People Can't Stop Smiling at Man's Selfies With Golden Retriever Taken All Over the World
Sandy, a golden retriever, takes several tours in the streets of the Zocalo in Mexico City in charge of her owner Paco, originally from the Tlatelolco area and who currently lives in Ecatepec, State of Mexico. The objective of these tours is for passers-by to get out of the routine and have a good time. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
When Kevin Bubolz embarks on transcontinental travel, man's best friend becomes man's best travel companion.
The pilot and entrepreneur's golden retriever, Ellie, appears to go everywhere with him, leading to a 2023 wrap-up featuring their best selfies together from all corners of the world last year which has, naturally, made the sweet pup viral.
In a video compilation offering background for each snapshot, Bubolz documented the moments leading up to each photo, plus the final product, starting in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where he called the pup from down the sidewalk to take a selfie, leading her to bound down the bricks and jump onto his back.
"Smile!" he encouraged, leading her closed mouth to drop open into a content pant.
Her younger sister, Emma, knows the drill, too, joining the pair, plus his wife, Katie, for a family portrait in front of the Eiffel Tower for the next photo.
Bubolz showed off the impressive trick in Poland, Germany, and White Sands, New Mexico, too, where Ellie even wore a pair of protective goggles without complaint.
In the caption, Bubolz explained that they started training her to "smile" after realizing how photogenic she was—a perfect match to the family's mission to "advance the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of others" through Ellie's therapy training.
After serving in the military and seeing the impact of the "joy and happiness" that animals brought to his unit, he was determined to continue to do the same with his own dogs, and based on the comments, he's more than successful.
"How many of us are sitting on our couch or in public just smiling at our phones right now?" one asked.
"I don’t like dogs but this video made me smile," another admitted, adding, "now I like dogs but only from phone??????????."
"This video made me, as you’d say…smi-yul!????," someone else wrote.
"This was just happifying!! I couldn’t quit smiling!!??," another agreed.
Personally, we think "smile" should become an integral part of every dog training course!
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