KURMOND resident Sarah Haora got a call from Sony at midday on Wednesday and had exactly three hours to get her two beloved dachshunds bowtied and over to Star City so they could strut down the ARIA Awards red carpet in the arms of electronic duo Peking Duk.
The pooches, Maluka (red, almost three) and Avalon (black and tan, nearly 8 months), are signed with Animal Extras pet talent agency, and this was their first paid gig.
“The boys [from Peking Duk] wanted two sausage dogs just randomly to carry down the red carpet, because they love dogs and they had a dog in their last film clip. So they contacted the agency and they contacted us,” said Ms Haora.
Ms Haora was at work at her Riverstone shop, The Music Base, at the time, so was cutting it fine when she had to drive home to Kurmond and back out to the city in under three hours.
“We made it at 2:58pm. Highlights of the evening were [the pups] being patted by Jimmy Barnes and Jessica Mauboy, and riding in a cadillac down the red carpet,” said Ms Haora.
The dogs posed as dates for the night for the band members - Avalon on the arm of Adam Hyde who named her ‘Sally’, and Maluka escorted by Reuben Styles who decided she would be named ‘Tina’.
Ms Haora said she was very proud of her “Hawkesbury rock pups”.
The dogs were signed with the talent agency after they won a number of dress-up competitions around the country.
“I’ve loved dressing them up and putting them in competitions. They’re very well travelled,” said Ms Haora.
They have their own social media presence, as The Adventures of Maluka and Avalon on Facebook and @maluka_and_avalon on Instagram.
Maluka was the November feature dog for the recent Rescue Hub Calendar for Hawkesbury Pound, and is also the mascot for Ms Haora’s music shop.
“We are also very big supporters of Dachshund Rescue Australia, and we support them where we can,” she said.
