How Do The Bones Day Pug And His Owner Make Money?

Jonathan Graziano is a New Yorker who adopted Noodle the pug at 7 years old. At the time, Graziano was working at a company called BarkBox and doing standup comedy at a club once a month. "I did a bit about how I just got this job and how I loved dogs," he told Slate in a podcast interview. "But I had just met Doug the Pug," referring to a pooch who had risen to fame through social media. He continued, "I wasn't necessarily like, you know, hardcore Pug person. I just knew I wanted to get a dog that I just would connect with." After his set, a woman in the audience approached him about a sweet pug surrendered to a local shelter. He made the decision to adopt Noodles, not knowing that the pug would one day become a viral sensation. 

In the fall of 2021, there was one way many TikTok users found the strength to get out of bed and take themselves for a walk; checking Jonathan Graziano's page to see if his pug Noodle, by then 13 years old, woke up with "bones" or "no-bones" on any given morning. Noodle's owner attributed this terminology to his college friend. "​​When she didn't want to do something, she would go boneless," he revealed (via Slate). 

And, in Noodle's world, Graziano explained to NPR that "we learned very early on that when he doesn't want to go on walkies, he will not go on walkies ... You can't just force the bones, right, the bones have to be ready."

Graziano and Noodles have millions of TikTok followers. But how do the duo make money?