Australian Couple To Hire Private Jet To Fly Pet Dog Stranded In New Zealand

An Australian couple has decided to book a private jet to fly their stranded pooch -- a former street dog -- from New Zealand before Christmas.

The couple, identified as Natasha Corbin and David Daynes, had been living in Bali six years ago when they first saw the street dog, which they later named Munchkin, Times of India reported.

"When we decided to move to Bali, my partner had one rule for me because I'm such a dog lover and that was that I wasn't allowed to interact with any dog. I just ignored all of the dogs as best as I could and this dog, Munchkin, she was just a little tiny puppy, would follow us around because she had just somehow ended up near our villa," she told ABC News.

However, they never thought it would be this difficult for them to take the dog to Australia along with them. The couple then moved to New Zealand in 2019 after they found out that international pet quarantine restrictions made it easier for people to bring a dog to Australia from New Zealand rather than Indonesia.

The couple, however, had to rush to Gold Coast earlier this year as Corbin had to undergo surgery. Now, the couple is willing to spend tens and thousands of dollars to hire a private jet to get their pooch to Australia. However, the journey is not going to be easy due to coronavirus-induced restrictions.

"One of the biggest challenges we have is that getting the dog out of New Zealand she needs to go through Auckland, and flights to go from the North Island aren't considered green zone. Also, flights from the South Island of New Zealand direct through into Queensland have largely been canceled, and there's very little availability," she said.

Hiring a jet would cost them $40,000 to $45,000, so Corbin has reached out to the local community to find people who would want a seat on the plane.

"I have been inundated with people sharing their stories of how they've been stuck and they've had their flights canceled over and over again. They're just desperate to get back with their family for Christmas," she told the outlet.