A characterful golden retriever puppy named Huxley achieved viral fame after his owner, Ursula Daphne Aitchison, caught him on camera in the most adorably hilarious situation. Huxley’s hysterical antics during a train journey out of London’s Paddington railway station still have the internet in stitches.
Eight-month-old Huxley was growing bored of the train. Seeking entertainment, the bold pup moved from his assigned seat and stationed himself next to a male passenger in the row in front, instead. Ursula acquiesced, and the newly acquainted pair seemed perfectly content to sit together.
“He got in a mood, which he often does when I don’t pay him enough attention,” Ursula, 31, told The Dodo, explaining Huxley’s decision to leave his original seat in favor of another.
The journey proceeded harmoniously for some time; Huxley was nonchalant and Ursula was left in peace. According to the Daily Mail, Huxley seemed content to stare out of the train window and watch the fields passing by.
But then, Ursula made a game-changing decision; she opened a packet of chips.
Huxley couldn’t pretend not to care a moment longer. “He quickly changed his tune when he heard me eating my chips,” Ursula said. It was what happened next that prompted Ursula, a photographer, to reach for her camera.
In his desperation to reach the salty snack, Huxley threw reason out the window; rather than leave his seat and trot back to Ursula the way he came, Huxley decided the easiest way to secure a tasty morsel of crispy potato was to squeeze his head between the seats.
It quickly transpired that Huxley’s hulking big head couldn’t fit far enough between the seats to reach Ursula’s chip packet, but that certainly didn’t stop him from trying. Before long, Huxley was pulling all manner of ridiculous faces—tongue out, teeth bared, cheeks squashed together, drooling haphazardly.
“It made me laugh a lot,” Ursula told the Daily Mail, “thus capturing it, and all the nearby passengers also enjoyed watching him too.”
On Sept. 18, 2019, Ursula posted her best snaps of Huxley’s funny facial contortions on Facebook, captioned: “Guys I can’t breathe!” Adorable Huxley catapulted into viral infamy, with Ursula’s post quickly garnering 20,000 likes and 2,700 shares.
“I would pay extra for these seats!” wrote one Huxley fan.
“My stomach hurts, I’m dying, this is hilarious,” added another.
According to Ursula, Huxley spent a grand total of 30 minutes sitting beside the kindly stranger in front of her, during which time the puppy’s hilarious chip-chasing antics were caught on camera. “The man next to him said he was a very good passenger,” Ursula told The Dodo, “and the man across the aisle was taking selfies with him. Huxley kept giving him his paw to hold.”
Many people who caught sight of Huxley’s hysterical face-making broke into giggles of their own, and Ursula was even asked to share photos of her pup with fellow passengers.
Ursula may be no stranger to side-splitting canine capers; she has another golden retriever at her home in Stourbridge in the United Kingdom’s West Midlands named Hugo.
According to the American Kennel Club, golden retrievers are “friendly, intelligent, and devoted.” Huxley certainly proved himself devoted to the cause of seeking out a tasty snack if Ursula’s photos are anything to go by.
The breed, says the AKC, stands among America’s most popular dog breeds. “They are serious workers at hunting and field work, as guides for the blind, and in search-and-rescue,” the experts explain, adding, “[They] enjoy obedience and other competitive events, and have an endearing love of life when not at work.”
While it remains unclear whether hungry Huxley ever procured himself any chips, it is certain he acquired plenty of cuteness credit from his owner.
Photo courtesy of Ursula Daphne Aitchison ( Website | Instagram | Facebook )