Woman Brings Dog on Round-the-World Adventure to Raise Awareness of Shelter Dogs

Joanne Lefson took her dog, Oscar, to 29 countries to raise awareness of shelter dogs and help them find homes.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on December 22 2009

Shelter Dog.

He’s been to South Africa, Botswana, Croatia, China, Costa Rica, and 25 more countries, but Oscar is no jet-setting sophisticate. He’s hairy, he drools, and he greets friends and strangers alike by sniffing their butts. But most people don’t seem to mind his uncouth manners: he is, after all, a dog.

Oscar, a mutt, was rescued from a kennel in South Africa five years ago by a woman named Joanne Lefson.

“If I hadn’t gone to the kennel that fateful day Oscar had one more day left and would have been put down,” Lefson told the Telegraph. “When I discovered what a wonderful dog Oscar was it broke my heart to think how many ‘Oscar’s’ are still out there and simply just don’t get that second chance.”

So Lefson decided to go on a worldwide mission to alert people to the plight of shelter dogs—taking Oscar along for the ride, of course. She sold her house to fund a 6-month £250,000 (about $400,000 US) voyage across the world that crossed five continents.

She and Oscar posed for pictures in front of famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal—but more importantly, they went to visit 15,000 shelter dogs at animal shelters around the world, focusing the press’ and the public’s attention on these neglected animals. While visiting the shelters, she also distributed free dog leads, which had been donated by UPS, to each animal.

Now that the voyage is finally over, Lefson and Oscar are both getting some much-needed rest. But while the trip was whirlwind, Lefson says she’d do another “Woof Woof Tour” in a heartbeat to help shelter dogs get their due.

“I wanted to come up with a project that would use Oscar’s perfect package to show the entire world that great dogs, dogs just like Oscar, are available at shelters all over the world,” she said.

“I wanted to change perceptions of shelter dogs being old, abused and disturbed animals. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Thinking of adding a dog to the family? Follow Lefson’s lead and adopt an animal from one of the shelters listed on http://www.petfinder.org

Filed under: Animals and Pets, Heroes, Non-Profits,

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