I mentioned in an
earlier blog post that Berenice’s Dingoes excelled at obedience training. I
hope you enjoy this cartoon and article from the Sun Herald, mid 1976 about
Napoleon and Snowgoose’s success.
The Story of
BIG BERENICE AND THE LITTLE RED DINGOES
Once upon a time all Dingoes were regarded as big bad dogs,
evil, savage and untrainable, a threat to man and beast.
Then along came NAPOLEON AND SNOWGOOSE
The Sun Herald printed the following story with the cartoon
about mid 1976.
DINGO TOPS THE CLASS AT TRAINING SCHOOL
 |
| "Not only is the dingo top of the class, he's eaten half of it!" |
A FULL-BLOODED Australian Dingo has topped his class at a
Sydney dog obedience school, putting fashionable and expensive breed to shame.
The dingo’s performance – 98 points out of 100 – will bring
new demands that the native dog, labelled as vermin by Australian law, be
treated with respect.
The dingo’s owner, who declined to be named – it is illegal
to keep dingoes – said: “They are marvellous animals, beautiful and
intelligent. I want their rightful image restored. A Sydney man who takes his
two dingoes to work every day said: Dingoes have higher intelligence than most
dogs, and they love children. They have to be kept in check in some areas but
they should be protected where they are becoming scarce.
Senator Tony Mulvihill, vice chairman of the Senate
Committee on Science and the Environment, said yesterday he was determined to
use upcoming sessions of the woodchip inquiry to examine the dingo question.
Runners up were two
dobermanns with 92 and 91 respectively - an indication of the dingoes'
intelligence and suitability for this type of work, their owner said.
The woman has kept
Napoleon, now 12 months old, around the house without any problems she wouldn't
have encountered with other dogs, she said.
Neither Napoleon nor
Snow Goose had seen a lamb before the picture on this page was taken. Their
first reaction was curiosity but they were easily restrained, and within
minutes bad 1 to be further restrained to keep them near
the lamb so more photographs could be taken.
But Snowgoose did
set off after a duck, another first sighting, and might have killed it if she
had not been pulled off. Most other breeds of dogs would have done the same
thing, the woman said. "People don't realise that any domestic breed of
dog is still a wild animal. It's heartbreaking when the most savage and
aggressive overseas breeds can be imported and their pups sold to the general
public while the dingo, which is far less aggressive, is discriminated against
in its own country.
"In Switzerland
dingoes are shown as a miscellaneous breed pending official recognition. In
America they're shown as a rare breed, again pending official recognition. Here
they are vermin."
She said dingoes
were frequently blamed for attacks on livestock by domestic dogs because few people
would accept that all dogs are wild.
For this reason she
is also ·campaigning for a review of the
whole question of dog ownership….. owners must be held responsible for their
dogs, and that no dog should be allowed in public without a leash.
***
Of course the Dingo and owner who refused to be named was
Berenice Walters, with Napoleon, and the Sydney man whose dingoes accompanied
him to work was Fred Wirrer with Cornelius and son.
 |
| Dingoes Snowgoose (left) and Napoleon showed only curiosity
when six year old David Finey fed his pet lamb. |
To raise funds for
costs associated with the cataloguing and preservation of the records, of
Berenice Walters, known as the Dingo Lady, we have opened a fund raising campaign
through GofundMe http://www.gofundme.com/nqtwl0. 
The project includes publishing some of the records and manuscripts and
ultimately publishing her biography. 
We hope that anyone who
cares, not only for the preservation of the Dingo but also wolves and other
primitive canids, will support our efforts.
