Leonie Allan was walking Rex, her 10-year-old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon near Bells Beach in Torquay, Australia,
when she noticed that an adult kangaroo had been killed near the road. Allan knew
that marsupials are often killed while trying to cross the road, so she thought
no more about it; however, Rex gave it a lot of thought.
Later in the day, Allan saw her family pet pointing and went to investigate. She
originally thought that Rex had found a snake, but to her surprise, Rex dropped
a joey at her feet. It seems that although the kangaroo was dead, Rex had found
the four-month-old joey in the pouch of the dead mother. He gently pried it out
of the pouch and just as gently carried it to his owner.
Rex was so tender with the little guy, that the joey was calm and unmarked. The
kangaroo jumped up to Rex, who began to sniff and lick him.
The joey, aptly named Rex, Jr., was turned over to the Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary
where he will be hand-reared until he is 18-months-old and then re-released into
the wild.