Since 2024, Kirk Herbstreit’s golden retriever, Peter, has been living the college football celebrity life, crisscrossing the country on private jets and making regular appearances on ESPN’s College GameDay. Now, he has the merch to match—and it’s selling fast.
This weekend, the Herbstreit family launched Peter Fan Club, a line of hats, t-shirts, and accessories bearing the dog’s likeness. A statement posted to the brand’s Instagram account—which has already racked up more than 30,000 followers—explained the move.
“I’ve had so many people over the past 2 years ask for Peter to have his own social pages and if I have any hats or shirts of Peter,” wrote Herbstreit. “So we wanted to give his fans that while also giving back. A percentage of every sale will support local veterinary schools and/or dog-focused organizations in the communities we visit throughout the college football season.”
While the products are available for purchase any time online, Peter Fan Club will host pop-up shops at college campuses across the country this fall, Kirk’s son, Jake Herbstreit, tells Front Office Sports. He oversees the brand’s creative direction, design, and production alongside his brother, Tye.
The first pop-up happened this weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Kirk and Peter were in town to kick off College GameDay’s 2026 season at the LSU vs. Clemson game. Peter Fan Club took over the space next door to the original Raising Cane’s location; a representative for the fast-food chain confirmed to FOS that it was formally involved in the shop and said the activation was part of a “larger football campaign launching this fall” that will feature Kirk across social content as well as in-restaurant displays.
It’s unclear whether all forthcoming Peter Fan Club pop-ups will be hosted at or near Raising Cane’s locations, but Jake says there are “plenty of opportunities” for both parties to keep collaborating given the chain’s strong presence on college campuses.
He also tells FOS the Herbstreit family is “blown away” by the early response to the Peter-inspired brand. The Baton Rouge pop-up logged more than 200 transactions this weekend, while the online store has “received thousands of orders.” T-shirts are the most popular item so far, selling for $40 apiece. (The priciest Peter Fan Club offering, meanwhile, is a $75 hoodie.)
The brand has enlisted the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to help it identify the dog-focused initiatives it will support through an unspecified percentage of proceeds. This week, Jake said funds went to LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
Despite its sales and fast follower growth, Peter Fan Club’s existence has sparked a notable amount of negative online commentary, with some users complaining of “Peter fatigue” and others voicing qualms about using a dog for profit.
