D Monday, December 21, 2009 METRO Shaggy dog story: Oscar at the Great Wall of China, in Rio, at Pisas Leaning Tower and with owner Joanne Lefson in Thailand Pictures: Caters Phileas Dogg: Oscar finds the pyramids of Egypt hot going at the halfway point of his round- the-world tour to raise awareness of stray dogs A-hound the world This dog deserves a medal for his globe-pawing antics. An Oscar, maybe ITS a hound the world in 80 days the Disney-style tale of Oscar the dog and his travels to see the planets most famous landmarks. Taking in 29 countries across five continents, Oscar has seen everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal. Just a day from being put down, Oscar was rescued from a South African ken- nel by Joanne Lefson five years ago. In May, the pair began a journey hoping to inspire millions to help save his fellow canines living as strays. Dodging crocodile-infested rivers, walking and even weeing on the Great Wall of China and escaping Italian police, Oscar finally finished his tour last week in Rio de Janeiro. By JO STEELE The 280,000, six-month trip which Ms Lefson funded by selling her home took in more than 50 char- ity-run rescue centres. If I hadnt gone to the kennel that day, Oscar had one more day left and would have been put down, she said. It broke my heart to think how many Oscars are still out there and dont get that second chance. I wanted to come up with a project that would use Os- cars perfect package to show the en- tire world that great dogs are available at shelters all over the world. Ms Lefson, 38, said there were some hairy moments on their trip. The scar- iest five minutes was when Oscar went for a swim in the crocodile-infested Zambezi River in Zambia. It was a mir- acle he wasnt swallowed, she said. Oscar, who only visited countries that did not require pets to be quaran- tined, even found love. Zara, an older dog at a Bucharest shelter, is to fly to Cape Town to meet up with him soon. X Factor denied No.1 by Rage campaign Second: McElderry Winner: De la Rocha POP mogul Simon Cowell said he was gutted at losing the battle for the UK Christmas No.1 yesterday as Rage Against The Machine beat X Factor winner Joe McElderry to the top spot. The rap metal act saw their expletive-ridden 1992 hit Killing In The Name sell 500,000 copies to become the first ever UK Christmas No.1 available only through downloads. McElderrys The Climb chalked up sales of 450,000, and the 18-year-old took his defeat graciously, saying: Im just delighted to be in the charts. Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against The Machine said a large portion of the proceeds from the single will go to a homeless charity. Irelands chart-topper wont be announced until Christmas Day, but DJ Dave Davin, who presents Spin 103.8FMs chart show, said that though the Rage Against The X- Factor movement is a powerful one, it might not be strong enough. Id like to see them do it, but Joe McElderry is going to be a big stocking filler at Christmas. I think Joe will take it. q THE couple behind the Facebook campaign to get the f-word-ridden Killing In The Name to the UKs Christmas No.1 were last night letting their victory sink in. Jon and Tracy Morter, from Essex, England, said getting the song to the top of the charts was pretty amazing, even if the real winner in all this is record company Sony through the amount of sales the campaign has generated. Simon Cowell called the Morters to congratulate them on their campaign last night. Mrs Morter said the campaign started as a silly idea to spice up the charts. How can you top putting one of your favourite bands at the top of the charts at Christmas? Mr Morter said. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html