If you’ve followed my social media since the beginning, you’ve followed me since … well, before I was born in Frankton, Ind. See, I’m just a small town Hoosier boy. Even if I did live with my Human Mommy, Abby, in the big city of Chicago for a while, I’ve spent most of my seven years right here in Indiana.
My mom is a senior account executive with Salesforce, and my dad, Jeremy, is a financial advisor with Edward Jones; but I pull my own weight around our home when it comes to bringing in the bacon.
Mom grew up loving two things: Golden Retrievers and Garth Brooks. So, it was her dream to adopt a Golden Retriever and name him Garth. That’s me! I’m literally a dream come true!
Mom says that when I was born, “stories” didn’t exist on Instagram. She didn’t want her personal page to be full of puppy pictures (I can’t understand why), so she created a separate account for friends and family to follow me.
“It was never my intention to make Garth famous,” Mom says. “It really happened organically. Garth’s very quirky and funny, and I just started capturing his antics.”
Have you seen the video of me freaking out when Mom painted her nails? Or the one with the baby carrot?
“One thousand followers grew to 5,000 and then to 10,000,” Mom says.
Basically, I went viral. Barstool and BuzzFeed shared videos of me. Before long, I had to get an agent—TDA, The Dog Agency. They handle all the furry influencers.
But, let me tell you, life is full of ups and downs. When Mom and Dad decided that I wasn’t going to be having any pups of my own, I had to have … well, let’s just call it the “snip-snip.” And, as if that weren’t enough, the surgery caused some thyroid issues, and I put on a few extra pounds.
Dad says I was the victim of dog bullying and fat shaming. All I know is that people on the internet can be cruel. But Mom and Dad take the best care of me, and I’ve been working toward my healthy weight.
Most recently, I dislocated my hip. I love to swim, and I love to dock dive. But, ultimately, it was running to my food bowl that took me down. Thankfully, I’m back on my paws and trying to be patient as I heal from surgery.
Dad says I still get 50 to 100 messages a day that read, “Thank you for sharing Garth with us” and “Garth helped me through some of my darkest days” and even “Garth saved my life.”
“To us, it’s just posting fun videos,” Dad says. “To other people, it obviously means a lot more.”
I’m so glad I can make a difference in people’s lives just by being myself.
Good Dog Giveaway
Carmel City Lifestyle is joining with Garth to offer followers the opportunity to win a Camp Sampler Package with three days of camp, one individual enrichment and one small group enrichment at Camp Bow Wow at 489 Gradle Dr. and an “Escentuals” Experience including a bath, ear cleaning, nail trim and teeth brushing at Scenthound at 14400 Clay Terrace Blvd. Follow us on Instagram to find out more.
I've been working hard on my physical therapy, so I got rewarded with a Pup Cup from Fundae's in West Clay.