Canadian service dogs watch Billy Elliot the Musical as part of training

It’s already time to throw in the towel on today’s cuteness competition, because these pups are taking home the gold.

Ontario’s Stratford Festival shared an adorable series of images on Twitter that feature service dogs watching a theatre performance.

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According to the tweet, the dogs were visiting from K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs to enjoy a Relaxed Performance of Billy Elliot the Musical.

ICYMI: We had some pawsitivly adorable audience members from K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs during last weeks Relaxed Performance of #sfBillyElliot. Our Next Relaxed Performance is #sfNeverending on October 2nd. https://t.co/xaBwx65W8J pic.twitter.com/otyNjm5pUS

— Stratford Festival (@stratfest) August 15, 2019

Relaxed performances, according to the Festival’s website, are designed to welcome patrons who will benefit from less restricted audience environment than a typical show will provide.

Patrons of all abilities are welcome, including but not limited to, those with intellectual or learning disabilities, sensory processing conditions or autism.

What differs from a standard performance experience is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement within the auditorium, and some minor production changes may be made to reduce the intensity of light, sound and other potentially startling effects.

Experiencing such a performance serves as a way for service dogs to learn how to respond, or not respond, to the goings-on around them while they’re working.

“All of these dogs have a very important job to do. Outings like this truly benefit their training and prepare them for many activities and distractions they will face when working with their handlers,” K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs wrote in a post shared on Instagram.

K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs / Instagram

In addition to this type of experience being beneficial to training, it’s also absolutely adorable.