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These Twitter accounts want to rate your pets

They're good pets.

 

April Siese

Internet Culture

Posted on Dec 1, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 11:42 am CDT

Humans are as vain about animals as they are about themselves. Sure, a pet can be cute, but there are ugly ones out there. Thanks to contests like Petaluma, California’s World’s Ugliest Dog show, some are celebrated for their hideousness. And even those who aren’t lauded in some grand spectacle are being judged. That’s why Twitter’s @dog_rates has been so effective, and why @thecatreviewer is also gaining steam.

@dog_rates has a bit more of an internet humor bent, which has been on full display via the saga of Brant/Brent, a follower who just didn’t get the pumped-up rating system that ignores the limits of a zero to 10 scale.

After months of hating on the rating system, Brent had a moment of reckoning.

He’s probably not the only one mad at the dog overlords rating their fellow canines. For those who want a more hands-on approach to the pets they encounter, @thecatreviewer is right up your alley. Rather than rating images of pets it receives, the account calls on its followers to do the rating themselves.

Unsurprisingly, @thecatreviewer’s system has its own quirks too.

The accounts have inspired their fair share of copycats but also some pretty great spinoffs. Not everyone has a conventional pet, and some folks are more passionate about our scaly lizard friends or barnyard pets than pet pals of the furry variety.

https://twitter.com/goat_rates/status/742184967124307969

Twitter positivity and cuteness: 10/10

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*First Published: Dec 1, 2016, 9:00 am CST