A rescue dog has developed a unique nightly habit that never fails to raise a smile in his household.
Lizzy Lambertson from Santa Barbara, California, told Newsweek it was "love at first sight" for her and her English Bulldog Hank. "I adopted Hank almost three years ago from an incredible foster family," she said. "He was originally abandoned in Los Angeles and they took him in."
Their loss proved to be Lambertson's gain, and Hank's for that matter. "Hank goes with me just about everywhere and is truly my best friend," she said. "I've honestly never met a more friendly and social dog, he lives for attention. It's almost like walking down the street with a celebrity because he gets approached so often."
A lovable "goofball," Hank's other passions include going for walks, car rides and cardboard boxes. "Seeing the mail truck show up is a fever dream for him," Lambertson said.
However, there's one thing Hank loves more than pretty much anything else in his life, baring Lambertson, of course, and it's something you might not expect: cheese.
"Hank has been a cheese connoisseur since the get go," Lambertson said. "I really don't think there is a variety he would turn down, but his favorites are Swiss and Manchego."
It's perfectly fine for dogs to eat cheese. The American Kennel Club (AKC) notes: "Cheese contains protein, calcium, vitamin A, essential fatty acids, and B-complex vitamins. Most dogs love cheese, and trainers often use it for treat-motivated dogs."
The AKC do however note that "cheese is high in fat, and feeding too much to your dog regularly can cause weight gain and lead to obesity." In more extreme cases it could also result in pancreatitis, so some care is advised.
Lambertson is keen to note that Hank is "a very healthy and active boy, a vet approved weight, and on a fixed fresh food diet" which means he is fine to enjoy cheese.
He certainly does enjoy it too, as the video Lambertson posted to her TikTok under the handle lizzycoop5 suggests. In fact, Hank has developed something of a nightly ritual.
At 8 p.m. on the dot, he heads to the corner of the kitchen, close to the refrigerator, and proceeds to sit facing the corner, waiting for his nightly snack of cheese. It's a time Lambertson has come to refer to as Hank's "cheese hour."
"I honestly can't tell you why 8 p.m, maybe because it's the time I finally sit down to watch whatever is on Bravo. But the corner routine has kind of evolved," Lambertson said. "I think it started because he'd get a little piece of cheese when we'd get home from a walk, which then proceeded with him faking he wanted to go outside, take two steps out, then refusing to come inside until I said 'cheese.' He's streamlined his routine to sitting in his cheese corner now."
Hank's "cheese hour" was something only he and Lambertson knew about until she decided to share his story to TikTok. "I sent the picture to my mom with the story and she thought it was hilarious, so I decided to post it on TikTok on a whim," she said. "I could not have possibly imagined how viral it would go."
At the time of writing the video posted to lizzycoop5 has been watched 2.6 million times with viewers expressing awe and amusement at Hank's efforts. "I just cackled out loud in front of strangers that I'm house sitting for. They were walking out the door and I saw this and I literally cackled," one user said. "Ok this made my entire month. Maybe year. Maybe life."
Though it might be in unusual circumstances, Lambertson isn't entirely surprised to see her dog getting attention online. "What can I say," she said. "Hank is a star."
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