Samantha Armytage celebrates her beloved Labrador Banjo’s fifth birthday by sharing throwback photos of the pooch as a puppy
Samantha Armytage has celebrated her beloved pet pooch Banjo’s fifth birthday by sharing a sweet tribute to the pooch on social media.
Posting to Instagram Stories on Monday, the former Sunrise host, 45, shared a photo of herself posing with the adorable Labrador, alongside the caption: ‘Happy birthday dear Banjo’.
Samantha followed this with a string of throwback photos and videos of Banjo as a puppy, including a photo of the dog sitting in the front seat of a car shortly after he’d been adopted.
Happy birthday Banjo! Samantha Armytage, 45, celebrated her beloved pet pooch Banjo’s birthday on Monday by sharing a sweet tribute to the pooch on social media
‘Our first trip home from the airport together. 5 years (minus 8 weeks) ago’, a nostalgic Samantha captioned the image.
The journalist also shared a throwback video of herself cuddling Banjo in the corridor of her home, after waking him up from a nap.
Her final image was a heartwarming image of little Banjo pulling at the strings of Samantha’s lace-up sandals.
‘Our first trip home from the airport together’: Samantha uploaded this photo of Banjo sitting in the front seat of a car shortly after he’d been adopted
‘Remember this?’ The journalist also shared a throwback video of herself cuddling Banjo in the corridor of her home, after waking him up from a nap
Anything but the shoes! Her final image was a heartwarming image of little Banjo pulling at the strings of Samantha’s lace-up sandals
Sam welcomed Banjo into her life in December 2016, revealing at the time her new pup was the ‘best’ Christmas present to herself ever.
Banjo has since made regular appearances on her social media pages, and even boasts his own popular Instagram account.
The pooch also made several appearances on Sunrise during Sam’s tenure as host, and featured as ‘best man’ at her recent wedding to Richard Lavender.
Cameo roles: The pooch also made several appearances on Sunrise during Sam’s tenure as host, and featured as ‘best man’ at her recent wedding to Richard Lavender
Critics have also previously accused Samantha of overfeeding Banjo, with some claiming the dog looks far too large for his species.
In 2019, Samantha raised eyebrows when she shared an Instagram photo of a portly-looking Banjo lazing on the couch.
The photo showed Banjo sprawled out on the couch, with his legs lazily dangling off the side, and his head appearing to be buried against the arm rest.
Big boy: In 2019, Samantha raised eyebrows when she shared an Instagram photo of Banjo lazing on the couch
‘A good weight loss diet is super important for this dog’: A Sydney-based veterinarian told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the dog appeared ‘overweight’ based on his appearance in a photo
A Sydney-based veterinarian told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the dog appeared ‘overweight’ based on his appearance in a photo.
‘A good weight loss diet is super important for this dog,’ the vet – who did not want to be named – told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Just like humans, they are prone to osteoarthritis, increased joint pain from excess weight and heart disease.’
In June 2021, Samantha described Banjo as ‘a 50 kilogram weighted blanket’ during an interview with The Kyle And Jackie O Show.
A healthy weight for male Labradors is around 30 kilos.
Heavy: In June 2021, Samantha described Banjo as ‘a 50 kilogram weighted blanket’ during an interview with The Kyle And Jackie O Show