Decked Out in Haute Haberdashery, Frankie the Yorkie Breaks the Internet with Facebook Likes

Frankie the Yorkie gets out more than many people. Follow his adventures around Birmingham and the world on the Frankie the Yorkie Facebook page. (Photos via Facebook)

_________________

We should all be as popular as Frankie, who picked up about 400 new Facebook followers this weekend after the “poocharazzi” splashed his haute haberdashery cuteness all over the Internet.

Known around Birmingham as a “friendly and fashionable dog-about-town,” Frankie the Yorkie saw his popularity shoot up to 11,975 Facebook “likes” – rather, his human, Sherri Vandenberg, did – after a story by freelance writer Kim North Shine appeared in Sunday’s online and print versions of The Detroit News.

Birmingham boutique owners and other shopkeepers have colluded in the spoiling of this dapper dog, a 3-year-old, 7-pound Yorkshire terrier.

He’s a regular at Café Via, one of Birmingham’s most exclusive restaurants, and Tender, a toney women’s clothing boutique in the downtown area. He basks in a loving limelight at Forza, a personal training studio where Vandenberg works out.

He’s a good hometown team player, too.

To help out those hometown merchants who love seeing the loveable ball of fur in the latest fashions, he wore a “Shop Small” sweater on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving local business counterpart to Black Friday. He voted. He went to a Halloween party dressed a prehistoric creature of some sort. He travels the world, first class.

Frankie lives a chew toy’s throw away from the swanky Townsend Hotel, where he is treated with bone-shaped dog biscuits and love and fawning from his adoring fans. Two of the biscuits are served on a fancy tray to be consumed immediately, another is bagged and festooned with a ribbon for the adorable pooch’s enjoyment later.

Last year, he had a birthday party at the Townsend, where the glitterati stay when they’re in town. Several famous people have had their pictures taken with Frankie, but it’s the less-famous people around the area who have made the little dog a star.

“He’s just the cutest and most well-behaved little guy. He’s a little celebrity,” says Connie Elder, who owns Chateau Concierge and dog-sits for Frankie.

Vandenberg said she created the Facebook page “for the heck of it.”

“I mean, why not? He makes people smile,” she said.

“If you’re having a bad day a cute picture of Frankie can make you feel better. There’s so much bad news in the world. Frankie is little break from that.”

Frankie Thinks Burberry Plaid Is A Time-Worn Classic

And does this dog dress to impress!

We’re not talking about whatever the canine version of yoga pants might be, but Burberry plaids and smart boots to protect his tootsies against Michigan cold and salted sidewalks.

“Frankie where did you find that gorgeous parka?” fan Diane Foster asked. “My Abby would be so jealous if she saw it!”

“Oh Frankie,” Linda Everson posted, channeling her dog, Tootsie. “Very dapper dresser; you the man!”

Dorothy Prine, who follows Frankie from several states away in Florida, said she thinks of him every time she visits a thrift shop that features doggie shirts and sweaters. “Every time I see them, I think, ‘Oh that would look so cute on Frankie.’ ”

Speaking of Florida, Frankie had his own winter getaway to the Sunshine state last month, when he sported a fashionable life jacket with leopard-trim ribbons at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village.

Also on Patch:

• Tired of Cat Videos? Penguins Adjust to Detroit Zoo: Watch
• Purr-fect Ending for Flick, the Frozen Feline
• Pet That Scares Most People to Death Curls Around Toddler: Watch
• Watch Dramatic Coast Guard Rescue of Dog from Icy Michigan Lake

Frankie has accumulated his nearly 12,000 fans in about 18 months, and they come from all over the United States and around the world. “It’s amazing how many people fell in love with Frankie,” said Vandenberg, who fell in love with Frankie when she saw him at Teacups & Toys Pet Boutique and took him home.

No Yappy Dog Syndrome

Since then, she has taken Frankie with her wherever she goes. A graduate of Alternative Canine Training school, he doesn’t have the “yappy dog” tendencies that sometimes turn people away from small dogs, Vandenberg said.

“He’s not ill-behaved in public,” she said. “It’s because I’ve been taking him wherever I go since he was a baby.”

Frankie also has an Instagram account and a website. Vandenberg said that besides offering Frankie as a gift that brightens the world, she’s also interested in getting him into commercials.

So far, he hasn’t gotten a lot of gigs in his fledgling career, though he was the mascot for Yappy Hour at the upscale Corner Bar in Birmingham and made appearances for the Michigan Animal Rescue League.

“All I want is to get his little face out there,” Vanderberg said. “All I want is for him to be happy and to make other people as happy as he makes me.”

» Are you getting Birmingham Patch’s free daily newsletter and periodic news alerts? Sign up here!