A bottle of pills for one dog's environmental allergies has gone viral after its owner cannily labelled the medicine to butter up her pooch.

Christine Nangle is a television comedy writer from Philadelphia, and she is the owner of Philby (named, Christine says, with no knowledge of notorious Soviet spy Kim Philby).

Philby is a five-year-old pit bull mix, rescued from a shelter, who suffers from some environmental allergies that require him to take pills. And while he apparently hates taking them, who could refuse these?

“He hates taking pills," Christine told the Press Association. “I'm always having to find new ways to trick him into it with treats.

“It just became a joke with myself, to make it less of a chore for me. Whenever we're on a walk and hear sirens or see cops, I warn him that it's him they are coming for because he's too handsome and there are laws against that kind of thing."

Philby the pit bull mix poses for a photograph (Christine Nangle)

The tweet received well over 100,000 likes on Twitter, and while Christine has been attempting to stop using the social media website so much, she said: “This made it hard because people were so fun."

“Many many people have said either 'the pills are clearly working' or 'he doesn't need them.' These people are very smart to notice that Philby is incredibly handsome."

Philby has to take daily medication (Christine Nangle)

And for those worrying about mislabelled pills causing confusion, Christine assures them this is simply a joke for she and Philby to share.

“When someone else is taking care of him, either at boarding or my sister's house, I give them a properly labelled bottle," she said.

Whatever Philby's secret is, he's definitely one of the most handsome dogs around.