Another happy couple left The Lost Dogs’ Home in North Melbourne on Sunday 29 November with a new addition to their family, a three year-old Pug/Shih Tzu cross named Skuta.
Skuta was found wandering the streets and was collected by the Home’s Animal Ambulance service. Although microchipped, the contact details were out of date and the owners had since moved house. Despite attempts by staff to track Skuta’s owners down, they were unsuccessful, so Skuta was held in case they came in to claim him.
After a mandatory eight day wait, Skuta was then placed up for adoption, where he attracted the attention of Lyn and Tony – some 1,000 kilometres away!
“We’ve had a pug before and when we saw Skuta we just fell in love with him. Aside from the fact he was a whole state away,” explained Lyn.
The Gilmours live approximately two hours North of Sydney in Wyee on a 14 acre block with two other three year old dogs, Charlie the Labrador and Sebastian or ‘Seb’ the Kelpie cross.
“Charlie is a bit more placid, so he will take to Skuta fairly well, but Sebastian tends to be a bit more rowdy, so we’ll be watching him,” laughed Lyn.
“The boys (Charlie and Sebastian) have visitors occasionally, so they’re used to other dogs. It shouldn’t be a problem. And they have a lot of space to run free on, so they should be fine.”
The couple were happy to drive the 2,000 kilometre round trip to pick up their new friend considering Skuta suffers from brachycephalia – a breathing disorder common in Pugs and similar breeds – which can compromise airways and as such, made plane travel impossible.
“Driving all that way for a dog sight unseen was a bit unnerving, but it’s worked out very well. Staff were very helpful in ensuring he was the right dog for us and he’s a beautiful boy.”
On their first meeting, Skuta’s personality truly came out and his excitement overwhelmed him as he ran eagerly around the grounds of the Home – something he will be getting plenty of at his new 14 acre home.
“He’s going to fit right in and will have so much exercise he won’t know what to do with himself,” said Tony.
