STUART HIGHWAY, AUSTRALIA: A famous husky dog who likes to sleep in a refrigerator has been stolen and of course his owner is fraught with anxiety. She says that it is as if he has been swallowed by the ground.
For me it is like someone stole my child
Anne Steinbach
The dog’s name is ‘Oi’. He is the partner of a German immigrant to Australia, Anne Steinbach, who, as I understand it, owns and lives at the Threeways Roadhouse, a travellers’ stop on the lonely Stuart Highway in Australia’s outback 300 miles north of Alice Springs.
Farmers and truckers in the outback know the dog well. They have launched a helicopter search for him. He is also very familiar with backpackers who travel across central Australia. The dog entertains patrons by barking for ice cubes. There are place mats and coolers with his face on them. People take photographs of him at the bar when he barks for the cubes.
Miss Steinback says that he is a Northern Territory and Australian icon. People are asking where he is. He is very special to the place and people want to see him again.
She suspects that Oi has been stolen after security camera footage emerged from cameras on the road which appeared to show him peering from the back seat of a car.
The police are looking. They made enquiries regarding a vehicle of interest and have patrolled several locations. At the moment they have been unsuccessful.
Temperatures in the outback are regularly in the 40°C bracket which is why the husky likes to sleep amongst the the beers in the fridge making a very interesting photograph which I initially throught was an example of animal abuse but which was the opposite.
