This Milwaukee dog is obsessed with actor Henry Cavill, and even has a shrine dedicated to him

With Valentine's Day around the corner, here's a love story of sorts.

It's about a Milwaukee dog ... and her celebrity crush. Yes, apparently dogs have those too.

Some pooches are into treats and toys, others can't get enough walks and pets. But Rory the merle French bulldog? Obsessed with Henry Cavill.

Yes, the British actor who used to be Superman and appeared in "The Witcher" and "The Tudors."

Rory's owner, Heather Land, discovered her Frenchie's unusual infatuation in September 2022, and has been sharing videos about it on the dog's popular TikTok page, @rorythefrenchie, ever since.

"Her body's so tiny, but her personality is just so huge," said Land, an author and illustrator of coloring books for adults.

Here's what to know about Rory and her muse, from how Land first discovered it to the Frenchie's shrine of Cavill merch.

How the French bulldog's obsession with Henry Cavill was discovered

In September 2022, Land was watching "The Witcher" — and Rory was mesmerized the entire episode. Land noticed because that's very out of character for her dog.

"She never watches anything on TV ever," Land said. "Not even dogs or cats or anything."

Land filmed videos of Rory, staring at the TV and occasionally hopping off the couch to get a closer look, then shared them on TikTok.

TikTok users commented on the video, asking Land to show Rory "Man of Steel," in which Cavill plays Superman, to determine whether the Frenchie was into "The Witcher" in general, or specifically the man playing Geralt of Rivia. Once again, she was captivated by Cavill.

Her reaction was the same to Cavill in "Enola Holmes," "The Tudors," "Stardust," interviews and more.

A series of more experiments documented on TikTok ensued. When people wondered if Rory just liked Cavill's voice, Land made a silent slide show with pictures of the actor.

"She sat there and watched the entire thing," Land said.

When commenters wanted to know if a still photo would have the same effect on Rory, Land placed a framed Cavill picture above her dog bed.

"She would sit and stare at it multiple times every day," Land said.

How does Rory respond when she hears and sees Cavill?

While Rory spends most of her days sleeping, as soon as she hears Cavill's voice, she pops up and looks around for him, Land said.

When she realizes he's on the TV screen, she starts watching. Then, she'll get closer to the screen and stare at it.

"I still don't know why she does it," Land said. "It's fun to think it's love."

What are Rory's favorite Henry Cavill works to watch?

Rory's all-time favorite is "The Witcher." And yes, Land has already broken the news to Rory that Cavill has been replaced by Liam Hemsworth for Season 4.

"I have a feeling she's not going to be very impressed," Land said.

Land printed out a digital art image of Hemsworth as Geralt. She framed it and set it up next to a Cavill version of the photo. Rory was about as interested in Hemsworth as Miley Cyrus.

"She stared at just the Henry one every time," Land said.

Rory also loves watching a "Sesame Street" segment Cavill did with Elmo on respect.

"She made me play that for her on repeat for like an hour," Land said.

But "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." was "a little scary" for Rory with all of Cavill's fight scenes, Land said.

And, Rory didn't recognize a teenage Cavill in "The Count of Monte Cristo."

The GerAlter: A Henry Cavill shrine

When Rory's TikTok fans started sending her Cavill memorabilia, Land began creating a shrine on the window sill above Rory's dog bed and around it. Land calls it the GerAlter, a play on Cavill's character's name in "The Witcher."

Rory's followers have sent her all sorts of merch, from action figures and posters to a pillow and a "Smells Like Geralt" candle. For her birthday this week, she was gifted three Cavill cardboard cutouts that are just about the same size as her.

Cavill makes Rory throw fewer temper tantrums

Before Rory was known for her celeb crush, she was known for throwing temper tantrums. Her nickname? The grumpy Oreo blizzard.

Rory would throw fits multiple times a day, and Land would share clips of them on TikTok.

But her tantrums have "significantly decreased since she found her love," Land said.

Land used to call Rory's dog bed the tantrum couch since she would throw her little fits on it. But now Rory sits calmly on it "all the time," Land said. It's new nickname? The shrine sofa.

Rory has even dressed up as Geralt

Land always dresses Rory up for local pet events that have costume contests, like Petfest.

She's been a seal, an Oreo Blizzard, a narwhal and more. But one of her costumes this past year was extra special.

Land made Rory a Grrralt (aka Geralt) costume, wig and sword included. There is that saying about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

Despite her costumes being internet sensations, Rory has yet to win a costume contest.

Has Cavill taken notice of Rory?

Rory's followers have been trying to get Cavill's attention by tagging him in comments on the dog's Instagram posts. But Land said she always tells them not to spam him.

Land said that her creating content doesn't create an obligation for Cavill to interact with it.

"If he knows, he knows. If he doesn't that's fine," Land said. "We're not out here trying to create a meet-up or anything like that. We're just having fun and Rory's enjoying herself and that's all that matters."

An animal communicator's explanation for Rory's obsession

A lot of Rory's viewers were tagging @animalcommunicator in her comments to find out what the animal communicator and content creator thought about the dog's obsession. So, Land and Shirley Hyatt had a meeting via Zoom, which Land shared clips of on TikTok.

"He comes from a similar place that she does," Hyatt said in the video. "Somehow, it's like they know each other."

Hyatt said Rory wants Cavill to remember her, but if he doesn't in this lifetime, he whenever he gets to "the other side."

What are Rory's other interests?

Sleeping, eating chicken nuggets, doing agility courses, and "terrorizing" Land's 9-year-old cat, Terror.

"They go from playing to snuggling to Rory sitting on his head, and everything in between," Land said.

A look at Rory's fame

Since Land launched Rory's TikTok in 2020, it's garnered 273,300 followers, and 9.3 million video likes.

Whether it's been a story, video or social media post, Rory has been featured by Newsweek, The Daily Mail, ABC News and Good Morning America. Land and Rory will be doing an interview for Australia's "The Morning Show" on Feb. 21, Land said.

"I didn't expect her to get well-known for having a celebrity crush," Land said. "That wasn't on my list for 2022 of things that I thought that would happen. But it's really interesting. I have learned a lot, especially about dogs and about emotions and love, and about Rory."

What Rory means to her dog mom

"Rory means the entire world to me," Land said. "Trying to remember and cherish every single moment that we have together, because you never know how much time you get. I'm just going to live every day to the fullest — even if it's gonna be full of Henry Cavill. Whatever Rory wants to do 'cause she's my best friend."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee bulldog, TikTok star Rory is obsessed with Henry Cavill