Culture

Please Enjoy This Certified Good Boy Reuniting With His Favourite Toy After The Bushfires

OJ the dog is a hero.

by Joseph Earp  16 January 2020
OJ the dog survives the bushfires

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The bushfires raging across Australia for the last few months have provided us with a steady flow of sad, alarming stories — so it’s always good to reflect on the moments of calm and beauty that still exist amongst the tragedy. Enter OJ the dog.

See, OJ is a Labrador from Wairewa. When his home was threatened by bushfires, he and his family evacuated, leaving their possessions behind as they went. Days later, they returned to discover that their home had been burned to the ground.

But somehow, amidst all that rubbish and ash and soot and rubble, OJ spotted something. His oldest, and most beloved toy.

Luckily, OJ’s owners snapped a couple of quick photos of the reunion. The result? A deeply moving, beautiful scrap of joy in the middle of a crisis, and a potent reminder of the ways that these fires have impacted all kinds of life — not just human ones.

I mean, just look at these photos, first shared by reporter Louisa Cheatley, and then by the massive, internationally-recognised Twitter profile ‘WeRate Dogs’.

“Amongst the rubble, OJ found his favourite toy had survived,” the caption goes on WeRateDogs. “14/10 never letting it go again.”

Understandably, the internet is delighted.

The WeRateDogs account and the associated ‘Thoughts of Dog’ account have both been vocal in spreading information about the Australian bushfires over the last few months.

That international attention has been important. Not just because it’s been a way of raising money for victims of the crisis, but also because it’s gone a long way to making clear the severity of the climate crisis, and the urgent need to act.

So there you have it: a reminder of the good things that can still happen in the shadow of the bad.