A puppy was dropped into a yard in Australia — it turns out he's actually a wild dingo

Gabrielle Sorto
Updated ·2 min read

Wandi was a mysterious stray puppy who fell from the sky –– literally.

The pup was found in August at around 5-weeks-old in a rural Australian backyard.

Veterinarian Rebekah Day told CNN that the family who found Wandi left him alone, thinking he was lost. After no one came to claim the puppy, they realized he may not be a puppy at all.

"They went out in the morning and they could hear whimpering," Day said.

Day brought Wandi to the Australian Dingo Foundation's sanctuary called Dingo Discovery.

The Australian Dingo Foundation believes he was scooped up by an eagle and dropped into the backyard. He had wounds on his back and his nails were worn down, suggesting he had traveled far on foot before he was found.

Wandi underwent a DNA test for dingo purity. After a few weeks, results from the University of New South Wales' genetics lab revealed he is, in fact, 100% purebred dingo.

"He is living proof that the dingo is still prevailing in its purest form in Victoria," Dingo Discovery wrote on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

Meet Wandi. He is our newest addition to our DDC family and what a story he has. Wandi was found alone as a 4-5 week old cub on a private property in Victoria's eastern highlands. He was brought to DDC by WIRES, where we have taken him under our care pending DNA results for dingo purity. After weeks of anxious waiting, results from UNSW's genetics lab revealed Wandi is a 100% PURE VICTORIAN HIGHLANDS DINGO. He is living proof that the dingo is still prevailing in its purest form in Victoria. Wandi will become part of our breeding program, adding new genes to increase strength and diversity of our captive insurance population of pure dingoes we have at our sanctuary. We believe Wandi was stolen by an eagle and dropped - he had sustained wounds on his back, and his nails were worn down suggesting he had travelled far on foot before being found. You can follow Wandi @wandi_dingo to watch him grow ❤️ ⬇️Follow our other socials ⬇️ @wandi_dingo @pumbahthedingo @dingowhiskers 🐶 #dingo #dingoesofinstagram #canisdingo #savethedingo #alpinedingo #conservation #rewilding #coexistence #creatingawareness #savingspecies #protectingnature #threatenedspecies #wildlifeconservation #australiannative #australianwildlife #natureinspires #naturelovers #melbswest #dyobmelbourne #melbournenotes #visitmelbourne #meltoncitymuchmore #wandervictoria #animalencounter #puppylove #notforprofit

A post shared by Dingo Discovery Sanctuary (@dingodiscovery) on Oct 31, 2019 at 12:46am PDT

The sanctuary plans to add Wandi to its breeding program when he's older. His genes will "increase strength and diversity" of the population of pure dingoes at the sanctuary, the sanctuary wrote in an Instagram post.

The dingo is native to Australia and is currently listed as a "vulnerable" species with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, according to the Australian Museum.

A GoFundMe to help raise and care for Wandi has already surpassed its goal of $1,000. In response to the huge interest in Wandi's journey, the Australian Dingo Foundation created an Instagram account just for him.