A "talking" dog, a wiry 13-year-old Schnauzer, has become a pandemic hero since the canine made her first appearance on Facebook last week. She's very funny.
Pluto and her human, Nancie Wight, have been churning out viral videos with advice on hair trims, how to do without toilet paper, how to find snacks and how to stay cheery at home.
The dog looks straight into the camera and her mouth seems to move (with the help of a video program) and a high voice appears to come out of it.
Wight created the Facebook page, PlutoLiving, for her friends, who urged her to offer it to a wider audience. She hit the public button last week.
"I did not expect that by the end of the second day we would have a million views and now it's over 4 million," she says from Montreal. Pluto.living has a growing following on Instagram, too.
The biggest fans are medical professionals, says Wight. She gets messages from doctors and nurses who work in emergency rooms across the U.S. and Canada.
"They just say, 'we start our day with Pluto. She's in it with us. It's our one laugh of the day,' " she says.
Wight says she's grateful she can provide comic relief. She is overwhelmed by the messages.
"We get the watery eyes, as Pluto likes to say," she says.
Wight is a wildlife photographer, but an earlier calling may be the key to her success. "I was a stand-up comic way back when I was able to stay up late enough for The Late Show," she says.
The Facebook page is now followed around the globe. Wight has gotten messages from Australia, Tasmania, Bolivia and Spain. Pluto, unaware of her fame, spends her off-camera time sniffing stuff around the house, but is wise beyond her years, says Wight.
"She talks about putting on the button pants because if you're wearing stretchy pants every day, your waist perception is going to be a little bit altered," she says.
Practical advice from the four-legged to the two-legged, which is the way Pluto divides the population, and thanks her followers for keeping cats out of any messages.
The plan, says Wight, "is just to stay the course with people. And if we can help. That's what we're going do."
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