We talk a lot about dogs being good boys (or girls), but not enough is said about how clever they are, too. One Bichon Frise was so intelligent, it learned how to call its owner at work—and the result is heartwarming.
There’s a lot of speculation over whether dogs can actually communicate with us. So much so that some resort to dog communicators. But this viral video doesn’t just prove that dogs can communicate. It also demonstrates why we should all get a dog right now.
How Did This Dog Call Its Owner?
The video, which has garnered 4 million views, shows Aly, the Bichon Frise, pottering about with two rows of buttons in front of her.
She then approaches a button and presses it. The button says aloud, “Alexa, call my mama.”
Then, you can hear the dialling tone until Aly’s owner, Shelly Smith, picks up.
“Is mama’s girl calling her?” she asks. “You miss mama? Hi, pretty.”
Smith then continues to speak to Aly as she barks and whines in response.
As she continues to howl in response to Smith speaking to her, Smith assures her that “Brother” is coming to see her.
In response to this, Aly barks and howls again.
“I know you’re upset; it’s OK,” Smith adds in a soothing voice.
She then assures the pooch that she will soon be home too, and adds, “Mondays aren’t good days, huh?”
As she redirects Aly to her treats, Smith says, “Be a good girl for mama, OK?”
In response, the dog whines again—but as a commenter pointed out, the whine sounds like she’s saying “OK.”
“Brother’s coming,” Smith repeats. “He’s gonna come down and give you kisses.”
Smith, who has posted several TikToks of Aly using these buttons, spoke about the video to BroBible via email.
“The video captured a genuine moment when Aly used her ‘Call Mama’ button while I was at work, and it was such a special reminder of the communication we’ve built together through her buttons,” she said. “Seeing how many people connected with that moment has been incredibly heartwarming.”
She continues, “My goal has always been to share Aly’s journey, encourage others interested in button communication, and hopefully bring a little joy to people’s day. I’m grateful that so many have enjoyed following her adventures.”
People Were Amazed
Commenters were delighted by the innovation.
“That’s a loooot of buttons,” one wrote. “She’s got things to say.”
“Those of us who were accused of anthropomorphizing our dogs… we now have collective evidence – our dogs feel lonely and miss us!” a second declared.
“I’m freaking out i did not know this was an option,” a third added.
While a fourth said, “The pets of 2026 are living their BEST LIFE.”
How Does Aly Communicate Regularly?
In an interview with SWNS, Smith shared how, with 80 different buttons, Aly could already “speak” to her.
However, the TikToker took this communication to a whole other level by incorporating Alexa.
“It took about an hour to teach her,” she said. “I showed her that pressing the button made my phone ring and we just practiced it over and over. Now when my phone rings, it literally says Aly is calling. She doesn’t talk back, obviously, but when she hears my voice she does these little whimpers. Because I have an [Amazon] Echo Show, I can answer on video too. I’ll tell her, ‘Lay down. I’ll be home soon,’ and she’ll calm down almost straight away.”
Shelly later added that she decided to make this work after feeling guilty about leaving her pooch at home.
“I was sitting on the couch one night thinking about how much I hated leaving her–she gets so upset when I leave, even if somebody else is with her,” she explained. “I can already talk to her through my Ring camera, but I wanted her to have a way to reach me whenever she wanted to hear my voice.”
If anything, the button method has become too successful, with her dog even interrupting phone calls with her boss.
She said, “My boss had flown in to go over the properties I manage, and we were talking about financials when my phone rang looked at him and said, ‘Um… my dog’s calling me,’ he looked completely confused. He thought it was the coolest thing–and the trick is surprisingly simple–any dog owner can give it a try.”
@alythebichon She had just woken up from her nap, walked straight over to her buttons, and decided it was time to call Mama at work. 🥹📞💕 Here’s another angle of the moment Aly pressed her “Alexa, call my mama” button last week. Hearing her little howl on the phone melts my heart every single time. I think she just wanted to make sure I knew she was thinking about me. 🩷 #AlyTheBichon #DogButtons #TalkingDog #FluentPet #DogLover