Hannibal Leck-Ter! The cheeky French bulldog is compared to the character from Silence of the Lambs after the owner bought a mask to stop her from chewing bugs
- Bulldog Olive likes to eat grasshoppers – but the critters poison them
- Mom Megan Lasuzzo, 32, of Texas, bought a dog mask online to help stop the habit
- Olive now looks like Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 cult film Silence of the Lambs
A cheeky French bulldog is nicknamed Hannibal Lecter – after having to wear a sinister mask to stop them from eating bugs.
Olive, who lives in Texas, got a bad stomach after secretly snacking on delicious grasshoppers.
Owner Megan Lasuzzo, 32, then bought her a dog mask on Amazon for just $13.
Little did she know, however, how much her two-year-old pooch would look like fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 cult film Silence of the Lambs.
Two-year-old Olive can’t get enough munching on the delicious grasshoppers that were giving her an upset stomach
Megan, who lives with her husband and their two French bulldogs, Olive and Valentino, nine, said: “We noticed last year that there were so many grasshoppers in our backyard, but we didn’t know Olive was eating them and we knew not why you had an upset stomach a few days.
“We started to watch her closely outside and found that she was actively hunting and eating them.
“Anything jumping around gets their attention.
“The problem is that she wouldn’t stop at one, and later that night her gut didn’t agree with them either.”
Olive ate the little critters “like skittles,” but they gave her stomach problems and diarrhea.
Owner Megan Lasuzzo, 32, carries her French Bulldog Olive in a backpack as she enjoys a walk
The mask has earned her the nickname Hannibull-Dog Lecter, as well as Houndable Lecter and Hannibal Lick-ter
The mask – typically used by vets and groomers – is now a way to stop her from eating them while she continues to enjoy the garden.
Megan said: “It’s used more as a training tool to get them to quit. It’s still a work in progress – she still wants to eradicate all locusts.
“We called the vet and let him know what was going on and they said to stop them from eating them so we’re doing that.
“She doesn’t always get the mask treatment, only when she’s feeling particularly homicidal.
‘We never take our eyes off the backyard.’
Olive doesn’t wear the mask for long and is supervised while doing so.
She can still open her mouth and breathe and gasp; The mask really just makes them less accurate when hunting, catching, and consuming the locusts.
Her stomach has also returned to normal after Megan thwarted her locust-rich diet.
The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American cult-classic psychological horror film starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster
But while the mask is effective, it has also sparked interest from neighbors and other dog walkers.
Megan said: “We also get a lot of comments about how she looks [Hannibal Lecter].
“We also get some really clever comments like ‘she was born in the Barkness’ or ‘Hundable Lecter’ or ‘Hannibal Licktor’.
“We say she is our Hannibull dog Lecter.”