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Nosh freaked when he found out they were going to see Safta and Boppa.

Eagerly anticipating a trip to the fun and doting grandparents' house is something we think of children doing, but one couple's doggo proves that visiting the "grandpawrents" is just as exciting.

In a TikTok video that's been viewed nearly 30 million times, dog owners Skylar and Deko are nearing the end of a 20-hour drive from Phoenix to Kansas City, Missouri. Their good doggo named Nosh, sits in the backseat, looking out the front window.

Suddenly, Skylar asks Nosh if he wants to go visit Safta and Boppa, the nicknames of his grandparents, and he immediately reacts. You can practically hear him say, "Whut? Grandma and Grandpa? Are you serious?!? OMG, I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!! When are we gonna get there?!?" only it comes out as a series of squeals and whimpers and sneezy woofs of joy.


Seriously, what did Safta and Boppa do to earn this kind of reaction to their names being spoken?

Watch:

@sky.q

The other video got a “sensitive content warning” because of the end… but why?? 😂 #repost #dogsofttiktok #dogs #australiancattledog #blueheeler #acd #heeler #cattledog

That flop for the belly rub immediately upon seeing Grandpa? And the "I'm so excited to see you I gotta pee" moment? Too much.

"He always reacts like this to his grandparents," Skylar told Newsweek, "whether it's been months or only a few hours since he has seen them last."

She said they waited until they were five minutes away to tell him, and he acted like this for the full five minutes until they arrived. It's no wonder they waited until they were almost there to tell Nosh where they were going. Can you imagine making him wait any longer?

Skylar shared another video that demonstrates the love between Nosh and his favorite people.

@sky.q

Anyone else’s dog love grandma and grandpa more than anyone else? 😂❤️ #blueheeler #australiancattledog #acd #dog #heeler #cattledog

In case you're wondering what kind of dog Nosh is, he's an Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Blue Heeler. (A real-life Bluey, if you will.) You can see even more videos of his excitement over going to the grandparents' house on Skylar's TikTok channel here.


This article originally appeared on 12.16.23

Nala the dog makes herself at home.

How many of us have woken up next to someone and thought, "Who is that, and how did they get here?" Recently, a woman named Julie Johnson had that "how did they get here?" moment, but it was a little different … there wasn't a strange person in her bed, it was a strange dog. (Some might argue this is a much better option.) Johnson and her husband Jimmy woke up spooning a dog that wasn't theirs, and they understandably had no idea where the comfy pooch had come from!

"It is absolutely normal to wake up in our house with one of OUR dogs in the bed with us," Johnson wrote in a Facebook post. "One small problem, THIS IS NOT OUR DOG, nor do we know how she got in our house." Again, there are worse problems to have, but waking up to a strange dog in your bed is definitely cause for concern.



Obviously the pup in her bed posed no real threat, as it was sleeping contentedly between the couple. A dog who wasn't comfortable with people wouldn't lay on your pillows like, "Don't mind if I do," that's for sure. If a dog suddenly turned up in your bed though, you'd have to ask yourself, "Where did it come from?" Which is why Julie Johnson turned to Facebook to do some detective work. If anyone can find information quickly in a very slick way, it's the fine people of the internet.

"This is the weirdest post I have ever had to make. 😂 Is this your dog? 🐕," she wrote on the post.

Now for the question that's probably on everyone's mind: How did they not notice a strange dog climbing into bed with them? Well, the Johnsons already have three dogs. When you already have a pet in the bed, feeling an animal in your bed isn't going to feel particularly off.

"At first, we thought it was one of ours, but they rarely lay on the pillows! In pitch darkness, I just assumed it was. Wouldn’t we all? As daylight began to creep in through our curtains we realized we were snuggling with someone else’s dog."

Johnson told multiple news outlets that her dogs usually bark at anything and everything, but they didn't bark at the intruder pup. Clearly, they saw the interloper as a friend, not a foe.

Thankfully, Julie Johnson's Facebook post got spread far enough, and they were able to locate the pup's owners. "PUPDATE: Her name is Nala and her mom is on the way to get her. Good luck getting her out of my bed mam," Johnson amended her original post.

Nala's mom, Cris Hawkins, made her own Facebook post, telling of Nala's nighttime exploits.

"Our overly friendly pup, Nala, has hit an all time record for ignoring personal space and added yet another trick to her long list of houdini acts," she wrote. She slipped her collar yesterday while being walked, ran down the street to a neighbors house, somehow managed to get IN their house, and climbed into bed with them in the middle of the night. Side note: They live quite a few houses down so I'm using the term 'neighbor' loosely."

Puppy playdate.

Julie Johnson/Facebook

Nala is back home with her moms, and both Johnson and Hawkins have been sharing the ways her story has spread. Recently, Nala and her moms got to go back to the Johnson house, but this time they were invited for a playdate! Johnson shared the video, saying "We also had a long talk to the four of them about asking permission before spend the night parties commence!"

Here's to a new lifelong friendship!

Is today going to be a bones day or a no-bones day?

Each year on Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil—aka the world's most famous groundhog—peeks his head out and determines whether winter will last another six weeks or not based on whether he sees his shadow. There's a whole ceremony for the event and everything. (Ah, the hilariously bizarre things we people do for fun.)

Phil now has competition in the adorable animal prediction world, only instead of a groundhog, we've got Noodle the ground-dog.

Noodle is a 13-year-old pug who really, really loves the ground. So much so that on some days, he simply refuses to get up off it, which has turned him into a viral daily prediction sensation.

On his TikTok channel, Noodle's owner shares the senior puggo's decision about what kind of day it's going to be based on whether he "has bones" that day or not. If Noodle gets propped up and decides to stay standing on his own four feet, it's a "bones day." If he gets picked up and immediately flumps back down onto the ground, it's a "no-bones day."


We've all had no-bones days—probably lots of them during the pandemic. And now we have some cosmic canine permission to just let those days be what they are.

Here's Noodle on a bones day:

@jongraz

we…are not worthy #pug #adoptdontshop #nobones #noodletok

Bones day = a productive, positive, life-is-on-our-side kind of day. We're up. We're ready to go. Bring it, universe, cuz we're ready.

And here he is on a no-bones day.

@jongraz

the Bones have spoken!! #pug #adoptdontshop #nobones #noodletok #mondaymotivation

No-bones day = let's stay in bed because we're not ready for the world and the world isn't ready for us.

The whole fun of keeping up with Noodle, though, is not knowing which kind of day it's going to be. It's the same reason thousands of people show up to watch Punxsutawney Phil look for his shadow. The anticipation is the thing.

Well, that and the funny commentary from Graziano after Noodle either stands or slumps.

@jongraz

hope you all have the best Monday! 🔮🦴 #nobones #bonesday #pug #noodletok #monday

"It's a bones day on Monday, you guys. This is so exciting—you know what to do!" Graziano said after Noodle stood briefly to kick off this week. "You've got to treat yourself today. The Japanese fried chicken you were going to get for lunch? Get the curry to dip it in. All those festive gourds? Buy 'em! That raise you deserve but haven't asked for yet? You totally deserve it. Ask for it! You've gotta treat yourself today!

Noodle has become such a viral phenomenon that people have started making Noodle fan videos.

This fan video even includes an original song.

@jongraz

#duet with @notthemaincharacters can’t put into words how incredible it’s been to watch this whole thing turn into what it has. we’re blown away. ❤️

Amazing. And look at Noodle's tongue. Clearly, it's a no-bones day.

People are loving checking in with Noodle as if they're checking a daily horoscope—so much so that someone who isn't even Graziano created a Twitter account just to announce whether is a bones day or a no-bones day.

Graziano adopted Noodle when he was 7 1/2 and they've been good friends ever since.

"He's a silly old pug. He's got such a personality," Graziano told the Boston Globe. "You know, every dog is the best dog. Like, everyone's dog is the very best dog who's ever been? But I have to say Noodle is the very best dog that's ever been. He's got such a big personality.

"I never thought this would be like a fortune-telling thing," he added. "It was never anything like that. It was literally just to see if he is ready to go on a walk or not. And then people all of a sudden were like 'Well it's a no-bones day‚ so I can't do anything,' and I was like, yeah that's kinda how it goes."

Indeed. That's how it goes, which is why Noodle makes the perfect pandemic mascot. Thanks for sharing him with us, Jonathan Graziano. (You can follow them on TikTok here.)

True
Petfinder

This is Tiger. And every day is his lucky day.

GIF via USA Today/YouTube.


The happy, social pup was adopted from a shelter in Georgia. Plucked from the bunch for his high energy and social skills, Tiger was granted a new "leash" on life as a service dog because Angela knew he'd be perfect.

This is Tiger's human, Angela Simpson. Since meeting Tiger, every day's been her lucky day too.

Image via USA Today/YouTube.

While in the Army, Simpson served in the Iraq War. As a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the mother of three suffered from crippling anxiety attacks when in public or around too many people. It was a lonely, difficult life.

But now that she's paired with Tiger, the trained dog can tell when she's stressed or panicked and can lead her away or calm her down during triggering situations.

Tiger's skills, companionship, and high-energy disposition were a winning combo to Angela and have opened up a world of opportunity for her and her family.

GIF via USA Today/YouTube.

Simpson and Tiger were brought together through One Warrior Won, a nonprofit that provides service members with support for PTSD.

Approximately 18 to 22 military veterans commit suicide each day, though the number can be higher or lower for specific population of veterans. But no matter how you look at it, it's the very definition of a crisis.

Image by iStock.

And with more than 3,000 dogs euthanized in the U.S. each day, the volunteers at One Warrior Won saw an opportunity to save dogs, train them for service, and in turn, save veterans.

One Warrior Won has rescued, trained, and placed over a dozen service dogs with military vets around the country.

These dogs can be a big help to people living with PTSD.

Dogs like Tiger can be trained to monitor breathing and heart rate and recognize panic attacks or night terrors before they start. The dogs also provide unconditional support and companionship, something many people with PTSD long for.

James Tessneer embraces his service dog, Decimo, who was rescued by One Warrior Won just 24 hours before she was scheduled to be put down. Image via USA Today/YouTube.

"So many veterans are isolated and withdrawn when they return," said Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan in an interview with Time. "A dog is a way to reconnect, without fear of judgment or misunderstanding."

For vets in crisis, these animals are living, breathing medicine.

Image via USA Today/YouTube.

Not only is the treatment compassionate, it's effective.

Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, another group that trains dogs for military vets, reports that their recipients have a zero rate of suicide attempt or divorce after being paired with a service dog.

Photo by iStock.

But while Veterans Affairs provides service dogs to veterans with specific physical disabilities, they do not provide them to vets with mental health disorders, citing a lack of scientific evidence regarding their effectiveness.

Without Veterans Health Administration funds, vets are left to secure service dogs on their own. Luckily organizations like One Warrior Won, Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, and K9s for Warriorspair veterans with these rescued service dogs free of charge.

Simpson and Tiger's lives are changed for the better.

But they're just one of the many success stories, all made possible by dozens of helpful people who were willing to give a dog, and a service vet, a second chance at a rewarding life.

Searching for a pet to adopt can mean finding your perfect match. High-energy, quick thinking dogs like Tiger have been invaluable to these vets needing support. A quick search on Petfinder might just help you find a companion who's right for you!

Simpson practices commands with Tiger. Image by USA Today/YouTube.

See their story and Tiger's journey in this heartwarming video from USA Today.