Life is confusing. This is a fact. And sometimes, this confusion comes in the form of a fake tennis ball! Recently, @zebbythegolden shared a hilarious video of a sweet golden retriever named Zebby getting confused after an unexpected encounter with a lemon.
“POV: My golden retriever thinks every yellow object is a tennis ball,” wrote Zebby’s mom in the text overlay of the hysterical TikTok. Honestly, I get it, Zebby! It does look like a tennis ball, sort of! An easy mistake to make!
In the sweet and silly clip, we see Zebby carefully assessing a lemon from afar while on a walk with his mom. He stands tense and alert, looking intently at the citrus fruit.
“Come on, buddy,” says Zebby’s mom. “It’s a lemon.”
Zebby is unconvinced. Finally, after some encouragement from his mom, he goes over to investigate the lemon from a closer vantage point. After a few sniffs, Zebby is disappointed to discover that this tennis ball-shaped fruit is, in fact, not a tennis ball.
“See? I told you!” says Zebby’s mom. “Alright, let’s go, buddy.”
Sigh. Poor Zebby.
After the initial disappointment, Zebby turns around and sees the entire lemon tree! He pauses for a second, seeming to be confused once more about the round yellow fruit. He probably thought the lemon tree was a tennis-ball tree, which is honestly hysterical to think about.
“No, they’re lemons,” says Zebby’s mom as they pass the lemon tree. It is just too cute!
“But Mom, That’s a Whole Tennis Ball Tree!!”
Tatiana-G / Shutterstock.com
TikTok loves this goofy and very confused golden retriever. The video currently has 46,000 views, over 5,400 likes, 41 comments and 288 saves. In the comments, TikTokers joke about the silly golden retriever, some even defending his confusion.
“He’s like that ain’t right partner,” wrote one TikTok user.
“He’s been bamboozled!!!” exclaimed someone else.
“leave no ball looking item unturned,” joked another person.
Definitely watch this hilarious clip for a smile, and be sure to follow Zebby for more cute golden retriever videos!
Related: This ‘Stage 5 Clinger’ Golden Retriever Puppy Deserves All the Attention
This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Dec 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.