"Lupo was a very large bull mastiff looking dog that was white, except when as kids one time decided to dye him blue or purple with gentian violet ... Maybe he was the Boundless Possible dog": Scott McConnell MLA
Ben the Dingo has a combination of freedom, security, love and wildness that suits him perfectly. He is an entity to himself and well loved in the community and beyond. He has been given a chance in life and has thrived.
Since the European invasion of Australia in 1788, on the whole Australia’s wildlife has been incredibly unlucky. The agents of extinction that Europeans brought with them – predators to eat them, herbivores to starve them, changed fire regimes, drastically altered habitats, direct hunting, invasive plants and even climate change – have brought the native fauna to its knees.
Veterinary programs improve the health of dogs, so that they are less prone to parasites and have better body condition. Desexed animals live longer and healthier lives. Through surgical desexing, we prevent unwanted puppies; fewer dogs means less competition for food.
The "War on the Dingo" approach to population 'management' is a punitive, uncoordinated, expensive and devastatingly ineffective folly. There are better ways of managing Dingoes in the landscape. We just haven't worked out what they are and how to apply them yet.
Jangala's childhood memories consist of stories associated with the Coniston massacre of Aboriginal people and the shooting of families at Wantaparri, which is close to his birthplace at Jila. Jangala had virtually no contact with white fellas during his youth but remembers leaving Jila for Mt Theo 'to hide' from being shot. After his father died at Mt Theo, Jangala moved with his mother to Mt Doreen Station, and subsequently the new settlement of Yuendumu.
There are many dog dreaming sites located around the Australian continent and each has its own and often interconnected story of creation and movement of the dingo through the country. Stories are told covering areas over thousands of kilometres and across different language groups.
Another day in the office for a journalist on the Arnhemland beat. "The corrugated iron is covering a litter of dead puppies ..."
Three birds, a dead frog and a fire. A few hours at the site of a grass fire outside the small Gulf town of Borroloola.
Basil is a kind and attentive host, particularly when evening scraps are his due. He might be ugly, scarred and with a bad case of bung-eye (I forgot to get some Golden Eye ointment for his conjunctivitis from the local clinic) that hopefully should be cleared up in a few days. He isn't riddled with ticks and is obviously reasonably healthy - in mind and body. In all he is just a normal dog - except that he is (technically) homeless.
