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- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the owner of an adorable fluffy dog named Beast, but he isn't the only tech executive with a furry friend.
- Studies show that dogs can help reduce stress levels and boost productivity, so they make ideal companions for tech moguls running billion-dollar companies.
- These are some of the most powerful dogs in Silicon Valley.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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With company cultures that celebrate — and even encourage — employees bringing their dogs to work, it's no wonder that many of tech's biggest players are also parents to the cutest creatures known to man.
From Google to Facebook, dogs have taken over the hearts and Instagrams of the industry's most powerful leaders. Sure these people are setting the agenda for global business and politics, but even billionaires need a little TLC (tender loving cuddles).
And did we mention these dogs are darn cute? Here's a round up of some of the tech industry's most powerful dogs:
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The original Instagram pups are none other than the dogs of the platform's cofounders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.
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Systrom has a golden retriever named Dolores, but she goes by "Dolly." Her Instagram account has nearly 20,000 followers.
Meanwhile, Krieger and his wife are parents to a big Bernese Mountain dog named Juno, who has a modest Instagram following of his own.
Being a lapdog with Dad while I still fit
A post shared by Juno (@junopup) on Jun 8, 2014 at 10:21am PDT
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The couple got Juno at March 2014 when he was an eight-week-old pup. As evident on Instagram, Juno is a big fan of celebrating #TongueOutTuesday.
@junopup wishes you a happy National Dog Day!
A post shared by Mike Krieger (@mikeyk) on Aug 26, 2017 at 8:41am PDT
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This is Beast, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's excessively woolly Puli. Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan adopted Beast in 2010.
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Their daughter Max, who was born in 2015, has grown quite attached to the pup — her first word was "dog."
Max loves Beast. Her first word: dog.
A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) on Oct 19, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT
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Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel became a pup stepdad when he married model Miranda Kerr in 2017.
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Kerr and her dog, named Teddy, graced the November 2017 cover of Harper's Bazaar Australia.
A post shared by Harper's BAZAAR Australia (@bazaaraustralia) on Oct 8, 2017 at 2:56pm PDT
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For years, Salesforce's executive board included a four-legged friend: Koa, the dog of CEO Marc Benioff who served as "chief love officer." Salesforce launched in 1999, just one year before Koa was born.
—Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 23, 2017
Sadly, Benioff's beloved golden retriever passed away in 2017 at the age of 17. The Salesforce CEO posted a sweet tribute on Twitter in honor of Koa.
—Marc Benioff (@Benioff) September 2, 2017
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The award for best dog name goes to 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki, for her labradoodle named Fluffy Bunny. She also owns a labradoodle named Luna.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Meanwhile, her sister, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, also has a dog of her own.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his family have a fluffy two-year-old dog named Jeffree.
Playing around with my #Pixel3 :) #Jeffree #nofilter
A post shared by Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) on Oct 12, 2018 at 5:05pm PDT
Jeffree was given a customary Noogler hat — given to new Googlers — when Pichai first got the pup in 2017. "Will get him started on coding once we get through potty training," Pichai wrote on Twitter.
—Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 23, 2017
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The labradoodle belonging to venture capitalist Kevin Rose is somewhat of a celebrity. The dog, named Toaster, was voted San Francisco's cutest dog in 2011 in a reader poll conducted by Bay Area lifestyle website 7x7.
Happy Valentine’s Day to my loves @daryarose, Zelda, and of course, Mr. Toast
A post shared by Kevin Rose (@kevinrose) on Feb 14, 2019 at 8:11pm PST
Source: 7x7
But Toaster's claim to fame comes from a 2013 incident when he was attacked by a raccoon. The footage of Rose coming to the dog's rescue, and then throwing the raccoon down a stairwell, went viral.
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Tumblr founder David Karp has re-blogged numerous photos of his dog on his personal page on the blogging website. He owns a photogenic French bulldog named Clark.
A post shared by David Karp (@davidkarp)
Source: David's Log
Until 2015, Yelp's unofficial mascot was Darwin, the dog of cofounder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman. He was featured prominently on Yelp's website — for a while, this picture of Darwin would pop up on the 404 page when a user clicked on a broken link.
Source: Fast Company
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Sadly, Darwin passed away in 2015 at the age of 10. "He kept me sane and everyone @yelp smiling for over 10 amazing years," Stoppelman wrote in a Twitter tribute.
—Yelp (@Yelp) July 23, 2015
Source: Twitter
Tech power couple Brit and David Morin are parents to a miniature Bernese Mountain dog named Pixel, an apt name for a Silicon Valley dog.
Source: Pixel Morin on Facebook
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According to Pixel's Facebook page, he was born outside of Toronto. Pixel also loves design, snow, mountains, and "eating fine cheese."
A post shared by Brit Morin (@brit)
Source: Pixel Morin on Facebook
Game developer Zynga gets its name from the beloved dog belonging to the company's founder, Mark Pincus. The American bulldog was named Zinga, after an African warrior princess.
Source: Zynga
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Zinga was known for her "human-like qualities," such as sitting on chairs and barstools, and eating dinner at the table. Zinga died in 2008, a year after Zynga's founding, but she lives on as the company's namesake.
—mark pincus (@markpinc) August 18, 2013
Source: Zynga
Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick is father to a small puppy named Yobu. In a 2016 Facebook post, Kalanick campaigned for Yobu to be named the president of on-demand dog-walking app Wag.
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One of the most formal names for a dog belongs to Sir Richard Parker, a golden retriever belonging to Airbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky.
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Billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melina Gates have two dogs — Oreo and Nilla. The Microsoft cofounder said in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit in 2015 that he's had to resist to urge to get a third dog.
Source: Reddit
Gates also mentioned in the Reddit AMA that he really loves his dogs — when they're not barking late at night, eating things they're not supposed to, and aren't going to the bathroom inside the house.
Source: Reddit
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On top of three kids, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his wife, Anu, have a two-year-old dog named Winston. "We both think children should have dogs," Anu Nadella said in a 2017 interview. "There is a different sense of companionship and responsibility that comes with it — that emotional sense that there is a being waiting for you to come back."
Source: Good Housekeeping
But Satya Nadella has said that Winston is "more than a family pet." The pup provides emotion support to Zain, Nadella's son who is confined to a wheelchair. "It's been such a joy," the Microsoft CEO said of having a dog in the house.
—Microsoft Women (@MicrosoftWomen) September 27, 2017
Source: Good Housekeeping
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For many dog owners, taking care of your four-legged friend becomes a crucial part of your daily routine. That rings true for Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd. She told the New York Times that right before bedtime, she plays with her dog, Jett, so he'll calm down and go to sleep.
When you go to nyc for the first time. next stop: hot dogs on the street! 🌭🗽
A post shared by Whitney Herd (@whitney) on Apr 22, 2018 at 9:26am PDT
Source: New York Times
It's no surprise that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the owner of two dogs with unusual (but adorable) names: Gatsby and Marvin the Martian.
Source: Elon Musk on Twitter
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The two dogs were even visited in 2018 by the "Dog Whisperer" himself, Cesar Millan. In an Instagram post, Millan said both Gatsby (the big dog) and Marvin the Martian (the little dog) have "a great demeanor."
Gatsby & Marvin have a great demeanor 🐾@elonmusk
A post shared by Cesar Millan (@cesarsway) on Aug 15, 2018 at 9:46am PDT
Who can forget about Balto, the Siberian husky that Elizabeth Holmes bought in the dying days of her blood-testing startup Theranos. She flew cross-country in September 2017 to pick up the nine-week-old puppy, and named him after a famous sled dog in Alaska.
Source: Vanity Fair
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Holmes brought Balto to the Theranos headquarters and dubbed him the company's mascot. However, Balto wasn't potty-trained, and Holmes reportedly let him relieve himself wherever he wanted in the office.
Source: Vanity Fair
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