DINGO DEN ANIMAL RESCUE
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Dingo Den Animal Rescue is a registered Australian charity (ABN 58145582217) run by a national network of volunteers.
Dedicated to saving the wild-hearted we exist to save the lives of dingoes, empower wildlife carers, and prevent the extinction of Australia's vulnerable fauna and flora. Saving the wild-hearted is our passion and we hope it will become yours too. If you would like to volunteer please visit our Volunteer page. If you have a dingo you require assistance with please visit our Rehome page. For any general enquiries please use the contact form to the right. As a not-profit, volunteer run organisation we depend on the generosity of the community to help dingoes in need. If you would like to support us please donate through our Support page. 100% of every donation assists dingoes in need. Please note that emails from Dingo Den Animal Rescue can often be directed to your junk or spam folder. Please check these folders to make sure you are not missing any correspondence from us.
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For adoption enquiries, please click here.
For volunteering enquiries, please click here. For rehoming enquiries, please click here. For dingo care enquiries, please click here. |
Our Origins
2014 website 'Dingo Den'
Dingo Den - A community initiative ‘gone wild’
Motivated by a personal interest in dingo care, Sydney-based graphic designer Joshua Said created a website called Dingo Den in September 2014. His website provided readers with dingo facts, care resources, ownership advice and a dingo advocacy petition.
The Dingo Den petition calling for legislative reforms to protect dingoes went viral on its first day - netting hundreds of signatures within a few hours, and nearly 1000 signatures by the week’s end.
Within a few weeks emails streamed into the Dingo Den inbox from all around Australia. The Aussie public not only wanted legislative changes to protect dingoes, they wanted assistance in rehabilitating and rehoming displaced dingoes in their care. This prompted Josh to travel up and down Australia’s eastern seaboard in early 2015 to meet with dingo carers and wildlife advocates to hear their concerns and aspirations.
Having assessed the situation first hand, Josh sensed the need for a novel solution – a national service that could help displaced dingoes and dingo-hybrids in any place and at any time. He developed a strategy to create a fully-accredited national dingo rescue service, supported by a network of adopters, foster-carers and volunteers. The concept for Dingo Den Animal Rescue was conceived.
Motivated by a personal interest in dingo care, Sydney-based graphic designer Joshua Said created a website called Dingo Den in September 2014. His website provided readers with dingo facts, care resources, ownership advice and a dingo advocacy petition.
The Dingo Den petition calling for legislative reforms to protect dingoes went viral on its first day - netting hundreds of signatures within a few hours, and nearly 1000 signatures by the week’s end.
Within a few weeks emails streamed into the Dingo Den inbox from all around Australia. The Aussie public not only wanted legislative changes to protect dingoes, they wanted assistance in rehabilitating and rehoming displaced dingoes in their care. This prompted Josh to travel up and down Australia’s eastern seaboard in early 2015 to meet with dingo carers and wildlife advocates to hear their concerns and aspirations.
Having assessed the situation first hand, Josh sensed the need for a novel solution – a national service that could help displaced dingoes and dingo-hybrids in any place and at any time. He developed a strategy to create a fully-accredited national dingo rescue service, supported by a network of adopters, foster-carers and volunteers. The concept for Dingo Den Animal Rescue was conceived.
Launch of new charity
Dingo Den Animal Rescue – charity for the wild-hearted
Throughout the autumn and winter of 2015 Josh worked diligently to transform the humble community initiative into a national charity, while offering support to the many concerned dingo advocates and carers that were asking for help.
Having recently purchased his first home in western Sydney, Josh began renovating his half acre property into a dingo sanctuary and an education and training facility for local community members and volunteers.
By the start of Spring, Dingo Den Animal Rescue was birthed as an Australian charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), and endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient. The new organisation had rehomed a dozen dingoes and assisted the rehabilitation of three dozen more, while supporting the construction of Sydney’s very first dingo sanctuary.
Throughout the autumn and winter of 2015 Josh worked diligently to transform the humble community initiative into a national charity, while offering support to the many concerned dingo advocates and carers that were asking for help.
Having recently purchased his first home in western Sydney, Josh began renovating his half acre property into a dingo sanctuary and an education and training facility for local community members and volunteers.
By the start of Spring, Dingo Den Animal Rescue was birthed as an Australian charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), and endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a Deductible Gift Recipient. The new organisation had rehomed a dozen dingoes and assisted the rehabilitation of three dozen more, while supporting the construction of Sydney’s very first dingo sanctuary.
Our Commitments
Dingo Den Animal Rescue is committed to a bright and sustainable Australian future. We recognise that caring for Australia’s ecosystems will provide all Australians – animal and human – with the prosperous future we all deserve.
As a registered charity with the ACNC, our key commitments are to prevent or relieve the suffering of animals, and to advance the natural environment. We take these two obligations so seriously that they constitute the basis of eighty-five percent of all our activities, while the remainder of our endeavours support indigenous culture programs, aspiring students and local community initiatives.
A closer look at how we achieve our commitments are:
As a registered charity with the ACNC, our key commitments are to prevent or relieve the suffering of animals, and to advance the natural environment. We take these two obligations so seriously that they constitute the basis of eighty-five percent of all our activities, while the remainder of our endeavours support indigenous culture programs, aspiring students and local community initiatives.
A closer look at how we achieve our commitments are:
Orphaned wild-born rescue Manuka
Preventing or relieving the suffering of animals
- Rehabilitating dingoes that have come into human possession via injury, trauma or environmental displacement
- Providing specialised care facilities for displaced dingoes in need of physical and psychological treatment, namely the Dingo Den Animal Rescue Sanctuary
- Assisting displaced dingoes out of life-endangering situations (i.e. kill pounds and abusive home situations)
- Empowering and educating dingo owners to become the best carers they can be, with the long-term goal to end dingo homelessness, abuse, neglect, abandonment and euthanasia
- Providing temporary foster carers for dingoes whose owners are no longer able to care for them
- Finding permanent ‘forever’ homes for dingoes in foster care so that they can live the rest of their lives as part of a family that understands the special needs of dingoes
- Ensuring that all animals in foster care receive necessary veterinary treatment throughout their time in foster care
Team at schools environment day
Advancing the natural environment
- Informing the general public about the environmental status of dingoes, threats to the species, and the dingo’s importance to Australian biodiversity
- Educating and providing hands-on experiences to school children about the importance of dingoes in Indigenous culture and Australian biodiversity
- Advocating for the conservation of vulnerable native flora and fauna
- Supporting land owners with educational tools to preserve and rehabilitate native ecosystems
Yuin elder Uncle Max 'Dulamunmun' Harrison at our sanctuary
Community support
- Providing support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and promoting indigenous cultural awareness in the general community
- Supporting school, TAFE and University students with educational resources, volunteer/work experience, and tertiary study opportunities
- Providing volunteer and training opportunities to the general community
- Providing rehabilitation pathways to disadvantaged communities via engagement opportunities with rehabilitated animals and land regeneration projects
Our Credentials
ACNC Registered Charity
Dingo Den Animal Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation, registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). As such, we are legally endorsed and supported by the ACNC and are responsible for reporting all income and expenditures to the ACNC at the end of each financial year. This means that each dollar of every donation we receive is accounted for, providing supporters with the confidence that we are a reputable and transparent charity.
Dingo Den Animal Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation, registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). As such, we are legally endorsed and supported by the ACNC and are responsible for reporting all income and expenditures to the ACNC at the end of each financial year. This means that each dollar of every donation we receive is accounted for, providing supporters with the confidence that we are a reputable and transparent charity.
Endorsed by the ATO as a DGR
To support those who support us, we have worked diligently to become endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). DGR status demands a charity meets strict criteria and is not an easy status to achieve, but it’s one we deem worthwhile. Having done the hard yards, the ATO considers our charity a worthy cause to support, and as such, offers all Australian residents with a tax deduction if they donate to us. We’ve become a DGR for you. It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting us.
To support those who support us, we have worked diligently to become endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). DGR status demands a charity meets strict criteria and is not an easy status to achieve, but it’s one we deem worthwhile. Having done the hard yards, the ATO considers our charity a worthy cause to support, and as such, offers all Australian residents with a tax deduction if they donate to us. We’ve become a DGR for you. It’s our way of saying thank you for supporting us.
HSI Lands Trust Member
Our sanctuary is a registered member of the Humane Society International (HSI) Lands Trust. As the 137th New South Wales and 307th Australian member sanctuary, we belong to a network of partners working together across NSW and Australia to preserve our native biodiversity. We are proud to be a HSI Lands Trust member, and endeavour to work with other member sanctuaries to save the wild-hearted.
Our sanctuary is a registered member of the Humane Society International (HSI) Lands Trust. As the 137th New South Wales and 307th Australian member sanctuary, we belong to a network of partners working together across NSW and Australia to preserve our native biodiversity. We are proud to be a HSI Lands Trust member, and endeavour to work with other member sanctuaries to save the wild-hearted.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a dingo-safe Australia. This will in turn assist all native species against the threats of invasive species and unbalanced ecosystems.
The Australian Dingo- A Native Species, Federally Protected
Even though the dingo is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (ICUN), the dingo is still the only Australian mammal not protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Instead, the dingo is regarded as a wild dog under the Rural Lands Protection Act. Wild dogs are declared 'noxious animals' under that legislation, so they cannot be protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Under the Rural Lands Protection Act, the dingo is subject to government-funded trapping, baiting and hunting bounties. Additional threats exist from private culling, wild dog fencing, and contact with the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris.
Due to being branded a 'noxious animal', the dingo is exposed to a myriad of unnatural threats that it can not compete with, resulting in the pending loss of the species.
Many conservationists believe that the conservation status of the Australian Dingo varies between threatened and critically endangered.
To prevent the extinction of the dingo, the species must be removed from the Rural Lands Protection Act as a wild dog and noxious animal, and be included as a native species under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Dingo Den Animal Rescue is working with local communities, agriculturalists, business owners, and government leaders to see the vision fulfilled of the Australian Dingo listed as a native species protected by Federal Government and restored to its rightful place as Australia's apex terrestrial predator.
The Australian Dingo- A Native Species, Federally Protected
Even though the dingo is listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (ICUN), the dingo is still the only Australian mammal not protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Instead, the dingo is regarded as a wild dog under the Rural Lands Protection Act. Wild dogs are declared 'noxious animals' under that legislation, so they cannot be protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Under the Rural Lands Protection Act, the dingo is subject to government-funded trapping, baiting and hunting bounties. Additional threats exist from private culling, wild dog fencing, and contact with the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris.
Due to being branded a 'noxious animal', the dingo is exposed to a myriad of unnatural threats that it can not compete with, resulting in the pending loss of the species.
Many conservationists believe that the conservation status of the Australian Dingo varies between threatened and critically endangered.
To prevent the extinction of the dingo, the species must be removed from the Rural Lands Protection Act as a wild dog and noxious animal, and be included as a native species under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Dingo Den Animal Rescue is working with local communities, agriculturalists, business owners, and government leaders to see the vision fulfilled of the Australian Dingo listed as a native species protected by Federal Government and restored to its rightful place as Australia's apex terrestrial predator.
Our Beliefs
Wanbi, orphaned wild-born rescue
It’s no secret that we do things differently at Dingo Den Animal Rescue, and we do so strategically. The unique nature of dingoes compels us to operate in innovative ways that support each dingo’s special nature. Every decision is made with the wild-hearted at the forefront of our minds and in the very centre of our hearts.
We work to relieve the suffering of dingoes and dingo-hybrids in every capacity – human inflicted suffering in the wild or in captivity, intentional or unintentional. It is the foundation of everything we do.
A Rescue System that Works
We recognise that dingoes and dingo-hybrids are different to dogs and cats, and therefore require a unique approach to receiving help. We have developed a rescue model that caters to the unique characteristics of a dingo’s ‘wild-at-heart’ nature and provides a relinquished dingo with the smoothest transition possible into a new home.
We work to relieve the suffering of dingoes and dingo-hybrids in every capacity – human inflicted suffering in the wild or in captivity, intentional or unintentional. It is the foundation of everything we do.
A Rescue System that Works
We recognise that dingoes and dingo-hybrids are different to dogs and cats, and therefore require a unique approach to receiving help. We have developed a rescue model that caters to the unique characteristics of a dingo’s ‘wild-at-heart’ nature and provides a relinquished dingo with the smoothest transition possible into a new home.
Sahara, displaced captive-born rescue
Our Sanctuary: A Healing Haven
We have built a free-range dingo sanctuary where our dingoes live as a unified pack, free to run around in a natural environment. The four zones of our sanctuary simulate Australia’s sub-tropic, grassland, woodland and desert regions, while a dam at the heart of our sanctuary provides our dingoes with the natural water enrichment that every dingo deserves.
In addition to this enriching environment, our rescues receive the ultimate in dingo care with daily:
We have built a free-range dingo sanctuary where our dingoes live as a unified pack, free to run around in a natural environment. The four zones of our sanctuary simulate Australia’s sub-tropic, grassland, woodland and desert regions, while a dam at the heart of our sanctuary provides our dingoes with the natural water enrichment that every dingo deserves.
In addition to this enriching environment, our rescues receive the ultimate in dingo care with daily:
- Health checks
- Socialisation– dingo, dog, human
- Bush walks beyond the sanctuary
- Confidence development exercises
- Obedience training
- Grooming
- Natural raw meals formulated by Australia’s leading dingo-dieticians
- Food challenges
- Enrichment games and activities
Rescue coordinator caring for pup
Experienced Rescue Coordinators
As you might imagine, our rescue coordinators have a great deal of experience in rescuing and rehoming various kinds of animals. But what makes our rescue coordinators unique is they are experienced dingo owners. This means that every one of our rescue coordinators understands dingo nature in a home setting and the full spectrum of day-to-day care required. This unique combination allows our rescue coordinators to provide empathetic support and practical advice to relinquishers and adopters during the rehoming process.
Getting it Right from the Start
To ensure we find a dingo the most suitable home, we interview the person who is relinquishing a dingo into our care. This interview helps us create a profile of the dingo needing help, and includes the dingo’s history, likes, dislikes, specific behaviours and much more. We then use the dingo’s profile to find the most suitable home for it from our pool of adoption applications.
Experienced Rescue Coordinators
As you might imagine, our rescue coordinators have a great deal of experience in rescuing and rehoming various kinds of animals. But what makes our rescue coordinators unique is they are experienced dingo owners. This means that every one of our rescue coordinators understands dingo nature in a home setting and the full spectrum of day-to-day care required. This unique combination allows our rescue coordinators to provide empathetic support and practical advice to relinquishers and adopters during the rehoming process.
Getting it Right from the Start
To ensure we find a dingo the most suitable home, we interview the person who is relinquishing a dingo into our care. This interview helps us create a profile of the dingo needing help, and includes the dingo’s history, likes, dislikes, specific behaviours and much more. We then use the dingo’s profile to find the most suitable home for it from our pool of adoption applications.
One year after being rescued, Rua is happy and in love with his adopted family
An Adoption Program that Sustains
We don’t gamble with the lives of dingoes entrusted into our care. As part of our rehoming process, every applicant wishing to adopt a dingo from us participates in three rounds of interviews to ensure they can provide a suitable lifestyle for the dingo needing a new home.
When a dingo is adopted, our rescue coordinators conduct regular follow-ups with the new adopter to ensure the dingo is settling in well. As experienced dingo owners, our rescue coordinators are able to provide advice to adopters if they are experiencing challenges with their new dingo.
Using a rehoming model that carefully selects adopters and provides them with ongoing support has meant a world of difference for our dingoes – over 90% retention rate.
An Adoption Program that Sustains
We don’t gamble with the lives of dingoes entrusted into our care. As part of our rehoming process, every applicant wishing to adopt a dingo from us participates in three rounds of interviews to ensure they can provide a suitable lifestyle for the dingo needing a new home.
When a dingo is adopted, our rescue coordinators conduct regular follow-ups with the new adopter to ensure the dingo is settling in well. As experienced dingo owners, our rescue coordinators are able to provide advice to adopters if they are experiencing challenges with their new dingo.
Using a rehoming model that carefully selects adopters and provides them with ongoing support has meant a world of difference for our dingoes – over 90% retention rate.
