Lockdown walkies! Boston Terrier Gomez chases a tetherball in circles after owner finds an ingenious way to cope with coronavirus restrictions
- Fiona Dalwood, from Melbourne, uses a tetherball to keep her dog entertained
- She came up with the idea when Victoria introduced further Covid restrictions
- Footage, taken on August 3, shows Boston terrier Gomez enjoying the new game
A pet owner found an inventive new way to keep her dog entertained amid the coronavirus lockdown, by turning her back-garden tetherball into a never-ending game of fetch.
Fiona Dalwood, from Melbourne, has been using a tetherball set to entertain and exercise her dog during stage four of the coronavirus lockdown in Victoria, which limits daily exercise to one hour per day.
Video footage, taken on August 3, shows her Boston terrier Gomez energetically running around chasing the swinging tennis ball.
Fiona Dalwood, from Melbourne, has found an inventive new use for her tetherball – it keeps her Boston terrier Gomez occupied amid stage four of the coronavirus lockdown in Victoria
Gomez runs at full speed round and round in circles, no doubt getting dizzy as it is determined to catch the tennis ball.
The dog can be heard panting as it enjoys the energetic, yet repetitive, daily exercise, chasing the ball endlessly around a totem tennis pole.
Fiona shared her inventive new idea and the hilarious video of Gomez on Twitter.
She wrote alongside the footage: ‘Took the dog for a walk #melbournecurfew.’
Fiona came up with this ingenious way to exercise Gomez after stage four of lockdown was imposed in Melbourne on August 2, lasting six weeks, in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Under the strict restrictions, people are only allowed out of their homes to shop for food and essential items, to access medical help, for care and caregiving, daily exercise and work.
Video footage, taken on July 3, shows Gomez enthusiastically chasing the swinging tennis ball round and round in circles, seemingly not getting bored by the dizzying task
Under strict coronavirus rules in Melbourne, dog walking counts towards the owner’s one hour of daily exercise a day, as people are urged to only take pets out for short walks
All exercise must take place within a 5km distance from homes and is limited to one hour, once per day.
Longer dog walks count towards the owner’s one hour of daily exercise and the Government has urged people to only take their dogs out for short walks to relieve themselves.
There is also a new curfew imposed on residents between 8pm and 5am.
Victoria reported a record of 725 new cases of coronavirus and 15 new deaths on August 5, the highest daily totals since the beginning of the pandemic.
They have since reported another 471 cases and eight new deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 13,035 and deaths to 725.
This comes as the total number of cases of coronavirus in Australia rises to 19,444 and the amount of deaths reaches 247, according to official figures.