AN IRISH-AMERICAN family's beloved dog has become a Guinness World Record Holder thanks to a rather fetching trick involving tennis balls.
Finley Molloy is a six-year-old golden retriever with a paw-ticular set of skills.
Skills that make him a nightmare to play racket sports around.
Because Finley has a very special trick – and it’s one that has now made him an official Guinness World record breaker
The six-year-old pup is capable of fitting not one, not two, not three, not four, not even five but a whopping six tennis balls in his mouth.
All at the same time.
What makes Finley’s achievement all the more impressive is that he taught himself how to do it after deciding he didn’t want to share any of his tennis balls with other dogs in the neighbourhood.
In any case, word of his impressive ball skills soon spread far beyond the quiet neighbourhood of Canandaigua, New York, where he lives with his owners Cheri and Rob Molloy along with their daughter Erin.
It was Erin who first picked up on his impressive talent.
She then decided to chronicle his efforts on Instagram for all the world to see.
At the time of writing, Finley has over 37,000 followers on the platform.
That number is likely to have increased now he has been confirmed as a Guinness World Record following a lengthy application process that took over a year.
After submitting various videos of Finley in action alongside signed witness statements and other pieces of evidence, the Molloy family got the news they had been waiting for last week.
"It's just so exciting," said Erin told USA Today.
"When I look at him I'm like, 'I want to squeeze you, I love you so much!'"
To celebrate his achievement, the family hosted a socially distanced "pawty" complete with a cake from BONES Dog Bakery in Rochester last Sunday.
All of the neighbours were invited to attend alongside some of Finley's closest - and no doubt insanely jealous - dog pals.
"He got pretty excited when all of our neighbours were outside his front yard," Erin said.
"Obviously, he's staying humble, but I think he’s pretty pumped."
Erin has been keeping Finley fans updated with the progress on his record-breaking attempt via social media.
With dog-lovers across the world keeping tabs on the six-year-old pooch, news of his achievement sparked celebrations and messages of congratulations from all corners of the world.
Finley broke the record previously set by a dog called Augie in Dallas back in July 2003.
He went one better than Augie though, who only managed to hold five tennis balls in his mouth at once.
And given the state of play in the world right now, Erin believes Finley's story has provided a much-needed boost to many during what is a difficult time.
"It's lifting people's spirits more than we had ever expected or hoped for, which is really fulfilling," she said.
"And it's really rewarding knowing that something as simple as a good boy is making people smile all over the world."
