Carla La Tella
Family & Pets

Meet the ute-driving pup bringing joy to the world

The owners of a now-viral pup who was filmed behind the wheel of a work ute have been blown away by the fact that their innocent video has brought so much joy to people around the world.

Lexi the Jack Russell was recorded steering the Zschech family ute around a paddock on their farm in south-western Victoria – and the global responses they have received have been overwhelming.

"I've had messages from Finland, Canada, America, Great Britain," Cam Zschech, Lexi's owner, told A Current Affair.

"It took off a bit more than I thought. I had all these people messaging me. I can't believe it. I still can't believe it really."

Ian and Cam have a 1500-acre farm just outside Hamilton, Victoria, and they run grain crops and have about 2000 ewes.

"I've been here (for) the long 21 years of my life. It's a place that I'll probably be forever," Cam said.

"We got Lexi about 14 months ago. She was really quiet when we got her. We thought we had a good one, but she's turned out to be so much more than that."

As it turned out, Lexi has become an internet sensation after her efforts behind the wheel.

"I learned to drive with Dad in the passenger seat. We'd put it in low gear and we'd idle along and I would steer. I thought I'd try and teach Lexi," Cam said.

The attention that their pooch has received has brought the father and son even closer together.

"It's great," Ian said. "And here we are, near Hamilton. It's a beautiful part of the world."

For those wondering just how accomplished Lexi is behind the wheel, don't overthink it. To efficiently feed all the sheep, Cam often leaves the ute in low gear and Lexi jumps on the back to distribute hay around the paddock.

However, Lexi's latest role, where she sits up in the driver seat, is only to make people smile. She’s only ever left in the ute on their property, in a controlled environment, along a flat paddock.

Cam and Ian said they are just out to give everyone a laugh.

Image: A Current Affair 

Tags:
Family & pets, dogs, cute, Victoria, Viral