A driver first saw Wilfred, a pug-cavalier cross, as they were driving to Adelaide at the weekend.

Unsure of where the pugalier’s owners were, they decided to pick him up, eventually handing him into police.

It was at Ararat police station that Sergeant Mario Miocic employed his dog squad skills and took in the small pup, who had been left cold and shaken after his ordeal.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Victoria Police published a transcript of an interview online:

“Excuse me sir, can you please tell me what you were doing on the Western Highway approximately one-kilometre west of Beaufort?

“Upon further questioning, the only response members were able to secure was a quiet bark followed by a less than enthusiastic response, ‘the pug life chose me’.”

Fortunately Wilfred’s owners in Beaufort saw the online post and picked him up on Sunday evening.