Best Animal in Social Media - Shorty Awards

10th Annual Shorty Awards Categories

See below for official categories.

Influencers

Honoring the most notable and viral Influencers from 2017. See below for official categories.

Brands & Organizations

The Shorty Awards honor the talented agencies, brands, and industry leaders behind the best and most innovative work on social media channels, campaigns, websites and applications.

Best Animal

What would the internet be without adorable animals? Thankfully we don’t have to entertain that thought as we live in a world where animals are one of the most dominant genres of social media content. They could be wearing outfits or just living in nature. Whatever it is, people want to look at cute creatures.

Winner

If you’re a dog owner and want to know how your little bundle of fur stacks up, then there’s a good chance you’re one of the 4.5M+ followers of the hilarious WeRateDogs Twitter page. On any given day, you’ll find plenty of fan-submitted pics on the @dog_rates feed that are off the cuteness charts, usually garnering solid 13/10 ratings. Whether i...

Finalists

Animal

Albert (albertonwheels)

If you’re one of the 95K+ followers of @albertonwheels on Instagram, you know that the plucky 8-year-old Shih Tzu-Poodle mix not only brings the cuteness, but shows that special needs dogs can live life to the fullest. Paralyzed from the hips down (likely in a car accident), Albert was rescued from a shelter by Jill Lawson, who started taking hi...

Animal

You don’t have to live in Cincinnati to keep up with the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, which entertains on social media with videos and photos of their many animals at play. In 2017, the Cincinnati Zoo’s hundreds of thousands of Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook fans followed their favorite frolicking furballs Tito (the adorable penguin chic...

Animal

Esther the Wonder Pig

In 2012, Steve Jenkins adopted a micro piglet from a friend and named her Esther. Well, five years and 600 pounds later, it seems the pig isn’t so ‘micro’ after all! But he and his partner Derek fell in love with her, and went all-in by creating a sanctuary for Esther and other animals in need. While they wrote a New York Times best seller about...

Animal

Manny The Selfie Cat

Manny The Selfie Cat may sound like a discarded idea for an SNL sketch, but Manny’s selfie game is so strong he could teach the Kardashians a thing or two. This cool cat may not have opposable thumbs, but he always manages to capture his good side with owner Yorem Ahm’s GoPro camera. Manny’s photos are like catnip to 400K+ @yoremahm Instagram fo...

Animal

Norbert, the adorable three-pound “therapy dog, children's book author & philanthropist” may be small in stature, but he’s had a huge impact by bringing smiles to people who need them most. He is a fixture at Children’s Hospital LA, where his hanging tongue and high fives lift the spirits of patients. Owner Julie Steines calls Norbert a “magical...

Nominees

Animal

Black Jaguar-White Tiger

The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation captivates social media followers with the care they give to their many rescued animals. The foundation came to life when founder Eduardo Serio was inspired to rescue an abused black jaguar while on a trip to Mexico, and decided to stay to care for it. Since then, he has rescued hundreds of big cats like tigers, lio...

Animal

The Beatles said “money can’t buy you love,” but don’t tell that to the cashcats, who live their social media lives like rap stars, clawing through their tall piles of scratch. It’s all bubbly and bling for these ballin’ balls of fur, with over 150K+ @cashcats followers on Instagram and 230K+ @CatsAndMoney Twitter fans green with envy for the felines’ fin...

Animal

Louboutina (Loubie)

New Yorkers are trained to ignore anything out of the ordinary, but Louboutina, the Golden Retriever who loves to hug, will make anyone stop and drop their guard. Loubie, as her friends and owner Cesar Fernandez-Chavez call her, has become one of NYC’s most famous residents, hugging anyone and everyone passing by in her native Chelsea. Fans head to her @l...

Animal

As a Hawaiian, Mike Coots feels a natural connection to the ocean. Despite losing his right leg to a shark attack at 18, the surfer and diver returned to the water within a month, and in the 20 years since has dedicated his life to changing people’s perceptions of sharks. With his incredible underwater photography, Mike showcases the beauty of the sea to ...

Animal

The Look of Lal

Some dogs rise to internet fame simply on cuteness alone, but Lal the German Shorthaired Pointer is different—he’s got that indescribable “it” factor. If you are not one of the 65K+ followers of @lookoflal on Instagram, then you are missing out on a dog who models so well he could impress Tyra Banks. Lal’s owner Samuel Jurcic has been inspired by his pati...

Animal

In case you’ve never had a Jewish grandmother call you bubalah (usually while trying to coax an extended hug), it’s a Yiddish term of endearment—one that happens to perfectly fit Instagram’s adorable @bubalahpoochie. The 1-year old mini-Maltipoo lives the classic NYC life; visiting parks, cafes, and walking the streets of Greenwich Village. Bubalah Poochi...

About the Shorty Awards

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media.

Millions of people participate in The Shortys to recognize individuals and organizations producing great content on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, YouNow, Musical.ly, and the rest of the social web.

The 10th annual shorty awards powered by directv now were held april 15th, 2018