Plato the Dog Who Winks When Playing Fetch Wins Pet of the Week

From a dog making biscuits just like a cat to a goat breaking and entering into a South Carolina home, we’ve seen some adorable animal antics this week.

Alongside viral moments, we’ve been putting together our Newsweek Pet of the Week from our readers’ adorable pet submissions.

If you want your pet to be the Newsweek Pet of the Week, scroll to the end of this story to find out how to get involved.

Winner

This week our Pet of the Week winner is delightful puppy Plato who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with owner Jadavia Nevins.

The 16-week-old pup is busy exploring the world. Owner Nevins told Newsweek: “He is a joy to be around. Full of energy and very loving.”

During a play session, the owner was thrilled to capture a special moment—when Plato gave the camera a little wink.

“I unexpectedly captured the moment where Plato winks after catching his favorite ball,” explained the owner.

This dog’s love for fetch is far from surprising. Many dogs were bred to fetch items, like Labrador retrievers, and those that honed a good retrieving skill would pass it down to their puppies.

Fetch is the perfect pup activity to burn off some of your dog’s energy and let them show off their athletic skills. One pet owner found a genius way to handle this when he built a custom self-fetch catapult for his dog.

Finalists

As well as our top dog this week, our first finalist is 1-year-old cat Tab Hunter.

Living in California with Ellen Baer who found him as a stray, Tab loves playing with his favorite toys. “He loves colored ping pong balls, foam balls, crinkle frog and jingle balls especially,” Baer told Newsweek.

“I love watching Tab play with his toys and seeing him happy and safe,” said his rescuer. “He is very shy and a bit of a scaredy-cat but also super playful and loves to be around other kitties.”

Our next finalist this week is Miss Basil Tulip, a Chihuahua and Chinese Crested mix breed who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with owner Michael Feder.

“Miss Basil Tulip was a street dog and only weighed 6 pounds when the dogcatchers got her,” Feder told Newsweek. “After a month in the kill shelter, they decided she was too vicious and scheduled her death.”

But it wasn’t to be when the pup was rescued by local group A Home For Spot and fostered.

After Feder’s first dog died at the age of 10, he was looking for a new companion when he stumbled on Miss Basil Tulip online and was stunned by how much she looked like their old dog.

He went to meet her and they fell in love, and today Miss Basil Tulip loves her home—and is a big fan of walks, naps and even spooning.

Last but not least this week is Victor the cat who lives with owner Erin Still in Louisville, Kentucky.

“My daughter has Victor’s mother,” Still told Newsweek. “He is from her first litter of kittens and Victor is just over a year old.”

His favorite things include running outside to tease the dogs and has even been caught moving around his owner’s security cameras to trick her family.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.