Noodle, a pug who entertained and motivated TikTok viewers for more than a year with the simple act of rising from or collapsing into his dog bed, died on Friday, his owner said. He was 14.
On TikTok, the dog was viewed as a sort of mood ring: If Noodle stood up for a few seconds upon waking up, it was a “bones day,” which meant good things were ahead or that it was a time to be ambitious.
It was a “no bones day” when he plopped back onto his bed — not necessarily a bad day, but more of a slow, low-key day, his owner, Jonathan Graziano, told The New York Times last year. Noodle, who had 4.5 million followers on TikTok, would at times “crumple with ennui,” Mr. Graziano said.
Noodle became a TikTok star, and audiences took his gentle guidance as encouragement. Celebrities, sports teams, companies and politicians made announcements with playful references to whether it was a bones or no bones day.
“It was the privilege of my life to care for him for as long as I could,” Mr. Graziano said in an interview on Saturday.
Mr. Graziano said he had received a message from a mother saying that the Noodle videos had helped her daughter feel more comfortable sharing her feelings.
“This language has just become something that is so accessible to people,” he said. “People know what ‘no bones day’ means and they respond with empathy.”
Mr. Graziano adopted Noodle when he was about 7 years old. He was 14 when he died, Mr. Graziano said in a TikTok video on Saturday announcing Noodle’s death. “What a run,” he said.
Noodle’s videos were seen as a safe space on an otherwise contentious internet during the pandemic and a time of political divisiveness.
“I think people are just hanging on by a thread,” Mr. Graziano said in 2021. “I think people are tired. I think they’re scared. I think they’re stressed out, and I think they really need a distraction.”
Mr. Graziano wrote a picture book, “Noodle and the No Bones Day,” detailing the pug’s desire, or lack thereof, to get out of bed.
“Noodle is a sweet, silly old pug who enjoys doing all his favorite activities with his favorite human, Jonathan,” the book’s description says. “But one day when Jonathan goes to take Noodle on his morning walk, he finds Noodle still comfortable in bed. When Jonathan lifts Noodle up, Noodle just flops over. It’s almost like Noodle woke up without any bones!”
Noodle died in Mr. Graziano’s home, he said.
“It’s a day that I always knew was coming,” he said, “but never thought would arrive.”
In the video, Mr. Graziano encouraged viewers to celebrate Noodle’s life and feed their dogs a cheese ball in his honor.
