Some people have what is known as "wanderlust," defined as "a strong desire to travel." It seems that an Australian Terrier named Rusty has more than his fair share of it in his veins, too.
Rusty has a habit of hitching rides with people he doesn't know, although truth be told, he's never met a stranger.
Rusty lives with his two Border Collie buddies on his family's property. But sometimes the draw of the highway nearby is just too strong. That's when Rusty gets into trouble. "Rusty and the work dogs will sometimes disappear around the property looking for adventure,” Laura Scudamore, Rusty’s owner, related. “They will also sometimes find themselves on the nearby highway having a stickybeak [being nosy].”
Once, about a year and a half ago, Rusty escaped from the care of the in-laws (who own the property) while his family was away and headed out on an adventure. Catching a ride to Chinchilla, two and a half hours away from his home in Goondiwindi, he spent the weekend with a local family who enjoyed his company for a while.
His next adventure was a doozy. While his family was on vacation at the beach, Rusty decided to go on another road trip. Laura Scudamore, his owner said, "It seems that Rusty decided to catch a ride with a [truck driver] who had pulled up for a rest.” Stowing away under the cab of the truck, he traveled unnoticed until they reached their destination.
This time, he ended up over 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away from his home in Queensland in South Australia. Laura's in-laws spent days searching for the little dog, all to no avail. Then they got a phone call from a woman named Heather in Snowtown, South Australia.
Laura explained, “Rusty had traveled the whole way with [Heather’s] husband in his truck. Thankfully, we had a collar on him with a phone number to call. Our next challenge was to find a way for Rusty to make the long journey home."​
When they realized a 17-hour trip home would be quite expensive, Laura took to social media to ask for help. To her amazement, her Facebook post immediately went viral, and people from all over responded. “We were so overwhelmed by offers of help to get him home and are very grateful to everyone who has tried to help," she enthused
“Rusty is home now and starting to wonder where all his attention has gone,” Laura said. “Our main concern now is how we’re going to cater for Rusty’s newfound fame and his expectations around pampering and attention. We’re also wondering how we’ll stop him from taking another adventure!”
Thank goodness the Scudamores had a collar on Rusty with a way to reach them. What about your dog? A microchip and a collar with identification are very important in getting your best buddy returned should he stray. And if he's anything like Rusty, who knows where he'll end up?