Labrador fails guide dog test for being 'too friendly' and is now a hotel concierge instead

Occasionally, failure paves the path to success, and this heartwarming tale of Mr. Walker, the affectionate Labrador, serves as a brilliant example. Mr. Walker, as he's affectionately called, was meant to be a guide dog. However, he soon realized it wasn't his true purpose. The happy-go-lucky pup failed the guide dog test with Guide Dogs Victoria because he was too friendly, per celebritypets.net. However, the sweet canine quickly found the perfect job at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne as their first-ever canine ambassador.

According to the Guide Dogs Victoria website, as an official ambassador for Guide Dogs Victoria, Mr. Walker's description reads, "I greet guests with a warm, furry welcome—and some of them even take me on walks! But the best part of my job is spreading the word about Guide Dogs Victoria to people from all over the world. My life at the Park Hyatt (or the ‘Bark Hyatt’ as I like to call it!) is so exciting, that Penguin Random House has written a book about it! It’s called, ‘The Tales of Mr. Walker.' The book has a collection of stories about my pawsome adventures at the hotel and the illustrations make me look very handsome too!"

As for the canine ambassador to Park Hyatt Melbourne, the website states that Mr. Walker uses his people skills to greet guests and helps raise awareness about the "impawtant role Guide Dogs play in the lives of people with blindness or low vision." The 18-month-old former guide dog joined the team back in July 2017 and his "official duties" include greeting guests at the lobby and attending client meetings. Hyatt even built Mr. Walker a custom-made Tasmanian oak dog bed. The ex-guide-dog-turned-hotel-employee loves the perks of the job as he gets unlimited pats from thankful tourists.

Who doesn't love seeing animals in different places like these? Dogs are not only found in hotels but book stores too. A bookshop in California is run by a golden retriever and she might ask you for belly rubs! Ruby is the "co-owner" and manager of the independent bookstore, Ruby’s Books, not to mention it's named after her and she features in the logo as well.

It's been a few years since the bookshop opened in California and Ruby remains the main attraction at the store. “We often joke that the people come for the books but stay for the dog!” Stacy Gould, Ruby’s adopted mom told The Dodo. She loves to greet customers at the door and walk with them until they settle on a book section. She then lies down in silence near them, giving them company as they read.

The bookstore and Ruby are now key cogs in the local community. “The customers love Ruby and she has become quite the staple here on Sutter Street,” said Gould. Ruby takes her job very seriously and goes through her duties with much diligence. “Her duties include greeting each customer at the door, rolling over for endless belly rubs, sniffing out treats within pockets of our customers, mopping the floor with her very fluffy tail, (pretend to be) reading alongside the kiddos in our children's section,” she added.