It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Astro the Super Lotto Dog!
Able to leap tall rabbits in a single bound:
Tapanui farm dog Astro has big paws to fill this week as he steps up to the role of Wilson the Lotto dog.
As the son of Paddy – one of the original wire-haired fox terriers to play the canine hero of the awardwinning Lotto campaign – Astro was called on to take his father’s place last year, after Paddy had to be re-homed in India with a former Southland family because of quarantine delays returning to New Zealand, Lotto spokeswoman Karen Jones said.
While Paddy was now ‘‘living the life of luxury’’ the search for the perfect replacement led them right back to Paddy’s own family line, she said.
This week, Astro debuts as Wilson on the next step of his adventure with Joe as the two hit the town. While they appear to have it all – the luxury car, boat, private plane and beach holidays, the one thing the pair don’t have yet is love.
Astro’s owners, sheep and beef farmers Hisako and Andrew France, said that on his return to the farm, Astro seemed to be missing his onscreen flame – a female cavalier king charles spaniel.
‘‘He was definitely very keen on her,’’ Mrs France said. While Astro roams around the farm most of the time, the 3-year-old also competes at a championship level in New Zealand Kennel Club events.
The experience of having Astro picked for the commercial and whisked away for two weeks of training before another whirlwind trip to the North Island for filming was a ‘‘once in a lifetime’’ one.
‘‘He’s my husband’s best friend. He runs around the farm with the other farm dogs and is this energetic ball of bubbly energy.’’
She found it amusing that Astro returned from filming at the Coromandel beach of Whangamata with the new skill of being able to sit for long lengths of time.
‘‘That must have taken weeks of training for them to get him to do that.’’
The new Wilson advertisement will be on air from this week.