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An adorable – and very intelligent – dog has gone viral for his sneaky playtime techniques; he drops his toys over his fence so that passersby will be tempted to play with him.
Johnny Berchtold, an actor from Los Angeles, California, filmed the neighborhood dog named Riley while he performed his trick of forlornly dropping his ball.
Posting the video to Twitter, Berchtold said: “This good wall-doggo dropped his ballo but fear not I returned it to him and thanked him for his service."
This good wall-doggo dropped his ballo but fear not I returned it to him and thanked him for his service https://t.co/ybsVME5xCp— Johnny Berchtold 🎃🔪 (@Johnny Berchtold 🎃🔪) 1535828026.0
Berchtold explained that Riley hangs over the fence every morning to play with passers-by, with his owners even leaving a place mat on the fence so he won't hurt himself.
He said: “Early September, my two good friends Tom and Nicole were getting married, so I spent a lot of time around their apartment. One morning, we were waiting outside of their place for the wedding-event of the day, and I saw Riley from a distance.
“I obviously freaked out, because the sight of him was just strikingly cute. I didn't even realise he had a ball in his mouth until I started filming him… It was quite obvious that he expected someone to lend him a hand, because he looked directly at me and waited there until someone came to his rescue."
The video was re-posted by popular dog critiquing Twitter account WeRateDogs, who gave Riley a whopping score of 14 out of 10.
This is Riley. Every morning he hangs over the wall and drops his toy so the nearest passerby is forced to play wit… https://t.co/xTidkHcf0c— WeRateDogs® (@WeRateDogs®) 1540224495.0
The re-post by WeRateDogs reached over 45,000 retweets on the website.
Berchtold said: “Apparently, he is very popular in the neighborhood, and nearly everyone knows him as the friendly neighborhood dog."
"Sometimes when you pet him while he's on the ledge, he wraps his arms around you so you won't stop or leave," he added.
"I haven't seen the dog since, but Tom and Nicole see him daily. I'm excited to go pay him a visit so I can let him know that all of the internet wants to play ball with him."
Several people could attest to Riley's stardom and tactics:
@dog_rates Hey, I used to live on that street. Congrats on the internet fame, Riley! https://t.co/xTvU54p7V0— Tom Kanter (@Tom Kanter) 1540237401.0
@TeeKanSam WHY WOULD YOU EVER MOVE— WeRateDogs® (@WeRateDogs®) 1540237904.0
@dog_rates Can confirm this is true. I used to live next to him. Sometimes I’d be walking past, he wasn’t out, but… https://t.co/BeLRM8cbea— Mykie (@Mykie) 1540236979.0
@GlamandGore this is wonderful thank you mykie— WeRateDogs® (@WeRateDogs®) 1540237198.0
@dog_rates He’s been at it for years! I used to love him when i lived next door too 😩😭 https://t.co/titr5TcK1h— Go Sophia (@Go Sophia) 1540319157.0
Clearly the world needs more Riley:
@dog_rates I live next door and it’s true 😂😂 https://t.co/xirX5iDhuv— albreannafindme (@albreannafindme) 1540303565.0
@dog_rates More glorious wall doge https://t.co/J922CQfsVr— Mykie (@Mykie) 1540237967.0
One person even wrote a short poem on behalf of Riley and his simple request for play:
@dog_rates Riley looks for frens, my fren While he waits upon the wall A patient doge whose love transcends Throug… https://t.co/vH5O0UcSMl— Jen Coleslaw (@Jen Coleslaw) 1540237848.0
And while Riley may not make you more productive if you're trying to get somewhere, perhaps it's for the best:
@dog_rates I would be late everyday if this dog was on my route to work, very Late— 😷🌑John_Barschat🌑(@🏠)⚛️ (@😷🌑John_Barschat🌑(@🏠)⚛️) 1540224760.0
Berchtold is clearly thrilled for Riley's success, adding: “I'm psyched, considering that Riley deserves all of the love. It's just one of those things that I am happy is out in the world to inspire a smile."
We'd have to agree.
A version of this article originally appeared on Press Association.