The Pilbara has a new Red Dog

There is something about the Pilbara’s kelpies and going for an extended stroll.

First there was Red Dog, the Pilbara’s favourite son whose habitual roaming across WA put the region in the spotlight on the big screen in two film adaptations.

Now there is Rusty, a red and tan kelpie which ended up in Perth after hitching a ride with a truckie while his owners were out of town.

Rusty lives in Onslow with his owners Reece Hay and Jayde Archer. Last week the couple left him with carers when they went down south for a wedding.

Rusty managed to escape the yard and went walkabout, eventually being found about 80km out of town by a truckie at a truck stop on the road into Onslow.

The truckie took Rusty to Perth with him so he could get a vet to check his microchip and locate his owners.

It was a post on Facebook however which reunited the family.

Mr Hay put the call out on Onslow Discussion Board and someone who had seen a post of a similar looking dog quickly responded with the news he had been picked up just out of town.

Mr Hay said said the dog, like most kelpies, had a habit of getting overexcited but was not known as an escape artist.

“This is the first time he has really tried to get out and go anywhere,” he said.

“He usually has a collar on too but he had broken that a day earlier, so luckily he was microchipped.

“I didn’t really expect to find him so quickly, we just about had half the town out looking for him.”

Hay said Rusty was beside himself upon being reunited with his owners in Perth. The couple are currently planning the best way forward to bring him back up to Onslow.

For the full story and more pictures pick up a copy of the Pilbara News next week.

Meanwhile, here’s a preview to the prequel of Red Dog.

And if that’s not enough Australian furry animal happiness for one day, here’s the quokka selfie to rule them all.