% of wiener dogs. “Unfortunately, I’m part of that percentage, because in August 2016 I underwent emergency surgery on my spinal cord to remove ruptured disc material,” he says.

The plucky pooch made a full recovery and continues to focus on his career, but cautions owners of dachshunds and people interested in owning wiener dogs to be mindful of the back issues.

Sources: E! News, Dogster Magazine, Ottowa Citizen, www.celebritydachshund.com

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.