TikTok "Cheese Tax" Video Seriously Resonates with Pet Owners

Hey, we all pay income tax, sales tax, and often property tax. But there is a new tax in town, and for pet owners, it’s going to sound awfully familiar. It’s called the Cheese Tax (but feel free to insert the food item of your choosing) and translates into that tasty ration you dole out to the pooch, every time you open the fridge, sit down to a meal or unwrap a snack. It’s a tax because its not necessarily something you choose to pay, but, like any other tax, it’s expected and can result in penalties far too annoying to mention if you aren’t forthcoming. Hmmm, it sounds like my household.

Call me and every other pet owner that’s at this moment, vigorously nodding their head, a sucker, a softie, or an enabler, but sharing our grub is something we all agree we’re guilty of doing. And this explains the viral popularity of a little TikTok ditty by Atlanta-based musician and loving pet parent Matt Hobbs called The Cheese Tax.

Residing with his two 13-year-old Pom-chihuahua mixes called Marley and Leni, Hobbs learned like many of us, that dogs have an acute sense of hearing the moment a wrapper crinkles or a fridge door opens. For mine, it’s the treat drawer, and regardless of how quietly you operate or how certain you are that they’re asleep in another room, they magically appear out of nowhere, waiting to collect what they consider to be their fair share.

To date, this half-minute video featuring both Hobbs family canines has garnered millions of views, loads of shares and lots of fun comments from pet parents who instantly relate and confirm their dogs (and cats) are equally demanding tax collectors.

As to how the tune came to life, Hobbs says it was during the lockdown days of COVID when he and his wife played shut-in with their two mini mutts. Living in tight quarters, it became harder to sneak a snack and easier to just dole out a portion of whatever food had caught the attention of the nosey noshers. Over time, it became an expectation and certainly much easier than dealing with a disgruntled duo that was feeling cheated and inclined to vocalize their outrage.

Hobbs was looking for something easy to chant as he moved from living room to kitchen and from that, “The cheese tax, the cheese tax… when the cheese drawer opens, you gotta pay the tax” was born. And since its initial launch the jingle has become the unofficial anthem to thousands of viewer posts, tracking their canine crews as they chow down on cheese and other munchies. Glad to know I’m not the only one being taxed by their fur-kids!