Dog hitches 1,500km cross-country ride in the back of a truck
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A crafty Australian terrier from outback Queensland has crossed 1,500 kilometres of the country, ending up in South Australia after stowing away in the back of a passing truck.
Laura Scudamore's dog Rusty had been staying with her in-laws on a cattle property outside Goondiwindi, on the Queensland and New South Wales border, while she and her family were on holidays.
This past weekend the three-year-old dog somehow managed to stow away on the back of a truck stopped in the area.
"Rusty's quite happy there [at the in-laws] but he makes a habit of sneaking off to the highway and trying to befriend people as they drive past," Ms Scudamore said.
"Last weekend he snuck down and apparently stowed away underneath this truck.
"Some point along the trip the driver realised he was there, but he was in the middle of nowhere, so he took him home to Snowtown.
"Thankfully Rusty had a collar on with a number for my in-laws."
Ms Scudamore's in-laws were contacted and informed about the stowaway and are now trying to find a way to have Rusty returned.
Funny thing is — this isn't the first time Rusty has pulled this kind of stunt.
In late 2016 he made his way to Chinchilla, only 230 kilometres away from home.
"So it's not completely surprising," Ms Scudamore said.
"He's so friendly, that if someone pulls over he'll just happily jump in the car."
Ms Scudamore is appealing for help on social media to help bring Rusty home.
"I've been looking into dog couriers and they're quite expensive, so I'm trying on the off-chance that someone on my Facebook knows someone, and it's just gone crazy," she said.
"The people who have him are really looking after him. They're sending us photos of Rusty down there.
"We've just got to find a way home for him now."
Topics: human-interest, animals, goondiwindi-4390, qld, snowtown-5520, sa
