Adopting wild Australian dingoes is not as a crazy as it sounds

Adopting a dingo in Australia is probably something you’ve never heard of, it’s what people usually say when they find out we have two adopted dingoes in our family. 

I never, ever, for a moment of my life, imagined that I would be adopting a dingo, let alone two. But here we are, more than two years on, with two crazy dingoes in our house who put themselves to bed each night.

When I wake in the morning, they’re the first to greet me, tails wagging, ears down. They step into downward dog then toddle towards me with their morning legs, ready for their morning pats. They love a good head rub, a fluffy neck rub, and (unfortunately for us!) a good butt rub. 

I spend my work days with Rusty and Jalba sleeping soundly beside me, curled into donuts, or sprawled on their sides. Occasionally, they wake, stretch and wander into the yard, plonking down with a “humph”, watching the birds fly by or curling up in the warm sand. We often see them lying on the warm pavement or basking in the sun on 40 degree days. 

By writing about Rusty and Jalba, I hope to help others who are thinking of adopting a dingo and to help raise awareness of the challenges faced by this incredible native animal. 

Adopting a dingo in Australia

Lauded in Australian picture books as a native Australian animal, proudly displayed in zoos around the country, and even featured on Bluey (Alfie, voiced by Robert Irwin!) — the Australian dingo is seen as an icon.

Despite Australia’s cultural affinity with dingoes and their status as a native Australian animal, dingoes are not protected in the same manner as other Australian native animals. 

In Australia, dingoes can be inhumanely and legally poisoned, trapped and shot. 

Unfortunately, because of this, combined with dingoes being taken from the wild and backyard breeders, dingoes are in need of adoption.

Orphaned dingo pups, displaced dingoes and dingoes who are surrendered by their families cannot simply be released into the wild. 

My goal is never to romanticise having dingoes in a home — Australian dingoes belong in the wild, and in an ideal world, they wouldn’t need adoption. Adopting a dingo is not easy, they are not the same as domestic dogs and it’s imperative that all prospective dingo adopters know what they’re getting into before they adopt a dingo. 

Today I’ll share how we came to adopt two wild Australian dingoes and how you can help protect our native Australian dingo. 

Bringing dingoes into our family

I’m the last person you’d expect to adopt a dingo — I’m a nerdy introvert who likes being home, who likes predictability and calmness. Little did I know, and lucky for me, dingoes are introverts too and they love predictability and calmness, sprinkled with the occasional adventure here and there — turns out we’re peas in a pod.

My hubby, on the other hand, is an extrovert who has always had a natural fascination for animals and genuine desire to help wildlife. On our first trip to the zoo, he read every sign at every exhibit. He’s the kind of person who will rescue a spider and rehome it, the kind of person who fed a stray bobtail on our doorstep before gently moving it across to bushland. 

He’s the kind of person whose car collided with a baby bat one night and he stopped, cradled it in his hands and took it to the emergency vet. His innate passion and sense of responsibility for saving animals is nothing new, having saved animals throughout his life. 

When I married him, I knew about his blue-tongued lizard, his love for snorkelling and learning everything at the zoo, and you know, I figured maybe one day, we’d get a puppy, you know, like a cute little golden retriever or something like that (!). 

How we adopted a wild dingo

Jumping forward to 2021, we had two teenagers and a ten year old. Over the years, hubby mentioned here and there that he wanted to buy a belgian malinois through a breeder but life was busy and we never got around to it.

Every now and then, we talked in hushed tones, wondering if it was time to bring a four legged friend into our home. It wasn’t something we thought of lightly — there was a lot to consider… and in 2021, the time had come. 

I mentioned it to my friend who said we should think of adopting, that their darling Molly came from a local rescue and that she’s the calmest, most lovable creature around. 

I scoured the Dogs’ Refuge Home website, PetRescue and every dog adoption agency I could find. Most of the dogs were either mixed breed, staffies, too small or bonded pairs, and heck, I did not want two dogs (!!!). 

I stumbled across a dingo, took a screenshot and sent it to hubby as a joke, “haha!” and he replied “I didn’t know people could adopt dingoes”. 

We then spent the next few days obsessively researching and finding every piece of information we could about adopting dingoes, which wasn’t very much. There’s information out there about laws, a bit about feeding and caring for your dingo, but not enough about personal experiences. 

Before I knew it, hubby had sent photos of our yard to Mary, at SAFE Carnarvon. Our yard was almost perfect, she said. You’re the kind of person who would do really well with a dingo, she said, probably assuming that I was just like hubby.

After many, many conversations, a tonne of internet searches, sixteen hours of driving and a chewed up seat belt, Rusty arrived at our home. Hubby had driven up the coast with our eldest child, spent some time with Rusty, and made the long drive home. 

Early days with our first dingo, Rusty

Rusty’s early days were not smooth sailing, I won’t sugar coat that. He was definitely keen to please but super anxious, as was I.  

He was a good fit, only I didn’t know it at the time. 

Looking back, I was overwhelmed, and regardless of how much research we could have done, I don’t think anything could have prepared us for having a dingo. We both had small dogs at home when we were teens, but that’s quite different from adopting a dingo — perhaps if we had had high energy, medium sized dogs growing up or as adults, we would have been more prepared. 

The early days were stressful. Hubby went back to work, trusting me to be the responsible adult on my own… Our fence wasn’t quite perfect for dingoes — we had plans to get a temporary electric boundary, but we hadn’t got it yet. 

This meant that we couldn’t let Rusty run free in the yard just yet, especially since dingoes have poor recall. Each time he went outside in the first few days, we clipped on a long lead. 

Rusty didn’t have a playmate and we hadn’t set clear boundaries, so Rusty was too rough with the kids and I. He wanted to play, even if he’d been for a walk. We didn’t know him yet, and he didn’t know us, so the roughness was too much, leaving bruises and scratches.

Our bumpy start was not so much because of Rusty, but because of us, and simply because adopting a dingo or a dog can be a challenging time. ***If you’re reading this and feeling discouraged about adopting a dingo, read on!

Why we adopted a second dingo

It was a challenging few months, trying to figure out what to do. I had never had difficulty making big decisions in life, but adopting and keeping a dingo? That was next level.

When you adopt a dog (or a dingo!), there’s so much warmth and fluffiness associated with bringing home a new loved one, but no one really tells you how hard it might be to settle in, or about the turmoil and guilt you might experience when you realise that rehoming your new family member might be the better choice. 

We did a lot of thinking, a heck of a lot of talking and a lot more research. We sent texts to other dingo guardians and joined all the dingo Facebook groups. 

Neither of us had been dog owners in our adult life, only as teenagers, so we didn’t know much about canine psychology and behaviour — there was a lot we didn’t know. 

Somewhere, I read that dogs can feel anxious. And yes, dingoes are not dogs, but, like their canine companions they experience anxiety. In fact, dingoes are very anxious animals, with a very strong fight or flight instinct. 

With Rusty alone in a new place, he manifested his anxiety by ripping the fly screens off our windows, tearing a hole in the screen door mesh and scratching and opening doors to find my hubby. 

In the evenings and sometimes during the day, he’d get too rough, jumping on us, mouthing our hands and doing zoomies around and around our yard. He just wanted to play. I remember being on a video call, looking up and seeing him lying on our kitchen bench like it was Pride Rock. 

We realised it wasn’t going to work with Rusty, at least not on his own. So I made a joke that maybe we should adopt another dingo.  Somehow, we made the decision to bring a second dingo into the mix. 

And that my friends, was the answer. 

Together, they are less anxious. They play: they run, they wrestle, they jump and zoom. Together, they are happy, and so are we. 

Why we adopted a third dingo

Just kidding, what do you think I am, crazy? The truth is though, there are many, many dingoes in need of a home. 

If you’re thinking of bringing a dingo into your home, please, please adopt — avoid buying a dingo from a backyard breeder. 

The majority of the dingo community will echo my sentiment: please do not support backyard breeders when there are so many dingoes who are displaced, often due to human involvement. Rescue dingoes cannot be released back into the wild, and if they don’t find a home, they face euthanasia. 

Click here to find out where you can adopt an Australian dingo.

Dingo persecution in Australia 

There’s a lot to say about Australian dingoes and why they need protection, and I’ll cover that another time. The short of it, is that Australian dingoes are considered a native Australian animal, but they are not covered by the same legislation as other native animals. 

Australian dingoes can legally be poisoned, trapped and shot. The poison that is often used in Australia is 1080, which has inhumane and lethal consequences for any animal who consumes it. 

1080 does not discriminate. If your dog comes across this poison, they will die, inhumanely. You can find more information about 1080 poison here. 

Steel jawed traps are legally used, and unfortunately, traps are not checked frequently. This means that dingoes endure pain and fear for long periods of time. Find out more at Defend the Wild. 

Rusty’s family was shot. Unfortunately, this is legal in Australia. Rusty was born in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, and his family was shot at the request of a pastoralist. Rusty was only a cub. He was then sold in a pub and went to several homes before ours. Dingo eradication programs have far reaching consequences that I hope to cover another time. 

How you can protect Australian dingoes

Dingoes play a key part in Australia’s ecosystem. You can protect Australian dingoes by:

• Talking about and sharing this article
• Supporting dingo rescues around Australia through donations and raising awareness 
• Supporting the end of 1080 poison
• Lobbying your local members of parliament and councillors
• Not feeding or approaching wild dingoes
• Reporting injured or orphaned wild dingoes to your local wildlife rescue (do not pick them up yourself)
• Following the dingo rules and guidelines if you visit K’gari (Fraser Island)
• Supporting dingo research
• Supporting those who consider lethal control alternatives such as Wooleen Station
• Adopting a dingo! 

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