Kangaroo thinks he's a dog

Two-year-old Dusty the kangaroo is convinced he is a dog. Ashley Stewart and his family farm at Wittenoom Hills, 60 kilometres north-east of Esperance, in Western Australia. Mr Stewart rescued the joey after its mother was killed when hit by a car in a road accident.

"We weren't sure he would even survive but we fed him and of course he's just taken off from there," he said. "He lives on the back patio. We've actually had to go and buy a third dog bed for him to sleep in because he used to pinch one of the beds from the dogs."



Mr Stewart said Lilly the golden retriever and Rosie the border collie loved their kangaroo. "He thinks Lilly is his mum, he's always grooming her, they're always together and if Lilly goes out of the yard he pines for her and sort of hops up and down the fence until he's let out to go with her." Mr Stewart said Dusty wore a collar like a dog.

"When he was little we let him out during the day and then we'd get him at night and lock him back up in the backyard and we couldn't find him because they don't make any noise and they just sit very still so I'd have to go out in the dark with a torch. So I got a collar and I put some reflective tape on it so it would shine out in the torch light and I could find him."

There's an audio interview with Mr Stewart here.