When it comes to securing a date, one of the most challenging aspects is making a good impression on a prospective partner while filled with nervous energy.
Many people opt for a wingman to help them navigate the dating pool on a night out - enabling them to come across as an interesting and exciting person who somebody would want to spend time with.
But rather than helping a friend, one woman has been acting as 'wingwoman' for her one-year-old dog after she "fell in love with the dog across the street".
Describing her pug's one-sided love story on Reddit, the owner explained how her dog, Sally, spends hours gazing out their firth floor flat window in hopes of catching a glimpse of a neighbouring golden retriever.
She said: "My dog, who is usually scared of everything, is besotted with the dog over the road.
Sign up to our TeamDogs newsletter for your weekly dose of dog news, pictures and stories.
"I have noticed how she always goes to stare out this one window which is directly opposite but one floor down - a golden retriever called Barney lives there.
"When he is at the window, she just wags her tail while looking at him and he stares back. I can't see if his tail is wagging too.
"But when he isn't there, she pines and sighs. She is in such an awful mood when he isn't there. It's so sad - I just want to cuddle and console her."
The woman explained how Sally and Barney play in the courtyard outside her flats when they're both on a walk at the same time - saying her pug becomes 'jealous' when the golden retriever approaches other dogs.
"They spend a lot of time sniffing each other's bums and play fighting. Sally always chases after him when Barney goes over to other dogs too," said the woman.
"As owners, we haven't said much about it. I'm not sure if Barney's owner has noticed how much my dog loves his dog. We are friendly and have joked about it quickly but I don't think he thought anything of it."
Questioning whether it would be "weird" to ask Barney's owner on a "doggy date" on behalf of her pug, the woman asked users for their thoughts.
While most users agreed she should try to organise a play date for the dogs, others thought it could turn into a great meet cute between the owners too.
One user said: "I don't think you would sound like a weirdo at all! It might even be a good opportunity to make a friend.
"As a dog mum, I would be so excited to hear this and would love to get the dogs together often. What's the worst that could happen? They say no? Oh well."
Another user added: "That’s so cute! Not weird at all. My dog has a 'boyfriend' named Charles.
"They get so excited to see each other that he will drag his owner to my dog and my dog will drag me to him. They’re both fixed so no worries there.
"I’ve requested play dates and have them fine. When we meet serendipitously, we stop for 10 minutes to let our dogs play."
A third said: "Dogs totally find dogs who they love more than anyone else. My late dog, Sandwich, and our friend's dog, Rihanna, were like soulmates.
"Neither of us ever saw our respective dogs treat any other dog the way they treated each other.
"If I hadn’t already been friends with my friends when our dogs became best friends, I think it would have happened as a result."
Do you have a cute dog story to sell? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
