Starting most days without a hot cuppa is hard, but starting the work day without one is nearly impossible. And no one understands that better than Jake the police horse.
According to Daily Mail , this seasoned member of the Merseyside Police force actually refuses to even get out of bed before he’s been given his morning cup of tea, served in his very own giant mug.
20-year-old Jake is one of some twelve horses who work as part of the police’s mounted section, and he’s definitely the most stubborn.
“I’d definitely describe Jake as a horse with a lot of character,” section manger and trainer Lindsey Gaven said. “If you’re at the side of the stable and he sees you with a mug in your hand, you can guarantee he’ll trot over to try and steal a slurp.”
This pampered horse is also very particular about what he takes in his tea, and everyone had to learn his order.
He likes it with skimmed milk, two heaping teaspoons of sugar, and a little bit of cold water added so it’s not too hot.
“He’ll deal with one sugar,” Gaven explained, “but is definitely happier when you give him two.”
Jake’s penchant for a hot cuppa all started when he first joined the force 15 years ago.
One day, he stole a cheeky slurp of his rider’s brew and instantly fell in love with the hot, sugary drink.
In fact, his love is so strong that he refuses to leave his stable before he’s had a cup in the morning. The work day simply doesn’t start if Jake hasn’t had his tea.
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A video of Jake enjoying his daily drink recently went viral on Twitter.
In the clip, which was posted by Meryside’s official Twitter account, a comfortably blanketed Jake has his giant mug of tea placed in front of him on his blanket of hay and he immediately begans slurping it, even before it’s out of the provider’s hand!
“Jake refuses to get out of bed until he is brought a warm cup of @tetleyuk tea,” the caption reads. “Once he has drank this he is ready for the day.”
The video, which was posted two weeks ago, has been viewed nearly 230,000 times.
In the comments, people are expressing their delight at witnessing a horse drink tea, of all things, out of a mug.
“Well,” one user wrote, “haven’t witnessed anything like this before!”
Others wrote that they’ve truly never related so hard to a horse before: “We are all Jake.”
Then there were those who couldn’t help but point out the humor in this British horse’s love of tea.
This user wrote, “He simply must have his cup of tea. All very British of him, don’t you know?”
I mean, it’s like hearing about a Canadian beaver that has a sweet tooth for maple syrup, or a bald eagle who likes to dig into a slice of apple pie. Truly iconic. And very patriotic.
If you happen to live in Liverpool, chances are you’ve seen Jake on duty around town.
He often polices football matches, and he’s also appeared at Aintree Racecourse to oversee the annual Grand National for several years now.
However, next year Jake will enter the sweet, sweet world of retirement, after which point I’m sure he’ll spend his days in his stable, slurping some warm tea and reminiscing about his glory days on the force.
h/t: Daily Mail