Courtesy: Oscar World Woof TourHere's something to make you feel lazy: This puppy climbed Mount Everest.
His name is Rupee and he's a mixed breed that his owner, Joanne Lefson, rescued from a dump in Northern India. At the time, Rupee was 8 months old, starved, dehydrated and barely able to walk.
"When I saw him on that dump site he couldn't have had more than an hour to live. He couldn't even walk ten meters without collapsing," Lefson told The Daily Mail. But she saw something in him: "The little fellow had heart."
And not only did Rupee climb Mt. Everest, he was the first dog to ever do it.
Rupee and Joanne climbed for 10 days to reach base camp, 17,000-feet above sea level.
"My greatest concern was wondering if Rupee could actually make it," Lefson recalls. "I prepared for the worst and arranged an extra porter just in case Rupee needed to hitch a ride."
For those who may be concerned, Joanne consulted a vet before the trip and the vet said that, because Rupee was born in the Himalayas, the altitude would not affect him or make him sick.
And Rupee, who has traveled with Joanne to the Taj Mahal and Nepal, among others, loved it: "A memorable part of the trip was seeing Rupee touch and walk on snow for the first time, he loved it. He played in it at every opportunity, chased it and even tried to chew it at times."
Joanne was actually supposed to make the trek with her dog Oscar, another rescue that she found in South Africa. The two had previously traveled to Brazil and Paris and Italy and many, many more exotic locales.
Sadly, Oscar was hit by a car and died before he could make the trip.
"Oscar gave a face to the masses and made us realize that even when just one dog is adopted, we may not change the world but it will change the world for that animal forever, and it might just make it to the top of the world, too," Joanne says in support of animal adoption.
She continued, "Rupee is simply an extension of Oscar's legacy and a fine example of what can be achieved when a homeless dog is given a second chance."