Instagram star Oakley gains international attention as Derbyshire springer spaniel puppy shows correct way to wear a face mask

Like many of us during the pandemic, twenty-seven-year-old beauty therapist Shannah Nightingale was becoming increasingly frustrated at people wearing their masks incorrectly in shops.

So Shannah and her mum decided to get one-year-old pet puppy Oakley to try a mask on for some 'cute pictures’ and to illustrate the right and many wrong ways to wear a face covering.

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When she put a collage of the images on Instagram and Facebook – some with Oakley covering his mouth but not his nose and others with the mask on his head or under his chin – Shannah was amazed by the response.

She now hopes the pictures will put a smile on people’s faces, even if they are correctly masked-up.

"My mum and I had been talking about how we've seen people wearing face masks incorrectly so decided to try them on Oakley,” Shannah said.

"He will be two in December. He is still a puppy but he is so well behaved and was happy to take part. It took quicker than I expected.

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"I uploaded them to his social media and local springer spaniel group and from there his picture has been shared thousands of times.

"I've even received a message from the United States saying they have seen it over there.”

Shannah added: “All the messages we've received have been positive saying saying he is so beautiful, how he is so good for sitting still in each picture and even think it’s funny as a lot of people agree that they have seen all the different mask styles Oakley is trying out.

"We wanted to put a smile on people's faces as we're all going through this difficult time together, so I'm happy he has brought so much joy to everyone who has seen his post.”

Oakley has his own Instagram account which you can find here

“On there he does a few TikToks and tricks as he's so clever,” Shannah said.

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