An elderly pug has declared it a Bones Day Era and the internet is happy

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's been an unpredictable year and a half, to say the least. And many of us will take any sign to let us know if we should seize the day...

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JONATHAN GRAZIANO: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. There were bones. There were bones today.

CORNISH: ...Or hide under the covers.

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GRAZIANO: No. Noodle - oh, it gets me every time. OK, so it's a no-bones morning. No-bones morning - I don't think...

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:

That's Jonathan Graziano, owner of a 13-year-old pug named Noodle, a TikTok sensation whose millions of followers turn to him for daily guidance.

CORNISH: Yep, you heard that right. An elderly pug is predicting how our days will go - the internet at its finest.

MCCAMMON: Graziano told NPR's Here And Now how Noodle became the soothsayer of the internet. Basically, he sits Noodle up in bed...

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GRAZIANO: And I'll remove my hands, and it's kind of up to him to either hold himself up, hold himself steady or to just surrender himself to gravity and just fall back down onto his bed.

MCCAMMON: And they made a game of it and ultimately put it on social media, of course.

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GRAZIANO: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to yet another round of No Bones, the game where we find out if my 13-year-old pug woke up with bones, and we also kind of find out how our day is going to go. It's kind of like reading tea leaves.

CORNISH: If it's a bones day, Noodle stands.

GRAZIANO: You know, it's a carpe diem kind of thing.

CORNISH: But if it's a no-bones day and Noodle just kind of flops back to bed...

GRAZIANO: A no-bones day is a day for self-care and is a day to be kind to yourself.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Singing) There once was a pug that could foresee if our day ahead was merry or bleak.

MCCAMMON: Fans have made songs.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) If it's a no-bones day, I just stay in bed. Noodle said it's fine if I don't get dressed. His legs are made of Jell-O.

CORNISH: There's fan art and videos. One follower says their professor canceled an exam on a no-bones day.

MCCAMMON: A Capitol Hill staffer on TikTok claims Noodle was mentioned at a Pentagon briefing.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: A lieutenant colonel at the Navy Pentagon legitimately just started this briefing with, I don't know if it's a bones or no-bones day, so let's just get started.

CORNISH: Graziano says he's blown away by how much attention Noodle has gotten.

GRAZIANO: I think people were really craving the opportunity for kindness, or they were looking for something simple to be happy about that you don't have to think too much about.

CORNISH: And just in case you were wondering about today...

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GRAZIANO: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. It's a bones day, you guys. I can't believe...

MCCAMMON: After several bones days in a row, Graziano says we've now entered a bones day era.

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GRAZIANO: Noodle surprises us all, and we must make something of our day. So make sure to treat yourself today. Go - oh, my gosh...

MCCAMMON: A bones day era, everyone. Carpe diem.

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UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Mr. Noodle, do you have bones? Oh, please have bones. I need to know if it's safe to leave home. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.