A cheeky, pub-loving dog can’t walk past a boozer without dragging his owner inside for a pint.
Lee Paxman-Clarke adopted Moose – a four-year-old Lurcher-Staffy cross – as a rescue pup.
But the pooch has been turning heads for his local-loving ways.
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He drags Lee towards doorways and makes himself right at home with regulars and staff alike.
Lee, of Syston, near Leicester, took in Moose after he was neglected and struggling with serious behavioural issues.
But now his love for a pint pit-stop means the dog is a huge TikTok star, racking up more than 20 million views for his unstoppable love of the local.
“Moose will now walk – or try to walk – into any place he recognises, which are now all of the pubs,” Lee told What’s The Jam.
“He knows inside he can get cuddles and attention from almost everyone. He is amazing with children and will let them throw themselves at him.
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“He wants to be every dog’s friend.
“Moose will approach everyone for a cuddle or he will sit himself down and allow people to come up to him.
“He looks intimidating and big to some, but he is a big softie who has gone from an overgrown puppy trying to eat you to a gentle giant who will get on a train and go on a night out.”
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Lee, a university education consultant, rescued Moose in May 2022 from The Dogs Trust in Loughborough after the pooch was abandoned and left with no social skills.
The 34-year-old said Moose had serious behavioural challenges and was nearly returned.
Lee, who rescued Moose with wife Collette, said: “He did not have any socialisation with dogs or people, leaving him to act overly playful and excitable which included biting and grabbing which he thought was playtime.
“While it wasn’t aggressive, he was still scary at times. He almost got returned as it was reaching our limit.
“We were told Moose would never be a ‘normal’ dog – he was big, intimidating, and his lack of social awareness did pose a risk.
“He was not trusted with children or other animals, as we didn’t know how he would react.
“It took months of work with Moose to get him settled into his new home.
“He never had a home before – he didn’t understand what was playing and what was destruction, as our sofa, curtains, cushions, clothes would confirm.
“We even found a frying pan and spatula in his bed that he pulled out of the sink.
“[It took] lots of walks, training, socialising and patience along the way.
“We always wanted to get Moose to a point where he could be comfortable in most places, for him and everyone around him.
“We would introduce and expose him to multiple situations – even something as simple as a TV was a process to introduce him to.”
Over time, with regular walks, training and a lot of patience, Moose began to settle.
And as part of his socialisation, Lee started taking him to dog-friendly beer gardens to get used to the sights and sounds.
Lee said: “Our local town has many dog-friendly places like the Midland Railway, the Dog and Gun and the Pharmacie Arms.
“So we started taking him to the beer garden, getting used to the noise, people and other dogs – then working up to going in and settling into a comfy spot.”
From there, Moose developed a deep affection for pubs, and now he doesn’t like to walk past one without trying to go in.
Taking matters into his own paws, the pooch doesn’t wait for an invitation and instead confidently strolls into any pub he recognises.
When he’s allowed inside, Moose heads straight for the bar and makes himself known to the staff, either approaching people for cuddles or sitting patiently for attention.
Lee added: “We only go if we plan to, but the Midland Railway pub is on the way to town, the train station and to the parks – so he does think every time that today might be a pub day.
“We have worked hard to train him off-lead, with obvious caution and situational awareness when we are doing so, and only in places we are confident.
“But I can say that when we are walking towards the pub, there is only one place he wants to go – so he will walk straight in and go to the bar staff.”
Moose’s pub antics have made him a social media star, with one of Lee’s TikTok racking up over 20 million views across different platforms.
Moose has even been recognised by strangers at the pub and in public, including someone who said they remembered him from his time at the rescue centre.
Lee added: “Clearly people like Moose more than me–first he would get 1,000 views on my first posts, then 10,000, then 100,000, and now the biggest one has had four million on my profile but over 20 million online.
“People have told me to make Moose his own account, but currently it’s not my goal – I will happily keep making content about him for people to see why rescue dogs should not be overlooked.
“Moose has been recognised in the pub, at the kennels, and even people have reached out to us to say they saw him online – including his original handler at the Dogs Trust, who left years ago.
“Someone on a table next to us asked if he was ‘the’ Moose and explained to his table why he knew the dog.
“If Moose wants to become a celebrity and make enough money to take him on holiday, then that would be amazing.”
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