Today in adorable internet news, the world has fallen in love with a dog who became friends with a 17-year-old student on her way home from school.
Elisa Lee, a high school student from Lakewood, California, would regularly see Ralph the golden retriever peering from underneath his front gate.
One day, she decided to give the adorable pooch a fuss - and from there, a beautiful friendship blossomed.
Ralph now waits at the gate every day for Lee to come and pet him.
Lee told BuzzFeed that she would always see the dog’s nose peeping from under the gate, but she was initially worried that if she stroked it, he might bite her.
“Days passed and he was still waiting there, so one of my friends encouraged me to try to pet him,” she said.
It turned out that Ralph was an absolute sweetie and very grateful for the attention. He licked Lee’s hand and, since then, they have bonded each day after school - albeit through the gate.
The pair kept up their friendship for months and months. Then, one day, Lee spotted a man walking a golden retriever nearby.
She soon realised that it was the dog she’d been petting each day after school and strolled on over to ask what his name was.
“I told [his owner] I pet him all the time, and also asked him what’s his name, and he told me it was Ralph,” she recalled.
Recently, Lee shared a photo of Ralph on Twitter with the caption: “This is Ralph, he is a dog that lives near school and waits for me everyday after school.”
Understandably, the majority of Twitter thought he was adorable.
Thank you internet for bringing Ralph-filled joy into our hearts.