A pet parent decided to trick her senior canine into thinking she “escaped” the house, which resulted in a newfound sense of youth.

When Emma Peters entered third grade, her family welcomed home a new dog named Lily Bell, who was only 8 weeks old. The now-16-year-old mini dachshund has been with the family ever since. But as she has entered her senior years, she has slowed down, Peters said.

Peters wanted to give Lily Bell a quick taste of freedom when people came to visit her childhood home recently. She said the gate was left open as people came in and out, carrying bags and items, which gave her the idea, why not let Lily Bell out? She figured it wouldn’t end badly since she knew her small dog did not run fast.

In the TikTok video posted to the account @hazel.bea.weenie, Peters followed Lily Bell while she attempted her “escape.” The dog carefully walked to the open gate, inspecting her options as it normally isn’t left open. She took off as soon as she made it to the driveway. She tasted freedom. Peters couldn’t believe the excitement and youthfulness Lily Bell immediately showed.

Peters followed closely as her dog cruised down the sidewalk. When they returned to the house, she tried picking her dog up, but the independent senior queen wanted no assistance.

“She got such a pep in her step as soon as she was out,” Peters said. “Her energy was up for the next few hours.”

When the extra energy finally fizzled out, Lily Bell climbed back into bed and was “exhausted,” Peters said. But seeing this youthful glow from her senior dog brightened her day. She said she’ll be letting Lily Bell escape again soon.

“I filmed it just to remember the moment,” she said. “I take a lot of pictures and videos of her these days because I don’t know how much longer we have with her.”

Last week’s TikTok video quickly captured people’s hearts, bringing in more than 5.5 million views, 1.2 million likes and 5,655 comments as of Monday.

“I watched it at 2x speed so she could feel faster,” commented a viewer.

A second joked: “Gotta make sure you yell, ‘Hey! Get back here right now!'”

Another compared this video to the “equivalent of letting grandma have 5 margaritas at dinner after church.”

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