A local hardware store has gone viral after a customer shared her experience with an extremely friendly staff member -- a chocolate Labrador dog.
TikTok user @snehaonice recently visited Westgate Ace Hardware in San Jose, and got slightly sidetracked while shopping as she was approached by one of the store "employees."
In a video shared in December, viewed more than 1.7 million times, she revealed the employee was none other than a sweet, older chocolate Labrador dog named Nala, who showered the customer with attention from the moment she stepped through the doors -- because she had dog treats in her pocket.
It shows the gentle Labrador following the woman around, her tail wagging furiously and a smile on her face, happily sitting in exchange for treats, and accepting plenty of pats.
And to make things even sweeter, Nala was even wearing a tag identifying her as an employee of the store.
Nala's owner, and co-owner of the store, Bryan Matsumoto, told Newsweek they are "surprised about Nala's newfound fame," and only learned about it when a customer came to the store looking for 'the dog in the TikTok video.'"
He explained that nine-year-old Nala started coming to work with him when his wife and daughter were away one weekend, and he didn't want her to be alone all day, so she became the store's newest employee.
"She was an instant hit with all the customers," he said. "The store was brand new, and I thought this would be a great way for us to stand out from all the other stores in the area.
"So, for the last three years she has been 'working' every Saturday, greeting the customers as they walk in the front door. But I must confess that Nala isn't really doing her job to be friendly; she does it because she's sniffing people to see who has treats in their pockets!"
And, as proven by the viral video, "once she knows you have treats, she's your best friend and will follow you around the whole store."
The woman wrote over the video: "POV u go to Ace Hardware and meet the sweetest employee Nala. She wouldn't stop following me around [because] she smelled the treats in my pocket."
Nala appeared so taken with her that the customer admitted in the caption that she "thought I inherited another dog, but she was so good and stopped following as we left the store!"
TikTok users were obsessed, awarding the video close to half a million likes, as one commenter wrote: "Please tell us she's gotten employee of the month," and another suggested: "She's probably the reason they started doing employee of the month."
Another joked: "That's the General Manager. By that I mean she Generally Manages to ask for treats," while one admitted: "I have no need for anything at Ace Hardware but I fear it'd be my new home if this happened to me."
And as one user summed it up: "Labs are fully willing to abandon the families that raised them and be willingly kidnapped by any stranger with [treats] and I love this about them."
According to the American Kennel Club, one of the Labrador's most defining qualities is its outgoing, affectionate, and friendly disposition. Labs are noted for being highly social, good with families and children, and playful and enthusiastic long after they have left puppyhood.
The breed also excels as a working dog thanks to their intelligence and trainability -- making Nala a perfect suitor for employee of the month at the hardware store.
Matsumoto told Newsweek that Nala has her favorite regular customers who always "bring her treats," and he made up an employee name tag for her after customers kept asking her name.
The popular employee even has an entire Instagram page dedicated to her, Matsumoto revealed: @nala_the_ace_dog, where she's described as the "customer relations associate at Westgate Ace Hardware."
"I even had stickers made of Nala, and hand them out to kids who come in with their parent to our store," he said.
Newsweek has contacted @snehaonice for comment on this story.