Some dogs love chasing tennis balls, while others chase squirrels. But Joey the Golden Retriever has a different favorite activity: getting pets from strangers. The friendly pup recently charmed social media users with a video that showed his surprisingly effective way of getting attention from people he meets. Based on the results, Joey has clearly mastered the art of winning affection.
Golden Retriever loves getting pets from strangers, and he has an amazing strategy for it
The clip, shared by Instagram account @joey_how_u_doinnn, begins with Joey sitting outside a café and watching people walk by. A text overlay explains the situation: “Joey is on a mission to get pets, and he has a strategy.” As the video shows, Joey knows exactly where to sit to get the most attention.
Rather than wandering around searching for attention, Joey calmly settles near the entrance of a busy cafe. The video explains that he sits right in front of the doorway, where people naturally pass by as they enter and leave. “He sits in front of the cafe entrance catching pets from people passing by,” the overlay reads.
Even a Golden Retriever can’t win over every single passerby. The video shows Joey sitting alone after several people walk by without stopping. A caption flashes across the screen: “Sometimes it doesn’t work.” The last overlay sums up his outlook perfectly: “But he’s happy with a 50% success rate.”
The video quickly attracted reactions from dog lovers who admitted they would never be able to resist Joey’s charm. “How could ANYONE ever NOT pet him?” one viewer wrote. “Imagine walking by this angel and not petting him?” another commented. “The way I’d be on the ground with Joey so fast,” a third person added. One viewer joked, “How can people walk past? I could never. I would be there for hours — you would be annoyed with me.”
The video was shared by Instagram creator @joey_how_u_doinnn, a popular account with more than 141,000 followers. According to the account’s bio, Joey is known as “the most extraverted dog on the internet.”
