‘Very Proud’ Dog Showing Strangers the Stick He Found Delights Internet

A dog on a hike got three of his favorite things: a long walk, a big stick, and lots of attention and his owner told Newsweek her attention-loving best friend is a ball of sunshine.

Six-year-old Labrador retriever and German Shepherd mix Bryce lives a good life with his owner, Vanessa Keating, 32, a seasonal worker who spends much of her time traveling with her beloved pet in an RV.

The pair regularly go on hikes and long walks across the United States, and as Keating said: “We’ve been traveling full time his whole life. He’s always loved finding treasure, and everywhere we go, he brings sticks back to the RV.”

And as much as Bryce loves his sticks, the people they meet on their travels love seeing him with them even more, as a viral video shared to Keating’s Instagram account @the_nomad_diaries_ proves.

Posted on July 21 and boasting over 780,000 likes, it shows Bryce proudly carrying a giant stick almost as large as himself, as dozens of strangers stop them en route to comment on his treasure.

Over the course of the short video, Keating and Bryce are stopped with people saying, as just a small example: “Nick stick buddy,” “That’s a mighty big stick,” “Wow,” “That’s a big ole stick,” “Good job buddy with that stick,” “I love the stick,” and “Showing off his catch.”

One man even tells them: “There’s some bigger sticks up there,” to which Keating jokingly responds: “Don’t tell him that please!”

Joking in the video that she thinks Bryce does it “for the attention,” she told Newsweek: “My best friend is a walking ball of sunshine, and he knows it.”

Instagram users loved it, with one commenter writing: “This is the video I want the aliens to receive first.”

Another admitted: “Wish people would treat me like this when I find a good stick,” and one shocked commenter asked: “SO MANY FRIENDLY PEOPLE, what planet is this!”

“‘Very proud’ has to be the most accurate comment I’ve heard,” another said.

And as one perfectly summarized it: “*Dog has a stick* Humans: You have a stick.”

She explained to Newsweek that she and Bryce are “long-distance hikers,” and recently hiked the “entirety of the Colorado River from source to sea.”

Next year, they plan to hike the Green River from source to sea, so their relatively shorter hikes now are to retrain their endurance.

As a Labrador-GSD cross, Bryce is well-suited for long walks. Both the GSD and the Lab are described as high-energy, easily trainable, and with a need for mental stimulation such as an activity, by the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Keating, who also posts to TikTok under @nomaddiaries, called the huge response to Bryce online “amazing,” saying “People love him so much. And I’m just sitting there like, ‘that’s my best friend!’

“I just wish I could tell him how many friends he’s made.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.