A crowd of about a dozen showed little reaction when a performance of “Billy Elliot: The Musical” finished up as part of Ontario’s Stratford Festival.
That’s not because they didn’t like the show. It was, rather, because they were a group of good boys and girls, CNN reports.
The future service dogs saw the production as part of their training. A photo of them looking adorable in the theater as they watched attentively has recently gone viral.
They’re enrolled in a two-year training program provided by K-9 Country Inn Working Service Dogs. As part of the training, they go to crowded places to get used to “the unfamiliar lights and sounds, rapid movements and bustling crowds they might encounter with their handler,” according to CNN.
Another class of dogs will attend the same theater in October.
“The dogs were extremely well behaved,” said Ann Swerdfager of the Stratford Festival. “We hope they will join us for years to come.”
Watch a video about the dogs: