Carpenter quits job after his canine goes viral and begins incomes greater than him
Duncan Tout, 33, set up an Instagram account for French Bulldog TJ back in 2021 to keep a ‘collection of memories’. But after a video of the pooch swimming went viral, brands started to offer money for promo videos
A carpenter has quit his job after his dog went viral on social media (Image: Duncan Tout / SWNS)
A carpenter has quit his job after his dog went viral on social media and started to earn more than him. Duncan Tout, 33, set up an Instagram account for French Bulldog TJ back in 2021 to keep a ‘collection of memories’.
But after a video of the pooch swimming went viral, brands started to offer money for promotional videos amid the pair’s comedy and travel videos.
The cash became so lucrative that owner Duncan realised he could quit his full-time carpentry job in January 2025 to manage his pooch’s account full-time, as his dog earned a higher hourly rate.
Duncan, from Kent, said: “I was working every hour under the sun, getting up at six in the morning, going into London and doing a day’s work, and also playing semi-professional rugby.
“Now, I have a lot more freedom. Last year I got married and moved house, all while just doing dog stuff. It was getting to the point where I was thinking ‘why am I going to work? It kind of doesn’t make sense any more’.”
Since then, TJ has scored brand deals and received a free stay and cooked meal with the posh Marriott Hotel in Regents Park, and he was even taken to Paris courtesy of P&O ferries.
This year, he may be going to New York on a private jet charter company that does flights for dogs.
Despite having over 700,000 followers on TikTok – with his videos racking up tens of millions of views – TJ is unaware of his newfound fame.
Owner Duncan says passers-by will recognise his dog in the street even if they don’t recognise him.
Duncan added: “He has absolutely no idea and it’s so, so funny. We went to ‘Frenchie Fest’ last year, which is a two-day French Bulldog festival in the New Forest.
“TJ went there, and it was just crazy. I was speaking to one person and stroking their dog, and the next minute we had 30 people around us. He has no idea all these people want to see him.”
