On Twitter, I've Pet That Dog Account Highlights Wholesome, Furry Friends

Ten-year-old Gideon Kidd is a boy who likes to pet dogs. He's devoted his Twitter account to photos of dogs he has petted, and gained an impressive following in the process.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

So there's this Twitter account that many of us at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED have been kind of obsessed with. The handle is I've Pet That Dog. There's no twist here. It's literally just an account of the dogs that one person, one boy, has pet.

GIDEON KIDD: I pet Tucker. He is an older pug. Tucker won't follow any commands. He won't even come out for a treat.

CHANG: That is 10-year-old Gideon Kidd of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

GIDEON: Well, I love dogs. And every time I saw one, I needed to pet it. So I asked my mom one day, hey, do you think we could post the dogs' pictures online?

RACHEL BRAUNIGAN: At first, I didn't understand. And I said, you mean like a website?

CHANG: This is Gideon's mom, Rachel Braunigan. She was totally up for this idea.

BRAUNIGAN: It started just as the picture. But then when he joined Twitter, it was finally a way to put the dog's story.

CHANG: OK. So here's how it works. Gideon and his mom make (laughter) multiple scouting trips a week.

GIDEON: We just travel around in a car. And when we see a dog, we circle around a few times and then debate about if we have that dog.

CHANG: If they don't have the dog yet, they stop. And they go talk to the owner.

GIDEON: First I say, could I pet your dog? I ask its name.

CHANG: He gets details about the dog - what it likes to eat, how old it is - which he writes up for his mom to post. Then, of course, he pets that dog.

So how many dogs do you think you have pet in all of these photos in total?

GIDEON: Over 600.

CHANG: Really?

GIDEON: Yeah.

CHANG: How does doing this project make you feel?

GIDEON: Awesome. I love it. I love just going out, meeting all the cute dogs. And I learn about dogs' personalities.

CHANG: Like, one thing he's learned? Not every dog wants to be pet.

GIDEON: I've heard an owner say that a chihuahua just hates the world and hates everything in it.

CHANG: (Laughter).

GIDEON: That's why I couldn't pet it (laughter).

CHANG: Stay away from that chihuahua.

GIDEON: (Laughter) Yeah.

CHANG: Gideon Kidd and his mom, Rachel Braunigan, run the Twitter account I've Pet That Dog, where you can find all of Gideon's furry friends.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DID IT FOR MY DAWGS")

MEEK MILL: (Rapping) I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs, oh, Lord. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs. I did it for my dawgs.

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