Nope… not a #Friday  joke. In December Porter, Ginny and Monty, which had been rescued by the SPCA, had international audiences tuning in to see them perform a world first – driving unaided around a race track, live on national television.

The trio of misfit mutts from the Auckland SPCA successfully put their paws in the 10-to-two position on the steering wheel and drove a Mini Countryman solo down a race track in Auckland.

The feat made headlines with the BBC, the New York Daily News, the New York Times, The Guardian and the Daily Mail, and science blogs from international journals Live Science and the Smithsonian.

Schooled by New Zealand animal film trainer Mark Vette and his team, Monty, a giant schnauzer cross, Ginny, a beardie whippet-cross and Porter, a beardie-cross, were put through a 12-week programme and taught to drive a car unaided.

The stunt was part of an SPCA campaign to prove rescued dogs were just as intelligent as other dogs.

src: http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/8244968/Top-Gear-lines-up-NZs-driving-dogs #DrivingDogs   #RescueDogs