If you’re thinking of adopting a new family pet, one Australian animal group wants you to consider an iconic native animal – the dingo.
For the last three years, Sydney Dingo Rescue, a project of Sydney Fox Rescue, has been taking care of mistreated and orphaned dingoes.
The shelter, based in New South Wales, assists Australian’s nationwide who want to adopt the often stigmatised native animals as pets.
Charlie Jackson-Martin, shelter manager for the organisation, spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the adoption process and the benefits of having a dingo in the family.
Charlie Jackson-Martin (pictured), shelter manager for Sydney Dingo Rescue, wants people to consider adopting a dingo as a pet
There are 40 dingoes currently in need of adoption from the Sydney Dingo Rescue
The Australian native animal is fiercely loyal and a great jumper, so a 2.4 metre fenced enclosure is needed to own one
‘Taking on a rescue dingo is a big commitment and not one to be undertaken lightly,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
‘The biggest thing we are looking for in dingo owners is people who have done their research and are committed to keeping them for life.’
As with any pet, adopting a dingo comes with responsibility, commitment, and the need for a large backyard.
‘As dingoes are excellent jumpers and climbers, families adopting will need to have an enclosure or secure 2.4 metre sheer fencing,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
As with any pet, adopting a dingo comes with responsibility, commitment, and the need for a large backyard
The often stigmatised animals are targeted by hunters and farmers in the wild, as they are considered pests
Dingoes can come in many coloured coats as Xena, a rescued dingo, shows off
And while dingo puppies are as cute as any young pet, the shelter wants potential adopters to understand the differences between the native animal and domestic dogs.
‘Dingoes are very quiet, aloof and stoic animals compared to domestic dogs,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
‘They are often more wary of strangers and cautious in new places than dogs.
‘More than anything else they are remarkably intelligent and have amazing memories.’
Mr Jackson-Martin, who is the proud owner of two dingoes, stressed the importance of a raw diet for the animal.
Dingoes lack the gene to digest starch and grain, which dogs evolved from living with humans, so a raw, grain-free diet is needed to keep them healthy.
The fiercely loyal animal also needs a companion, either in a desexed dingo of the opposite sex or in a large domestic dog.
The group are committed to helping the iconic animals, which Mr Jackson-Martin said are often hunted in the wild.
Dingo puppies are as cute as any young pet but the shelter wants people to understand the differences between the native animal and domestic dogs
The group are committed to helping the iconic animals, which Mr Jackson-Martin said are often hunted in the wild
Trooper, a rescued dingo, plays around in the dirt at the Sydney Dingo Rescue shelter
‘Dingoes in Australia are sadly subject to hunting, traps and 1080 bait,’ he said.
The 1080 bait is a legal poisonous pesticide used predominately by farmers to help control specific pests, which often includes dingoes.
The shelter currently have 40 dingoes in need of adoption and as the volunteers love the animals they care for, they believe dingoes should be protected.
‘Ultimately as a nation we should be concentrating on better protection for dingoes in the wild where they belong,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
In Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, it is illegal to own a dingo, and a permit is required in the Northern Territory and Victoria.
The fiercely loyal animal also needs a companion, either in a desexed dingo of the opposite sex or in a large domestic dog
The shelter currently has 40 dingoes in need of adoption and the volunteers love the animals they care for
In Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, it is illegal to own a dingo and a permit is required in the Northern Territory and Victoria
Sydney Dingo Rescue does not support breeding of the animal as pets, as ‘hundreds if not thousands of dingoes die in shelters each year’.
‘Sadly the unregulated breeding of dingoes in many states means there are far more dingoes than suitable dingo homes,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
‘This is a large part of why all our rescue dingoes are desexed and we do not support the breeding of dingoes as pets.’
The shelter has rehomed 29 dingoes and dingo hybrids since they began and are always in need of new foster homes.
‘While we hope that one day all our rescue dingoes will find families of their own, the road to recovery is a long one for many of our dingoes who have been saved from situations of neglect or abuse,’ Mr Jackson-Martin said.
‘It is a great privilege to have one of these intelligent, loyal, affectionate animals as a companion.’