All right, as loathe as I am to say it, let's put the books away and get back to the good old World Wide Web.
Don't worry. It's not more fake political stories.
No, you'll like this: pictures of really cute dogs. Well, one in particular — a dachshund in Belfast, Northern Ireland, named Harlso. He's stolen hearts on the internet with a simple but adorable trick: balancing stuff on his head. Soccer balls, light bulbs, a slice of pizza.
We reached his owner, Paul Lavery, who says he discovered Harlso's talent by chance.
One day, he put a toy on Harlso's head and Harlso didn't move.
A photo posted by Harlso the Balancing Hound (@harlso_the_balancing_hound) on
“So we started experimenting with things and rewarded him with treats for doing it,” he says. “And that's how we realized he was a balancing genius.”
Yes. Genius. Just look at that incredible dog.
The moves surprised his owner. “Before that he didn't learn any tricks. He didn’t learn to sit on command. He didn’t learn to give his paw, or lie down. He doesn’t do anything on command. But whenever we bring in something to balance, he jumps up on his chair, sits down, and waits for it to go on his head to get a treat,” he says. “So it's the only trick he knows.”
Lavery and his girlfriend started posting pictures of Harlso to Instagram, and as you can imagine, the feed took off.
A photo posted by Harlso the Balancing Hound (@harlso_the_balancing_hound) on
This week Harlso got featured in a video from our partners at the BBC. At last check, it has almost 400,000 views.
With the sudden fame, though, came more scrutiny. Some felt that Harlso wasn't enjoying the tricks. Lavery wants to assure everyone, Harlso — or Harly to his master — is good with it.
“Harly loves balancing,” he says, while Harlso barks in the background.
We hear you, pooch. Loud and clear.
Harlso's balancing act is here to stay.
A photo posted by Harlso the Balancing Hound (@harlso_the_balancing_hound) on
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