Celebrity charity champion dog spreads its love in Bloem

The most travelled dog on the planet, Oscar Maximus, is stopping off at the Bloem Show this weekend as part of his World Woof Tour which aims to raise awareness about canine adoption.
The furry philanthropist has already travelled to 36 countries in five continents.

Oscar is a shelter puppy that was rescued and adopted from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA by Joanne Lefson. Not only is he an avid explorer, he also has number of accolades under his belt.

In 2005, Oscar was the winner of the title Mutt of the Year. In 2009, he began travelling around the world to promote dog adoption. In 2010, Oscar teamed up with Pedigree for the Ahound South Africa National Tour to make another bark for dog adoption. In 2011, he published the book Ahound the World.

Oscar has his own Facebook page where he chronicles his travels.

His goals include raising South Africa’s dog adoption rates that are less than 10 percent to 100 percent before he dies, Chasing beach bats at Camps Bay, chasing cats and guinea fowl up Table Mountain, barking at monkeys in Kathmandu and stalking lions in Kenya. Others are sleeping in the middle of a King Size Bed and Riding in Hot Air Balloons.

According to Lefson, she wanted to spread the word about dogs being in dire need of good homes. She decided to sell her house to finance the trip and took Oscar travelling along with her.

The World Woof Tour campaign is aimed at convincing the public to adopt dogs instead of buying them. Along the way, Lefson and Oscar stop at charity-run rescue centres and visit dog shelters across the world. Each city tour sees a giant hot air balloon replica of Oscar floating in air.

“When I first met Oscar in a shelter I felt like he really should not be there. I never planned for this to happen. I guess he had a calling bigger than both of us. Travelling around the world has been very exciting and challenging at the same time.

Sneaking into hotels and cabs, begging to climb on planes together, it has been an amazing journey, and it has only just begun. Oscar is a real role model for all his mates in the shelter,” said Lefson.