A Golden Retriever’s name comes from its love of fetching and retrieving objects.
However, a dog named Finley Molloy, from Canandaigua, NY, prefers hoarding balls in his mouth rather than bringing them back one by one.
Golden Retrievers tend to hold objects in their mouth a lot, but Finley took this to the next level by setting the Guinness World Record for the most tennis balls in one mouth.
Let’s take a look at how this Golden dog broke the world record by fitting so many balls in his mouth…
Official Guinness World Record Holder
The Molloy family, who resided in New York, acquired Finley as a puppy in 2014.
When Finley was around two years old, the family noticed that he absolutely adored tennis balls and loved to carry them around in his mouth.
As a young two-year-old, he could fit four tennis balls in his mouth, but as he got older, the number grew.
Erin Molloy, Finley’s owner, told Guinness World Records, “My dad would throw him a tennis ball, he’d catch it, drop it, then wait for my dad to throw another. Rather than bringing just one ball back to my dad, he brought back all six! He’s been a ball hoarder for quite some time now.”
You read it right!
The amazing Finley broke the Guinness World Record for holding 6 tennis balls in his mouth, which is one more than the previous record holder. [1]
Augie, a fellow Golden Retriever, was the previous holder of the world record in 2013, with five balls held in his mouth. [2]
When Erin learned about the previous record of five balls, she immediately applied on the Guinness World Record website for the new record.
It took some time, but finally, on 23 February 2020, Finley was awarded with the certificate of “The Most Tennis Balls Held In The Mouth By A Dog”.
In the description, they wrote: “Finley is a golden retriever who loves to swim, play fetch, and chase the occasional animal that wanders into his backyard.”
Finley loves his balls so much, and you can clearly see it.
View this post on Instagram
While in the process of becoming the official record holder, Finley became quite famous on Instagram, gaining over 47.6K followers.
For Finley’s sixth birthday, the family had a birthday cake made in theme with his new record title.
“I hope people look at Finley and see pure joy, and really understand that he’s the happiest dog. He not only brings joy to his family, but people all over the world,” Erin said in an interview for Guinness World Record.
Finley’s record was finally published in the Guinness World Records book in 2022. It has a picture of him smiling with six balls in his mouth.
The whole family is super proud of their boy, and they just can’t hide their excitement. “Every time my Mom sees the Guinness book in the store, she opens it to my page for everyone to see,” Finley shared on his Instagram.
Finley is now rightfully retired, but he still enjoys playing fetch, carrying his balls, swimming, and relaxing.
Guinness World Record has published this video that features Finley, as well as other dogs that hold Guinness World Records.
References:
[1] Most tennis balls held in the mouth by a dog. (2020, February 23). Guinness World Records. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-tennis-balls-held-in-the-mouth-dog
[2] Kennel, A. P. D. (2017, July 29). Guinness World Record Dogs | Airy Pines Boarding Kennel. Airy Pines Boarding Kennel.
