BANGOR, Maine — When a Maine couple decided to adopt a dog several years ago, they had no idea at first the wicked fun journey they would take together, and just how popular they would become.
Charles and Nicole Lever of Bangor first adopted their dog Tatum from the Pixel Fund website on April 27, 2016, according to Charles.
The Pixel Fund is an all volunteer-based organization that has locations in Maine, Georgia, and Florida. They specialize in finding dogs that need rescuing from all over the country and then finding those dogs their forever homes.
Nicole says when she saw Tatum's picture on their website, it was love at first sight. After some convincing, she was able to pull Charles on board.
They say when they first got Tatum, he had clearly had a rough past. They say he had scars, dull teeth, and a tail that had clearly been broken at one point.
But with Charles and Nicole, he finally had a loving home to be safe, be himself, and come out of his shell.
Many folks probably wonder what their pets would sound like if they could talk. Charles and Nicole wondered this, too, but they took it one step further. They actually gave him a voice. They made videos for family and friends, putting them on social media, but it wasn't too long before other people started noticing Tatum, too.
Since Tatum was becoming so popular, they started making videos for all to enjoy.
Starting out with an Instagram page in 2019, the number of clicks just kept on growing. Charles and Nicole expanded their platforms to TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
Tatum now has 2.1 million followers on TikTok with over 46 million likes and 285,000 followers on Instagram.
Nicole and Charles tell us how honored they are to have folks from all over share their personal stories with them and hear how their videos can bring so many a little joy every day.
"The world is a crazy place. It can be scary. It can be overwhelming, especially with COVID and lots of different changes. If we can brighten someone's day with just a Tatum video, then it makes it all worthwhile," Nicole said.