Acknowledging that we all waste at least an hour a day on social media (mostly Facebook) is the first step to Acceptance. Every time I’m in a long line at a drive-thru is my signal to jump onto Facebook and see what I’m missing.
Then, I’ll power through Instagram and check in on friends and family. And then I’m done. Not a TikTok-er for several reasons.
[Left: Bunny the Sheepadoodle and her Mom, Alexis. Photo credit: Seattle Times]
Trends on social media move quickly and what was once hot stuff cools off faster than we realize. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were all attempting the Walker Hayes “Fancy Like” Applebee’s “1 shake, 2 straws” dance? Then we embraced the arm retract, extend, and point moves to Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon”—you know, “Noise, Noise, when sun go’ downnnn on my side of townnnn” (phonetic Southern accent added for those who need it).
But forget those dance videos—you want to pull up your chair, grab your coffee and meet Bunny, the talking black and white precious sheepadoodle and self-described “conversationalist.” Bunny has an extensive vocabulary, which she announces using her paw to press programmable buttons assembled in her home (both downstairs and upstairs) to communicate with her Mom and Dad.
There are countless one-minute videos of Bunny and her multiple-word sentences formed in conversations with Mom and Dad. Warning—you could lose an hour of your time just watching all of them. She reasons, she announces if she hurts, she asks Mom to take her and her new sidekick, Otter, to the park, or to sit on the couch and “settle” with her, or to go upstairs to sleep (even if Mom isn’t ready to sleep yet).[Photo Credit: Wide Open Pets]
The communication device she is using is a floor-based assembly of buttons. If you remember the 1960s TV show, “Concentration,” you had to remember which numbered covered spaces held matches. Similarly, Bunny has learned to use her talking board to form some fairly reasonable sentences without the use of any articles. She knows which buttons say which words.
There’s science behind all this. You can learn more about the system setup that uses what’s called the Fitzgerald Key of arranging programmable buttons. It’s based on a system called AAC, or augmentative or alternative communication. Bunny’s owner and teacher is a Tacoma, Washington-based artist named Alexis Devine, better known as “Mom.”
About 22 months ago, Alexis began working with Bunny to learn words one-by-one and then how to form brief sentences. Here’s an introductory video that explains the education principles:
Bunny, of course, is a superstar communicator across social media. As of 2020, she had over 3.4 million TikTok followers and more than 300,000 fans on Instagram. Today on Instagram, she has 1,000,000 followers.
Follow her on Facebook at @whataboutbunny or on Instagram at @whataboutbunny.
Now, I’d already lost my heart to a little French bulldog named chatterbox Walter Geoffrey. If you haven’t seen him before, he lives in Austin and rules the roost (there are ‘other’ dogs in the family) in his custom car seat, home, and position in life. He has, of course, two names, because he’s a Texas dog, possibly.
Walter lives in Austin, Texas, and stars on Facebook as “Walter Geoffrey the Frenchie.” Per his owner’s bio on him, he says “I’m just a Frenchie living my best life in Meltdown City at the corner of Unstable and Emotionally.” This little guy has cracked me up for at least a year because he stares right through his owner, backtalks, and grumbles when he doesn’t get his way.
He talks right to the camera and barks with enthusiasm as his owner adds captions. The one-minute videos shared on Facebook (and now TikTok) and they’re a scream because his Mom (Amber who refers to herself as “Bish”) argues with him and offers corrective action recommendation and chastising him for complaining.
Walter Geoffrey melts down if he doesn’t get to go to the park. It would be sad if it weren’t hilarious. Here’s one example:
He’s perfectly serious in his complaining and he’s not exactly content unless he’s allowed a car ride in fancy style (then he’s stylin’ and delightful), but he has a better-behaved little sidekick named Charlotte (Char), who is light brown and not a complainer. It’s the hashtags Bish adds to the posts countering his rants that are especially fun. Walter’s first live, local appearance is coming up Dec. 4th at Barton Creek Mall. His fan club on Facebook has over 580,000 followers.
Let’s face it…all dog lovers believe their fur babies can talk and understand; some of us use buttons and others use words. Communication is about willingness to send a message and have it received, understood, and validated, and to know back that we were heard.
So, you can keep your Walker Hayes “Fancy Like” Applebee’s Dance
And, you can keep your Brooks and Dunn remix (“Noise Noise”) of “Neon Moon”
If you need me, I’ll be online at What About Bunny, catching up on how she is coping with her little pal, Otter, who apparently is learning to talk, too! Two talking dogs may be more than Alexis and Johnny (Mom and Dad) bargained for.
Dog moms (and dads) can get their own programmable buttons here at FluentPet and they offer three levels of kits (Get Started, Basic Vocab, and They Can Talk), but they also offer a Tester Kit ($29.95), all of which are currently available at great savings. Just in time for Hanukkah and Christmas gifts for your gifted and talented pups.
And, if you want them quickly, the Tester Kit is available via Amazon.com also! Oh, and in case you were wondering, cats have been trained to use these buttons, too. Here’s an example of a veterinarian, Kendra, and her cat, Billi, and the buttons.
Just wait until they learn how to FaceTime you or Skype you one day when you’re at work. That day can’t be too far away!
