From July 25 to July 31, Austin food influencer Taylor Hannan (aka Austin Eater) frantically searched the city for his dog, Noodles, who was stolen along with Hannan’s car in the early morning hours of the 25th.
For nearly a week, Hannan, along with seemingly everyone in Austin, plus the help of a volunteer private investigator and the volunteer-run organization TRAPRS, searched tirelessly for Noodles. Flyers went up in businesses, Hannan’s post was shared all over social media, and when Noodles was finally found on July 31 — which was his birthday — Hannan’s announcement on Instagram was seen by over 800,000 people anxiously awaiting the reunion. The over 5,000 comments were filled with things like “Noodles is a legend!”, “The best breaking news of 2025!” and “Today needs to be Noodles Day in ATX! After all, he brought everyone together.”
Perhaps Mayor Kirk Watson saw that last comment or had just been following along, but quickly after the announcement the mayor slid into Hannan’s DMs:…