Hobart’s Liza-Jane Sowden adopts Taxi from Vanuatu

A NORTH Hobart woman who fell in love with a wild dog in Vanuatu has this month been reunited with her furever friend.

Liza-Jane Snowden with Taxi, a dog she rescued and brought to Tasmania after finding him in Vanuatu. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

A NORTH Hobart woman who fell in love with a wild dog in Vanuatu has been reunited with her furever friend.

Liza-Jane Sowden met Taxi the dog while holidaying on the island of Santo earlier this year.

The friendly pooch followed Ms Sowden everywhere — including to her friend’s wedding — leaving her feeling she had no choice but to adopt him and bring him home to Tasmania.

After a crowd-funding campaign, countless medical checks and a journey across the globe, Taxi has arrived in Hobart.

“I was worried because how’s he going to go,” Ms Sowden said.

“He’s a wild street animal on a plane, he had to fly via New Zealand and spend the night, but he turned up, he wasn’t traumatised at all, he recognised us, he was full of love and affection.”

Taxi has joined the home of Ms Sowden, her partner and their Hobart rescue dog Zorro.

Zorro was adjusting well, Ms Sowden said, though she added there were still some behavioural issues to manage with Taxi.

“There’s a lot more to think about — it was initially more the let’s get him here, then we said we’ve got a lot more to do,” she said.

“But he’s a beautiful dog and Zorro’s a beautiful dog and I suspect they’ll be great mates.”