A month-long challenge focused on cutting out alcohol for January has become a popular trend to kickstart the new year, but one stubborn dog went viral after making it clear he had no interest in participating.
Every year, millions attempt to go alcohol-free during Dry January, a trend popularized in 2013 by Alcohol Change UK. Newsweek previously reported that nearly one-third of Americans planned to participate in the sober month last year, hoping to reap the health benefits. Cutting out alcohol for a month has been reported to improve sleep, mood, energy, concentration, liver function and blood pressure, plus aid in weight loss.
To avoid any temptations, a corgi’s owners decided to stop going to the pub while walking the dog, a usual pitstop for them. However, in a January 4 TikTok video posted to the account @acombolts, the corgi made it clear he didn’t want to participate in the sober challenge—or break tradition.
The dog stopped in his tracks when he spotted the pub across the street. He glanced in that direction, clearly expecting to go as they had many times before, but the owner began pulling the leash to keep moving forward. Using all of his tiny might, the corgi refused to budge, planting his paws firmly on the pavement as if he never signed up for Dry January.
The clip had reached more than 2.5 million views, 525,500 likes and 2,272 comments as of Thursday. Feeling the dog’s pain, thousands of TikTok viewers flooded the video with support, joking about the difficulty of breaking habits—especially when a favorite hangout is involved.
“All of HIS friends are there, you are destroying his social circle! How dare you!!!!” commented one person.
Another added: “This peer pressure would have absolutely worked on me.”
Defending the canine, someone wrote: “He never signed up for Dry January.”
Others suggested the owners still go to the pub for food and sodas to give their dog his social life back.
Newsweek reached out to @acombolts via TikTok for additional information and comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.