Stories
Stories about dogs are timeless. Ranging from folk legends to the positive roles dogs play in our modern society, they demonstrate some form of the man-dog bond. Sometimes light and humorous, sometimes just 'feel good' stories, this section ranges from the legends that have existed for many years, to heart warming stories about the special part dogs play in the lives of special people.
The box office success of the recently released Australian film ‘RED DOG’ looks set to entrench our Australian Kelpie into history. This is more than just the legendary story of an individual dog named ‘Red Dog’. It is also the story of how one of this iconic Australian breed adapted from being integral to Australia’s sheep industry, to being part of a pioneering community which was working to establish Australia's iron ore industry.
The dog that sits on the tucker box five miles from Gundagai in New South Wales is arguably Australia's most famous dog as far as Australian folklore is concerned. It had its beginnings along with the men who ventured south/west from Sydney town to begin to develop inland Australia. But the complete story is really ironical.
This story is about a remarkable Cairn Terrier who had careers as a show dog, performing artist, companion and hearing dog and kindergarten assistant. First published in May 1987 in the Kennel Control Council of Victoria (KCC) Gazette, it was one of the monthly winning entries in a year long short story competition about pure bred dogs.
In these days of internet, iphones and blackberries, it is difficult to imagine there are still some people who live in such isolation that their mail and supplies are delivered twice a week by a mail boat. This is the case in the sparsely inhabited region forming the magnificent Marlborough Sounds, situated at the North of the South Island of New Zealand.
This story describes a world-first programme that uses Maremma Sheepdogs to keep wildlife safe from predators. As measured by the recovery of numbers of the sea birds in two separate colonies this programme is a remarkable success, and provides a testament to the value of pure breed dogs for conservation projects of this kind.