Tatum the Talking Dog Is a Rescue Turned TikTok Superstar

He’s a natural comedian. A loving companion. And a chicken nugget enthusiast.

He’s none other than Tatum, TikTok’s beloved “talking” dog.

Tatum, 9, lives his best life with parents Charles and Nicole Lever in Bangor, Maine. While his breed remains a mystery to his parents, Charles Lever says the couple’s answer jokingly flip-flops between “rescue” and “brown."

Even though he shows off expressive brown eyes, a wide smile, and delightfully floppy ears, Tatum is unquestionably most famous for his voice. Surely you've heard it: the dog behind "hey lady" whose THs turn into Fs. (Bath time? No fank you!)

"At this point, it’s hard to imagine a time that Tatum didn’t talk," Charles says. "His voice has actually helped create his personality. He is fun and witty with a mix of sarcastic and a little sassy. He sees the world through a lens of a true 9-year-old boy.”

To date, Tatum (@hi.this.is.tatum) has amassed quite the social media presence with more than 3.6 million followers on TikTok, 528,000 on Instagram, and 175,000 on Facebook. He even has merch. We chatted with Charles and Nicole on how they added Tatum to their family, how he found his voice, and the joy a rescue dog has brought millions of people worldwide.

Adopting Tatum

In early 2016, Nicole decided it was time to start looking for a dog to add to their family. Charles was reluctant, thinking it’d be difficult living in a condo and preferring to wait until they bought a house. They did agree, he says, that they wanted to adopt a rescue.

Then fate stepped in. Nicole came across Tatum through The Pixel Fund, a non-profit pet rescue. Charles and Nicole learned he had been rescued from Macon, Ga., and lived two hours south of them at his foster home.

“Nicole fell quickly in love with Tatum’s photo on their website. It was instant. And when she sent it to me, she said, ‘This is my dog,’” Charles says. “For two months, I insisted I didn’t feel the same until Tatum’s foster got on the phone with Nicole, explained his personality, and sent more photos than the one on the website.”

With that, Charles and Nicole brought Tatum home in April 2016.

TikTok Fame

Tatum's trademark voice—Charles's creation—reached its earliest audience via Snapchat videos of he and Charles bantering. Family and friends suggested posting Tatum's conversations with his parents on the larger social media platforms.

Charles says he thought the videos could do OK after he’d seen other dog accounts flourishing. But there was still trepidation.

“It took a while to commit to it because there’s always that chance that what you put out there isn’t received well and you awkwardly fall flat on your face, but that’s the definition of ‘taking a chance,’” Charles says.

The first video that went viral wasn’t a “Tatum Talk” at all, Charles says. It featured Tatum jumping up and down on his walk.

A dog-related Instagram page with a massive following took the video from Tatum’s page and reposted it alongside a now-longstanding falsehood.

“They’re the ones that added the caption at the top, ‘This is Tatum. This is him on his first walk after being rescued,’ which isn’t true at all,” Charles says. “That video is still popping up everywhere with that caption.”

Charles and Nicole realized Tatum’s account was blowing up after that video was posted. They received emails the same day from LADBible and The Dodo wanting to feature them.

The account continued to grow but joining TikTok at the end of 2019 was the real catalyst, Charles says. His nugget obsession and adventures with his mom reached an even bigger audience. At a minimum, his videos—silly conversations with his parents or even songs—receive tens of thousands of views. The especially popular ones enter the millions.

Tatum reaching “TikTok famous” status has led to the making of his very own book, Tatum Comes Home, which is currently available for pre-order and set to release on Oct. 24, 2023.

'The Light of Our Lives'

Tatum has won the hearts of millions across the world being his adorable, silly self and making people laugh. When the cameras aren’t capturing his cuteness, Charles says Tatum at home is the Tatum they truly love—“the most spoiled, lazy, catered dog imaginable.”

“He is the light of our lives, and we just stare at him day in and day out, wondering how we got so blessed to be his family,” he says.

His favorite pastimes include begging for food and lying down. And because he has attachment sensitivities, he isn’t relaxed unless his parents are sitting right next to him.

“You will never see him sleeping more than 5 feet away from us; dog beds around the house are a necessity,” Charles says. “He is the definition of ‘snuggly,’ and it’s his favorite thing to do.”

Once a day, Tatum will get a burst of energy and play with toys, but it lasts about three minutes. Aside from lounging, Tatum gets the most excited about car rides and laying in the sunshine.

“The life that Tatum has now is a reflection of what can happen when you rescue,” Charles says. “But when we say that, we don’t want people to focus on his social media fame.”

He explains that Tatum has every reason to be fearful and angry with humans, but he's only grateful.

“Rescue animals deserve a good life because of what they had to go through, and what an opportunity we have to give that to them,” Charles says. “[Tatum] is healthy. He is fed. He is still learning he doesn’t need to fear certain things. And he sleeps in a warm bed every night.”

Charles’ favorite thing Tatum does is go from “zero to 60” and contort his paws up toward his face when he’s excited—almost like a boxer dodging a punch, but back and forth in a bouncy way.

As for Nicole, her favorite memory of Tatum is seeing him for the first time. “When he pulled up in the car, the sun was shining in his eyes, and they were a golden brown that brought her to tears,” Charles says.

Nicole credits Tatum with helping her get through the hardest moments in her life, as they adopted him a few months before the unexpected passing of her father.

“A universal quote you will hear from parents is that they ‘didn’t know what love was until … ’ and that’s how we feel,” Charles says. “He has brought us more joy and happiness than we could have imagined, and bringing that joy to others makes it that much better."