Joanne Lefson

Moved by the plight of the approximately 475 million homeless dogs in the world, Oscar and his ‘owner’, Joanne, decided to create a unique platform from which to draw positive attention towards the problem of dogs dying for a second chance in shelters around the world. The two came up with the first world tour to be undertaken by a dog: the ‘World Woof Tour’. Selling up almost everything they had to fund it, they set off on an eight-month journey across five continents for the adventure of a lifetime. Travelling around the world with a canine naturally presents a unique set of unexpected challenges, countless obstacles and lots of humorous moments. Some of Oscar’s favorites, such as sniffing out wild lions in the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya, coming face to face with the biggest cat in the world in Cairo, fishing for piranhas in the Amazon and shaking paws with Pluto at Disneyland are all included. The team also visited over 60 welfare organizations and created awareness of dog adoption through the media at every destination.

REVIEWS

"Ahound the World by Joanne Lefson is the story of her bold adventures traveling with her rescue dog Oscar, a terrier mix hound who looked like his parts didn't fit together properly and who would have been put to sleep the next day. Oscar immedialately won her heart, became a well-trained partner for life. Lefson became convinced that she was in the wrong job and felt her purpose in life was to save other animals from being put down. She quit her job, made all the complicated and necessary arrangements to be away for an extended time, and raised the funds and permits to go on an around the world trip with Oscar to raise awareness of how wonderful adopted rescue pets are. This book is delightful, and the travel tales amazing as you follow Lefson's dedicated pathways aHound the world. You'll love this book!" -- Bonnie Neely, Real Travel Adventures, 2011/01/07