‘Wouldn’t have survived long’: Puppy found on Flinders Hwy at White Mountains rest stop

A dog found abandoned at a rest area on an intense 40 degree day is now recovering at the vets and on his way to a loving home after a Good Samaritan came to his rescue.

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

A puppy found abandoned at the White Mountains rest area on an intense 40 degree day is now recovering at the vets and on his way to a loving home after a Good Samaritan came to his rescue.

Cloncurry doctor Jenny Steven was driving back from Townsville when she decided to pull into the White Mountains National Park rest area beside the Flinders Hwy.

“It is a beautiful spot, miles from anywhere,” Dr Steven said.

“It was lucky I stopped as I had just passed a road train, but the beauty of that place always draws me in.”

Dr Stevens said as she got out of the car, she noticed a white dog standing under the single shaded picnic shelter with no water or collar on.

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

“He came up cautiously and sat under the car door,” she said.

“He was dumped I reckon. He had no injuries from falling off a truck, his feet weren’t worn out and he only had one tick on his forehead. But maybe he had run off from his owners.”

Dr Stevens said during her attempts to get the lost dog inside her dog, she realised he had no knowledge of how to jump into a vehicle either.

It’s likely the dog hadn’t been at the rest stop long - dogs that are lost in the bush for several days often develop ‘Lost Dog Syndrome’, a condition where they become so distressed they revert back to instinctual behaviour and adopt a high level of fear, avoiding humans, homes, and being skittish, even when the person they’ve come across is their owner.

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

There was also another mystery surrounding the dog - why was his left eye cloudy and swollen?

Dr Stevens said the puppy travelled well for the rest of the five hour journey to Cloncurry, although she did have to tie him to the door because “he wanted to sit on my shoulders!”

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

The next stop for the pair was Hughenden, and the puppy was quickly named ‘Hughie’

“It was so hot (that day), Hughie wouldn’t have survived long in 40+ degree heat,” Dr Steven said.

The doctor took Hughie to the Cloncurry Vet Service who checked the dog over (no microchip) and operated on the dog, removing his injured left eye.

A now one-eyed Hughie post surgery with Emily and Bella at Cloncurry Vet Services.

Dr Stevens said the vets weren’t able to tell what caused the injury.

“They couldn’t be certain about the cause or age of the injury, but it looks pretty new and “reactive”, red and swollen,” she said.

The vet care was paid for out of Dr Steven’s own pocket, but she said she didn’t mind.

“I’m happy to do that, as I got well paid here,” she said of her job.

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

Now that Hughie was out of the woods so to speak, he needed a home, and Dr Steven wasn’t able to take him in.

After working for 12 months in Cloncurry, the doctor was actually in the middle of finishing up and going home to New Zealand - she’d been in Townsville putting some of her belongings into storage.

Jen Steven stopped and took in the dog, taking him home to a Cloncurry vet, paying for his care, and finding him a loving home.

Thankfully, a Facebook post to the local Cloncurry community page quickly turned up a family Dr Steven knew through work.

“I have loved the outback and will be back,” Dr Steven said.

“Especially now that Hughie is going to stay here with a kind family.”

Hughie the dog, who was found under the picnic shelter at the White Mountains National Park rest stop.

It is an offence in Queensland to abandon or release animals.

This includes going away on holidays or moving house and leaving a pet behind to fend for itself, or deliberately dumping an unwanted animal at the roadside or in the bush.

The maximum penalty for an individual convicted of unreasonable abandonment or release is $48,390 or one year imprisonment.

Originally published as ‘Wouldn’t have survived long’: Puppy found on Flinders Hwy at White Mountains rest stop