When Lexi Smith adopted a dalmatian puppy in March in 2018, she probably never guessed he would have such a huge fan base. But the pup’s unique feature is just too cute to ignore.
Wiley has an adorable heart-shaped marking around his nose.
His very first post on Instagram that said simply “Hi, I’m Wiley” earned over 3,000 likes.
Smith, who lives in Colorado, adopted Wiley from a breeder in Oklahoma, where she had a tough time choosing from the litter of 11 puppies. According to Bored Panda, she said:
“He came from a litter of 11, and 8 of them were boys, so I had a tough choice in choosing him. The heart was there, but not fully formed to the point where I believed it would stay since dalmatian spots change so much as they grow. I chose him because the breeder told me that all he did was sleep, snuggle, and eat, so we already had a lot in common.”
While early days with puppies are always an adventure, Wiley was simply too cute not to show off, even when he wasn’t happy with his situation. For example, he is not a fan of baths.
However, he does seem to be a fan of baseball and hiking with his mom.
Smith told Bored Panda that Wiley is “54 pounds of goofy, clumsy, sassy, hungry, cuddly, curious, wild, crazy, silly, happy love.” And she has the photos to prove it!
“No amount of pictures on could ever fully capture all that he is and all that he means to me, he’s my best friend.”
While Smith’s family appears to love Wiley too, they did warn her that getting a puppy could be a big drain on her social life or even doom her “to life as a spinster.” But she’s ok with that.
Since then, the little pup has done some growing up alongside Smith’s parents’ dog Tucker.
And it looks like this little love bug’s heart-shaped nose is here to stay!
While Wiley has 10x the follows his mom does, Smith does a great job of making Boulder look beautiful on both her own and Wiley’s Instagram pages with hiking and nature photos that give us a serious case of wanderlust.
“Photography has always been something that I have toyed and experimented with, and suddenly I had an adorable puppy who made the perfect model. I have a personal account, but creating a separate one dedicated specifically to Wiley seemed like a great way to kind of store all my photos of him and keep a running timeline of his life.”
While Smith says that Wiley has been relatively easy to train, dalmatians are known from their stubbornness.
“Wiley’s truest dalmatian traits are constantly making me laugh. Usually, it’s a giggle paired with shaking my head, laughing off total frustration from his stubbornness, but that’s part of owning the breed. If you can’t laugh it off and be creative in finding a solution and training the naughty traits out of them, life with a dalmatian would be such a challenge.”
It’s no wonder Wiley’s Instagram following continues to grow. This happy pup and his heart-shaped nose could melt even the coldest of hearts.
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