Tuesday 24 November 2009

loyal dog saves the life of man lost in the mountains

Andy Purdon, hunting wild horses (brumbies) in the mountains, and dressed only in T-shirt and jeans, was accidentally knocked unconscious by his own horse, and spent three nights in cold, wet conditions after he regained consciousness. If it hadn't been for Scooter, a working dog who stayed with him, he might have died from the cold.

Reading the story in Stock and Land, I was interested to learn that Purdon spent some of the time cuddled with the dog in a wombat burrow. They sure are useful hiding places. In the terrible fires last February a woman and her children survived by hiding in a wombat hole.

And here's a short clip (warning - a bit sad, but the dogs are alive and recovering) of two dogs who survived those fires by hiding in wombat holes.

Back to the story of Scooter and Andy Purdon... apparently Purdon killed a snake and offered to share it with Scooter, but neither of them could eat it. I've heard that snake can taste okay, but I wouldn't want to be desperate enough to eat it!

I'll be waiting to hear whether Purdon's horse is found safely, together with the second dog that disappeared with the horse - Wags, Scooter's son.

5 comments:

Monica said...
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Johann The Dog said...

Interesting story!!! I hope they find Wags and the horse...would be a great ending all around.

parlance said...

Johann, this could be one of those stories you read in the paper, or on the Net, and you never get to hear the final outcome. I hope I can find out what happened to Wags and the; horse, but I fear I will never know,

Noah the Airedale said...

Gosh I hope the horse and Wags are found. I couldnt read the story as I'm a big sook.

D x

parlance said...

Noah, if your family hears whether the horse and dog are safe, I'd love to know. I can't find any info in the Victorian papers.