Pet influencers and fans gather for Chicago’s first PetCon

A selection of the internet’s finest pet influencers came from across the U.S. and Canada to gather for the 6th annual PetCon Saturday in West Town.

Over 1,800 people are expected to attend the two-day convention, which launched in New York City and landed in Chicago for the first time this weekend.

Loni Edwards Lunau, the founder of PetCon and the pet-focused marketing company The Dog Agency, started the animal assembly to create a space for pet influencers to gather and for their fans to meet them.

“We’re celebrating our love of pets,” Lunau said. “The online community for pet influencers is strong, but to able to connect in person like this is amazing.”

Among the four-legged — and winged and web-footed — stars was a duck named Wrinkle, whose fans are familiar with her propensity for giving fist bumps with her bill, and flapping her wings on command.

“Wrinkle is two-and-a-half years old, a Virgo and she likes long swims in the pond,” said her owner, a circus performer who insisted his name is Human Name (though he’s answered to Justin Wood in other appearances).

Mr. Name said he raised Wrinkle from an egg, the only one of six to hatch. Each year, the pair travel back and forth between California for the colder months and New York for the warmer. The human performer often includes the bright white duck in his one-man shows.

Wrinkle, better known as @seducktive on social media, has nearly 700,000 Instagram followers, 1.9 million Youtube subscribers and 4.3 million TikTok followers.

She’s raced in the New York City Marathon twice, and is scheduled for a stop at the Mall of America in Minnesota for a meet-and-greet after PetCon.

“I got her during COVID when I was really feeling like the world is an awful place. But it can’t be that awful when there are ducks in it,” Name said.

Attendees at the convention were able to meet their favorite animals during meet and greets and listen to panel discussions ranging from learning how to build a brand for their pet to helping rescue dogs from puppy mills.

There was also an adoption garden with 11 puppies, a Great Dane and two bonded baby goats up for adoption from Determined to Rise, a Chicago animal rescue organization.

Enzo the one-and-a-half year old Shih Tzu was in from New York City also attending his first PetCon.

His owner, Olivia Caputo, is a beauty and lifestyle influencer, so it was only natural to start a page for Enzo — @enzoistheshiht on social media — after she got him in March 2022.

Enzo, known for starring in his travel vlogs and giving kisses, has just over 41,000 followers on Instagram and over 100,000 on TikTok.

“It was not hard for him to go viral,” Caputo said. “I have more followers than he does but he has much more engagement. His followers love him.”

Caputo’s mom, Donna Caputo, joined the pair in Chicago. Caputo, affectionately called “granny” in Enzo’s videos, said she’s proud of her daughter’s entrepreneurship.

“She really took this from being a talent and an interest and turned it into a career and a business,” Caputo said.

Also among the influencers on Saturday was Ziggy the corgi, @ziggy_thecorg on Instagram, who came from San Diego with her owner, Jess Ramberg.

Ziggy is a big deal in the corgi racing world. She’s raced all over the country — including in California, Minnesota, Maryland, Virginia — at recreational corgi races and during halftime shows at NFL games.

“She loves chasing the other dogs. It’s just pure fun and entertainment, watching them race with their short legs and long bodies,” Ramberg said. “She’s even been on SportsCenter. I was a college athlete and I never made it on SportsCenter.”

Ramberg, who works in marketing for college athletics, put all her social media knowledge into Ziggy’s page after the sports world shut down during the pandemic. The 3-year-old dog now has over 48,000 followers on Instagram.

“It’s a fun passion and a side hustle,” Ramberg said. “Following other pets on social media, you forget there are humans behind the account. So to meet them here is special, they’re really cool people and this is a strong community.”