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A golden retriever who broke the world record for stuffing tennis balls in his gob has cruelly seen his tremendous efforts written off as 'not an official achievement'.

Despite evidence of his world-record skill on Instagram, the strict paperwork rules put in place by the people at the Guinness World Records means he hasn't yet met the requirements to have it formally recognised.

So we're going to do it instead. This is Finley. He is six years old. He can hold six tennis balls in his doggo mouth, more than any dog has ever done, and we want you to know that, in our eyes, despite the haters, he is the undisputed champion of the world.

The 'official' world record is held by a fellow golden retriever named Augie, who managed five back in 2003.

Although we in no way wish to diminish the incredible feat which Augie achieved, we do have to recognise that six is a bigger number than five.

(Image: Instagram) (Image: Instagram)

Finley lives in New York with his parents Cheri and Rob Molloy, who noticed he had the potential to rival the record when he reached two years old, as reported by Democrat and Chronicle.

Describing how he gets six tennis balls in his mouth with no human help, they say the first three or four go down with ease. It's never an issue.

But for the fifth and sixth balls, he gets his paws involved, holding the balls in place while he pops them in.

When they are all in place, his cheeks are stretched wide like a hamster, often with only a single gnasher holding them in place and preventing them from tumbling out.

When he's collected them all, he wags his tail furiously to make sure you're paying attention.

It all began when he would attempt to gather as many tennis balls in the back garden as he could, quickly learning to nab five before graduating to six.

Cheri and Rob's daughter Erin did her research and realised that their doggo was, in fact, the best in the world at his chosen hobby.

She's been in contact with officials trying to get it recognised for months but it's been a 'challenging process' with strict requirements.

Fortunately for us, Finley's exploits are posted on Instagram to his 31,600 followers, proving his tennis ball prowess.

The humans with the big books might not recognise you Finley, but you'll always be our number one.