Posted by: Shauna Farnell
Matt Nelson never imagined that his love of dogs and particular sense of humor would become a viral sensation, or that it would lead to saving lives. This week, he is bringing that magic to Vail.
WeRateDogs is a brand and social media account featuring humorous dog videos, photos and commentary. Featured dogs and their stories are submitted by followers, each rated on a success scale ranging from 12/10 to 15/10. Accumulating millions of followers, WeRateDogs also led to the 15/10 Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at financially supporting dogs with pricey medical needs.
Nelson and his dog, Javier (who is also WeRateDogs’ Chief Executive Officer), will appear on the GoPro Mountain Games’ CoLab Creator Stage on both Thursday, June 4 and Friday, June 5.
The WeRateDogs founder, who rarely makes public appearances in the flesh, has few memories that don’t include dogs.
“I grew up surrounded by golden retrievers,” Nelson says. “There wasn’t a stretch of time when we didn’t have a dog. Simply being around them, with access to that constant joy, you can’t see your life without them. You understand their value as a family member, not just an animal.”
As a kid who struggled emotionally, Nelson discovered a sense of calm when spending time with canines.
“It started early,” he says. “I remember there being a switch. It was like, oh, I can talk to my dog. They’re really good listeners. I think that was something I needed; that space to vent. I was an emotional kid. I had trouble regulating. The dogs I had early on helped with that.”
By the time he was in college, Nelson had developed a contagious sense of humor that allowed him to amass about 10,000 Twitter (now X) followers. But it didn’t take long to realize that his dog content was everyone’s runaway favorite.
“I was just writing jokes about all topics. In the early Twitter days, anyone could see your content based on who retweeted it. I got addicted to the challenge of reaching the most people,” he says.“I found a community of comedians doing the same thing. Then I realized everything that had to do with dogs or my own dog did better than my jokes.”
In 2015, Nelson asked his followers about launching a Twitter account that rated dogs. He got a resounding green light.
“I had no idea it would resonate as it has,” he says.
The most rewarding aspect of his success has been helping dogs and their people. About a year after WeRateDogs launched, Nelson shared a dog’s GoFundMe, and the campaign immediately soared above and beyond its fundraising goals. That prompted him to kickstart a weekly fundraising effort to help dog owners with medical bills.
But it wasn’t until Nelson adopted Doug, an 11-year-old German shepherd with a litany of medical and behavioral issues who likely would not have otherwise been adopted, that Nelson experienced the first-hand struggle of steep veterinary costs. That inspired the 15/10 Foundation, which has since sponsored nearly 3,500 dogs whose vet bills average around $5,000.
“The best part of all of this is absolutely what we’ve been able to do with the Foundation,” he says. “Early on, because people sent in their own dogs to be featured, they’d also send in dogs who needed medical care. We started featuring those dogs every Friday. We started to raise money. We were funding them so fast, it could be thousands of dollars over the goals. Being able to change how I personally measure success – from new followers and likes per post to dogs saved – has been very rewarding. It’s a much healthier approach to social media in general, to balance those creative desires with the good we’re able to do.”
Nelson is bringing that same spirit of giving to the CoLab stage at Solaris Plaza in Vail Village at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, partnering with Eagle County Animal Services for a Dog Adoption Party with the goal of finding forever homes for local shelter dogs.
“I feel comfortable speaking to how rewarding adoption is and what makes this dog or that dog super appealing,” he says. “I jumped at that opportunity.”
Nelson returns to the CoLab Stage at 12:00 p.m. Friday for a live “Rating the Best Mountain Dog” session. Then at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Javier, a “chunky” wire-haired wiener dog Nelson adopted in November, will participate in his first -ever competition: the Short Dogs in Da House Mountain Race. The event is hosted by Rowdy Dachsund, an internet-famous skateboarding wiener dog who will make her own CoLab stage appearance at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, followed by photo ops.
The CoLab stage isn’t all about dogs, by the way. Attendees can catch a conversation with renowned mushroom expert Paul Stamets on how shrooms can save the world, enjoy music sets by Gus Glasser, Miles the Music Kid and Steph Strings, and score free tattoos and face painting, plus so much more happening on the CoLab stage. Check out the full CoLab schedule so you don’t miss a thing!
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