Maureen Ravelo of San Jose, California had no idea that posting a picture of her dog Riley staring at his doggy birthday “cake” with an almost human like grin of delight on Facebook she would be turning her pooch into an viral internet celebrity.
But then a friend of Ravelo’s, John Lipari, posted the photo on Reddit.com. Almost overnight Riley “the Birthday Dog” was the toast of the internet. Blogs and Web sites everywhere, including The Huffington Post, featured Riley’s grinning face. One Web site even edited the grinning dog into the arms of President Obama.
Ravelo is thrilled at her dog’s new celebrity. ”I’m actually happy that a lot of people really enjoy Riley’s pictures because it was just a random picture that I posted,” she told PEOPLEPets.com. ”I didn’t think it would get so huge!”
Riley joined the Ravelo family as a puppy of 4 weeks. He started flashing his trademark grin a few weeks later. “He smiles a lot, especially when you come home from work, he’s really happy to see you,” says Ravelo. ”He can do different faces every single time. Whenever I try to pet him when he’s asleep he gives me this look like, ‘Leave me alone, I’m trying to sleep.’ He’s known for that. Part of him is pretty snobbish, but for the most part, he’s just a pampered poodle with a playful attitude!”
It’s hard not to agree with Ravelo that Riley’s humanistic facial expressions make him feel like more than your average pet. ”Every single time I see that picture online, and the more I look at it, the more I’m convinced that it actually isn’t a dog,” says Ravelo. ”A lot of people have said things like, ‘I’m convinced that it’s a little boy in a dog suit.’”
