“It was love at first sight” ❤️️
Meet Noodle — a 4-year-old service dog working hard to keep her mom, Jacklyn, safe each day. As a professional good girl, Noodle technically has no days off, but she can’t resist a good break — especially if there’s petting involved.
“She’s one of the most affectionate little creatures,” Jacklyn told The Dodo.
Noodle accompanies her mom everywhere and watches out for signs of a medical emergency no matter what’s going on around her. It’s only when she hears one short phrase that Noodle feels comfortable resting for a bit.
“I’ll say, ‘Go say hi,’ and that’s how she knows she can go and get pet on,” Jacklyn said.
When she’s off-duty, Noodle loves asking anyone willing to lend a hand for pets. But, recently, the sweet pup accompanied Jacklyn to Disney World, and she met someone with an extra-special touch: Mickey Mouse.
“As soon as she saw Mickey, she melted in his arms,” Jacklyn said. “She loves him so much.”
Jacklyn adopted Noodle in 2020 when lockdown restrictions limited the number of public spaces they could visit together. Then, as restrictions were lifted, Noodle started accompanying her mom to all the best places — like Disney World.
“At first, going to a theme park together was a little bit of a shock, but then she loved it,” Jacklyn said. “She gets so excited [about] going to any of her jobs.”
When Jacklyn and Noodle go to Disney together, the attentive pup spends most of the day in work mode. Whether she’s sitting next to her mom on a ride or waiting in line to meet a character, Noodle’s constantly looking out for Jacklyn’s health. But the hard-working girl gets breaks, too.
“She usually gets so excited when we get in line for things because she knows it’s either a character or a ride,” Jacklyn said. “She loves to go on rides, and she loves meeting characters. If there’re characters out, I’ll definitely give her breaks to meet them as long as they’re open to it.”
When Noodle met Mickey Mouse recently, her excitement was off the charts. She waited for the cue, then rushed over to the giant mouse and immediately flipped onto her back to ask for belly rubs.
Of course, Mickey obliged, and Noodle was the happiest girl ever.
“When Noodle sees Mickey … it’s all over,” Jacklyn wrote on TikTok.
Even when Noodle’s off-duty and snuggling up with her favorite character, she’s still attuned to her mom’s health. So, if an emergency were to happen while Noodle met her idols, the smart pup would be able to alert her mom.
“She’ll alert me any time, even if she’s off-duty,” Jacklyn said. “She takes care of me, but I also want to take care of her as much as I can and give her as many experiences as I can.
Noodle is also teaching kids about service animals as she goes about her work and play.
“Getting to see people watch her meet characters is also really cute,” Jacklyn said. “It’s an educational moment. I love hearing parents say, ‘That’s a service dog, she’s on break.’”
After a few magical belly rubs, Noodle takes her place at her mom’s side and gets right back to work. As much as she loves a break, Noodle feels most confident when she’s keeping her favorite person safe.
And, when she can, she’ll take a few seconds to sniff the air or greet a new friend.
“Any time she can meet Mickey or any of his friends, she’s the happiest little pup,” Jacklyn said. “She deserves all the happiness because she does so much for me.”