His owners say it all began a Zoolander parody on a rainy day in New York, but now their dog’s career as a male model is bagging the couple $15,000 a month. And fans of the fashion-forward Shiba Inu are learning fast that when it comes to dressing well, every man could learn a few tricks from this furry friend.

Yena Kim and David Fung have catapulted their canine companion to cult fashion stardom, with managing five-year-old Bodhi's portfolio a full-time job for the pair.

“When we first dressed him up for fun [in spring 2013], he started posing for us, and doing like ‘Blue Steel’ and ‘Magnum’,” says Fung, a 29-year-old graphic designer.

“We originally posted his photo to Facebook as a gag.”

Well nobody is laughing anymore, as Bodhi, named after the Patrick Swayze character from Point Break, became an overnight sensation. The pooch has since amassed a huge online following, with 224,000 Tumblr followers, 157,000 on Instagram and 96,000 on Facebook.

Now the dog is even attracting ad deals with some big-name brands, including Coach, Ted Baker, and Brooks Brothers, and has featured in Esquire, Nylon and GQ.

“When I left my job," says Yena Kim, who previously worked for Ralph Lauren, "I just told HR I was starting a company. I didn’t want to be, like, ‘I’m leaving you guys to dress up my dog.’”

Now, between all the modelling jobs, the couple say Bodhi hasn’t made less than $10,000 (€7,850) a month for a while, with a good month taking in $15,000. The pooch’s posing also caught the attention of ‘meme agent’ Ben Lashes, who made Grumpy Cat a million-dollar franchise.

“He reached out to us early on, but he wanted to take 20 percent," Kim says. "It meant he would take care of the creative aspects, which we weren’t ready to give up.”

Check out Bodhi in action is this video below:

(H/T: The Mary Sue)