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Two adventurous dogs have been located after embarking on an unexpected five-week odyssey across South Australia’s Murraylands, where they braved the elements and confronted kangaroos.
Known for their escapades, Rupert and Finni enjoy exploring beyond their backyard.
Their adventures typically begin with one dog coaxing the other to join, often leading to more daring exploits, such as encounters with kangaroos.
However, in March, the usual routine took a surprising turn when Ben Dunbar’s search for the dogs was met with silence from his neighbor, Chris Scanlon.
“I found him deceased in the paddock, which explained why the dogs had run away,” Dunbar shared, reflecting on the unexpected loss of Chris.
Signs and searches for the lost dogs didn’t bring the pets any closer to home.
Hope wore thin as the weeks drew on, until a Facebook post pointed Dunbar to a nearby but largely empty island on the River Murray.
This prompted one final three-hour search in a dinghy and on foot.
“Then just out of the blue, Rupert just popped out of nowhere, I was nearly in tears,” Dunbar recalled.
Both dogs were there – starving and a little withdrawn but alive. Finni was covered in the unmistakable signs of kangaroo warfare but home at last.
In these parts of the state, devices that pick up signals for trackers to send a location are few and far between.
Even if they did work, Rupert somehow found a way to lose two collars during the adventure anyway.
“It’s been a bit of a bizarre five weeks to be honest with finding Chris and both of the dogs missing, there’s kind of been a bit of an emptiness,” Dunbar said.
With the passing of Chris, Finni will now stay with his son, Cody, in Mannum, almost 40 kilometres away.
But the distance won’t keep them apart for long.
“Looking at him it just reminds me of the good times that he had with my dad and I had with my dad and all the family,” Scanlon said.
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