Coast-to-coast Momo

Momo likes tasty treats, running through tall grass, licking people's faces and snuggling.

He also likes a good game of hide and seek — a nifty trick that has garnered the Border Collie “minor celebrity status.”

The four-and-a-half year old dog who calls local designer Andy Knapp his owner is the star of the increasingly-popular #findmomo. Knapp has posted hundreds of photos of Momo peaking his bright brown eyes out from behind trees, rocks, houses and other “hiding spots.”

More than 1,200 people have followed him on Instagram, he has nearly 400 fans on Facebook and he tweets to some 500 people through his owner's Twitter account, while his is being set up. The pooch's notoriety skyrocketed recently when some “semi-big blogs” like Design Mom and PetaPixel picked up the story. Even blogger Roberta Romano picked it up for Italian blog site Net1news.

Even CNN came sniffing around this week.

But for Momo and Knapp, it's all fun and games.

Hide and seek is a game Momo thought of all by himself, Knapp said. Whenever the owner would ready himself to throw a stick for Momo to fetch, he'd notice the dog was nowhere in sight. Instead, Momo would keep a careful eye on the prize from a hidden vantage point.

“He'll be able to see me, but I can't see him,” Knapp said. Oftentimes, Knapp doesn't know where Momo is hiding until he leaps out in pursuit of the toy.

Finding Momo is “harder in real life,” Knapp said with a laugh.

After snapping a photo of Momo framed by a piece of driftwood, Knapp was inspired to take more pictures of his beloved canine pal in unusual places. In many of the photos, Momo takes care of tracking down the hiding spot.

“I say 'Momo, go hide,' and he goes to find a spot,” Knapp said.

In every single one of the images, Momo is actually hiding — he has never been added into the scene in post-production.

Once he had compiled about 50 shots of Momo, Knapp had them published in a small-format photo book. Twelve copies of the creation were made for friends and family.
“I (was) sick of buying my nieces and nephews things they didn't need for Christmas,” Knapp said.

Now, with Momo winning over the hearts of more and more people, Knapp is thinking of expanding the project.

“I'm trying to figure out what to do next,” he said.

One option he's toying with is creating a book based on photos snapped from coast to coast, making Momo “that staple Canadian dog.” He might also stay closer to home and continue to snap photos of Momo hanging out in nearby locales. Either way, the finished project will be published. After all, each of the photos are worthy images on their own. The opportunity to look for Momo is just an added bonus.

“You get a reward for looking at it,” Knapp said.

Watch out for a Kickstarter.com page in the near future.

When he's not in front of a lens, Knapp said Momo enjoys normal dog things.

“I'd happily call him the perfect dog,” Knapp said. He gets out to run twice a day, making him “super chill” when he's hanging out at home. Knapp said Momo waits quietly by the door every morning to start his day, and by the time the evening winds down, he is happy to be wherever Knapp is.

“Since he was a puppy, he's been by my side.”

To look for Momo, visit indmomo.tumblr.com or search for him on Facebook. If you see him around town in real life, Knapp highly suggests giving him a belly rub.