Social media viewers have fallen head over heels for a dad who has a goal of getting the family dog to every national park and becoming a certified bark ranger.
The quest started over the summer when Don Longano took 9-year-old Mochi to Gettysburg National Military Park. The mixed-breed dog, rescued by the Longano family during the pandemic, has always enjoyed adventures or relaxing at home. But now that the journey to all the parks has started, she’s been coming along for the mission.
“We were looking for something fun to do and found out that the Eisenhower Farm, a national park site adjoining the Gettysburg national park, has a Bark Ranger program,” Longano told Newsweek.
The National Park Service started the Bark Ranger program as part of the Healthy People Healthy Parks initiative. While pets get the recognition as a bark ranger, it is up to the owners to meet the responsibilities that come with it, including bagging your pet’s waste, leashing your pet, respecting wildlife and knowing where you can go inside each park.
Not every Bark Ranger program is the same. Some parks might let you take a pledge with your pet or have a walk with a ranger program. Parks will also have specifically designed tags you can purchase and collect, some unique to that location.
Longano said a month after the Eisenhower Farm trip, the family learned about another national park close to home with a Bark Ranger program: Great Falls in Maryland. That led to No. 2 on their journey to all 63 parks.
Now, whenever Longano’s daughter comes home, he shows off Mochi’s new bark ranger tag. Her October 12 TikTok video, posted to the account @studio_moomoo, gives viewers a glimpse into Mochi’s accomplishments, with Longano beaming with pride. Her latest ranger tag comes from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.
“Now, Mochi is on a roll, and we hope to see many parks in the upcoming months,” Longano said. “Right now, we have three badges—so we have a long, fun way to go.”
An October 12 TikTok video features Mochi the bark ranger. Her family’s dad is on a mission for Mochi to become a bark ranger at every national park.
@studio_moomoo/TikTok
Longano said so far their favorite park destination was the Eisenhower Farm because of the badge Mochi received. He described it as a paw print surrounded by five stars. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general in World War II.
“Also, since the Eisenhower Farm adjoins the Gettysburg national park, we visited that park, and there are two monuments that have dog statues at Gettysburg,” Longano said. “So there was a lot of interesting history for Mochi, as well as enjoying walking around the parks.”
He went on: “Beyond that, Mochi feels that being a bark ranger is a wonderful privilege because it is fun to visit the parks with her human parents and good exercise on the various trails of the parks. Mochi also enjoys meeting the park rangers and learning about the history of each park.”
To say viewers were obsessed with Mochi’s accomplishments would be an understatement. The TikTok video has amassed over 2.1 million views, 291,200 likes and 1,150 comments as of Wednesday.
“Mochi is climbing the national parks ladder,” said one viewer.
Another added: “I immediately trust [Mochi] now as an official bark ranger.”
A third person wrote: “That’s a lot of responsibility for such a little guy.”
But thankfully, Mochi is up for the challenge.
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.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
