Vet Visit Leaves Senior Husky Walking Like That One ‘Drunk Friend’

A video of a senior husky trying to get back to his canalboat home after a trip to the vets has left internet users in stitches.

Racking up more than 193,000 views, the footage shared a day ago by owner Sorcha Elspeth, 30, (@sorchaelspethtattoo) shows her 13-year-old dog Brenin slowly making his way down a set of stairs, sleeping on a train and cautiously hopping off it. This is followed by the canine staggering down the canal side before eventually making his way back onto his home on the water. In the text layered over the clip, Brenin is compared to a “drunk friend.”

Elspeth told Newsweek: “He was in another world.” She said the trip usually takes 45 minutes, but on that day, it took two hours to get home. Many dogs are sleepy or tired for 12 to 24 hours after anesthesia, according to VCA hospitals.

Elspeth, from Scotland, said: “He was walking incredibly slowly home, stumbling over his feet, falling asleep and having to be woken up, startling himself, getting overly interested in smells and staring at leaves, et cetera.”

She added that Brenin was a bit like when you are drunk and your friend wants to talk about everything and engage with everything around them, and you just want to get them home.

While a drunk friend’s delay in walking home is self-inflicted, poor Brenin couldn’t keep up because he was under the influence of sedatives.

“He went to the vet for an oral checkup and vaccination, but he required sedation as his mouth is quite sore and he doesn’t like to show people,” said Elspeth.

What Every Dog Owner Should Know About Canine Anesthesia

Scheduling a veterinary procedure requiring anesthesia for your dog carries risks, and it is essential for pet owners to be prepared and informed. Anesthesia-related deaths are rare, but they can happen, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Factors like breed, size, age, and health condition affect anesthetic risk. Breeds such as greyhounds and bulldogs may have specific sensitivities, and toy breeds are more prone to complications.

Senior and very young dogs face higher anesthesia risks due to organ changes or immaturity. However, Dr. Berit Fischer from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia, said that “age is not a disease.” She added that the anesthetic risk for healthy senior dogs without other diseases is not significantly greater than for younger canines.

It may take several days for a dog to fully recover. Some may whine initially, and they might struggle to regulate their temperature, so owners are advised to keep them warm but not overheated.

TikTok Reacts

At the time of writing, the video shared on May 23 has more than 36,000 likes and almost 100 comments. One was from Elspeth, who said that Brenin “was seriously over estimating the jumps off tube/train.”

One user posted: “He’s living in a temporary trippy world.”

Another wrote: “I bet he’ll wake up with no idea how he get from the vets to home.”

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.