Pookie monsters

Five rabbits, three cats and a Dalmatian waltz onto your Instagram feed—and you're instantly smitten. SADAF SHAIKH talks to the charismatic human parents behind these viral pets to understand why their symbiotic bond has their followers in a tizzy

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AQIB SHAHZAD HAS a mean look about him. Like he has perfected Harris Dickinson's ‘Balenciaga’ scowl from Triangle of Sadness (2022). The first time he popped up on my Discover feed, I wondered if my algorithm had malfunctioned since he was so unlike the softbois Instagram usually sends my way. Then I noticed something small, fluffy and grey near his wrist: a bunny in a green beanie identical to the one Shahzad had on. Was this a softboi in disguise, perhaps?

A quick scroll through his profile revealed that my algorithm hadn't betrayed me after all. Shahzad has not one, but a herd of five rabbits and his Instagram feed is a time capsule dedicated to their collective histrionics. In one of his posts, he secures a baby pink bow around one of the bunnies' ears. In another, he gives them relationship advice. Then, he builds an altar and straight up starts worshipping one of them. But nothing hits sweeter than the Birmingham-based creator's beauty routines with his furry babies featuring mini gua sha rollers, face masks, cucumber peels and nighttime bonnets. His 400K followers seem to agree. The word ‘bonita’—or shall we say ‘bunnyita’—frequently appears in comments.

Shahzad had no intention of becoming an influencer. “My younger sister was always on TikTok so I asked her what TikTok was,” says the 31-year-old. “When she explained it to me, I made a short video of cutting one of my bunnies' nails and ended up with 60K followers in two weeks.”

"Women are always saying, 'Weird way to propose, but yes' and 'Do they need a mum?" under my posts"

-AQIB SHAHZAD