The World’s Best-Travelled Dog

Meet Oscar, a pooch with more air miles than Captain Kirk!

The old saying ‘a dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ took on a whole new significance last year thanks to Oscar and his owner Joanne Lefson. Determined to raise the plight of abandoned dogs around the world (and the fantastic work animal shelters do in looking after them), Joanne sold her home to fund a $500,000 round-the-world trip for her and Oscar.

Throughout 2009, the pair visited 29 countries around the world, from South Africa to Switzerland, Bulgaria to Brazil, with the lucky dog having his photo taken at such internationally renowned landmarks as Machu Picchu in Peru to the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Along the way, he rode on camels and elephants and in helicopters, taking in the real highs and lows of the globetrotting experience!

Awareness-raising

Joanne adopted Oscar from a kennel in 2004, the day before he was due to be put down. She hated the thought of all the other Oscars in the world who weren’t lucky enough to be placed with loving owners and wanted to do something about it. And so the World Woof Tour was born to inspire people in a multitude of countries to rescue dogs from shelters and give them worthwhile lives.

‘I sold my house to fund the trip, but this project has never been about the money,’ Joanne said. ‘It’s about the message and Oscar and I would do it again in a heartbeat… I would literally do anything to help get great animals out of shelters and into loving homes…

‘I wanted to come up with a project that would use Oscar’s perfect package to show the entire world that great dogs – dogs just like Oscar – are available at shelters all over the world. I wanted to change perceptions of shelter dogs being old, abused and disturbed animals. Nothing could be further from the truth.’

On their trip, Oscar and Joanne visited over 50 charity-run rescue centres and 15,000 dogs in shelters – all of whom received a lead donated by parcel company UPS.

The World Woof Tour began in South Africa in May and finished at the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil, just before Christmas. The timing of the conclusion was no coincidence, given the number of dogs that are given as Christmas presents only to be abandoned once the novelty wears off in the New Year.

As Dog Diaries readers know, dogs deserve more consideration that that. Hopefully Oscar will help spread that important message.

Images by:Andre Pipa and The Metro