When Steve Lamplough heard his dogs barking in the backyard last Thursday, he didn’t think much of it. But stepping outside, he was met with an extraordinary sight.

Perched on the back of his nine-year-old golden retriever, Denni, was a tiny koala joey, its paws firmly gripping her fur.

“She came running over and she had this koala joey on her back,” Steve told Yahoo News.

“It looked quite hilarious, especially when she was running. It was like a little jockey on her back. It really was, it was bobbing up and down just like it.”

Unsure what to do at first, Steve gently coaxed Denni to sit before lifting the young marsupial to safety.

“We’ve got one great big massive manna gum tree, we get quite a few koalas through here and they sit up that tree. So I put her up there, then went back to Denni and made sure she was ok,” he explained.

Denni, who Steve described as a “placid, friendly” dog, was unharmed – and seemingly delighted by the unusual encounter.

Within 15 minutes, the joey had reunited with its mother high up in the gum tree.

“It was unbelievable,” Steve said.

Photos of the heart-warming moment quickly spread after he shared them on a local Facebook group. The images have since gone viral, with some even questioning whether they were AI-generated. Steve finds the idea amusing.

“It’s unreal,” he laughed. “Certainly a lot of people have got some pleasure out of it.”

While this story ended happily, wildlife experts caution that not all dog-koala interactions are so fortunate. In south-east Queensland alone, an estimated 300 koalas are killed each year by dog attacks.

Authorities urge owners to be especially vigilant during the breeding season, which runs from July to September.

What to do if you find a dead or injured koala:

  • Contact your local wildlife rescue group immediately if the animal is injured.
  • If the koala has died, check its pouch for young and report your findings.
  • If the animal is alive, avoid handling it where possible and wait for trained carers.
  • To safely contain an injured koala, gently place a large box or bin over it until help arrives.

Images: Steve Lamplough