Niagara Falls’ Buddy the dog becomes internet sensation
‘It’s blown up huge’: King shepherd’s antics brightening the lives of people around the world during pandemic
Buddy hungrily devouring a soft ice cream cone outside a Dairy Queen on Ferry Street in Niagara Falls.
Buddy cocking his head back and forth at comical angles as he digests human language. Buddy turning the tears of an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease into a girlish grin.
They’re things Mike Lalicich sees every day, since he tries to spend every waking minute with a dog who truly is his best buddy.
But nowadays, they’re snippets of the life of a dog from Niagara Falls that people around the world can’t wait to see when they fire up their computers or smartphones.
Lalicich, who has owned the majestic, four-year-old king shepherd since the dog was eight weeks old, has been making short videos of Buddy’s exploits for several years.
In December, a friend suggested he try posting one of them to the social media site TikTok.
“Within three days he had a viral video,” said Lalicich. “One had 10.5 million views and one had five million views. It’s really crazy.”
Lalicich, whose voice is often heard talking to Buddy from behind the camera, also started posting videos to Instagram, and they’ve struck a chord with people from around the world.
“They’re watching in Toronto and Calgary and New York City, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Afghanistan, Indonesia,” he said.
His phone blows up on daily with messages from people from all corners of the globe.
“Now there’s people from all over thanking us for brightening their day and making their day,” he said. “They say, ‘thank you for sharing him and sharing your life with us, it’s made life a little bit better during this pandemic.’”
That’s exactly what Lalicich was hoping to accomplish: “We started these videos just to make people smile in this pandemic, and it’s blown up huge,” he said.
In one video, Lalicich’s mom, who has Alzheimer’s and who was driven to his home to visit by a family member, gets a dose of Buddy therapy.
“She was crying when she arrived,” Lalicich said. “She was having a bad day.” But within a short time, her tears gave way to a beaming smile for the camera as Buddy gently placed a tennis ball in her hand.
“He has healing powers when it comes to my mom,” said Lalicich.
His dog’s hilarious reaction when his owner begins talking to him — cocking his head and staring intently in the videos — comes from the way he was raised, Lalicich believes.
“I treat him like he’s human; I swear that’s why he acts like he does,” he said. “I’m a single guy, I live alone, and Buddy is my life.
“I’m betting he’s one of the smartest dogs in the world. His vocabulary and the words he
knows is outrageous.”
One viewer on Lalicich’s Instagram page expressed her gratitude.
“In a world gone mad and bad news every day, it’s so nice to have something to look forward to and smile and feel good about for just a few minutes,” she said. “Please give Buddy an extra hug and make sure he knows how grateful I am to him and you.”
To see Buddy’s videos, visit Lalicich’s Instagram page at www.instagram.com/buddyandmike .