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WARSAW
(Poland) — Central Europe is a long way from home for an
Australian dog with no traveling money. But that
didn't stop one travel-savvy dingo from hopping the city bus in Warsaw. Last Saturday morning, riders on the Route
180 bus may have been surprised to share a seat with a four-legged, bat-eared passenger.
It was none other than Canis lupus dingo, a rare species of
native Australian wild dog. The dog, named "Dingo",
had disappeared nine days earlier and was feared lost in the Kabackim
forest.
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This Australian wild dog has become a big Warsaw
celebrity. If he played the drums, he'd be "Dingo
Starr". (Photo: Gazeta
Wyborcza)
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In reality, the rust-colored pooch never left the city. After
giving guardian Adam Stępiński the slip, it is believed
that Dingo found shelter in busses and trams at the city center.
His plight first became public last week when Mr. Stępiński
took out a classified ad in the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza:
"7 November around Kabackiego Forest, red dingo dog
disappeared."
The notice stirred up a citywide dog hunt for Warsaw's only
in-town dingo. After a few days, Mr. Stępiński
feared the worst, realizing that Dingo was wearing a muzzle when he
disappeared and would have difficulty fending for himself in the
woods, to say nothing of Warsaw traffic.
But the ordeal ended happily on Nov. 16 when the missing dog was
found in relatively good health, rescuers reported, despite his
being a "very dirty Dingo."
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Dingo Facts |
| "According
to latest DNA testing, Dingoes evolved 135,000 years ago and
were the world's first domestic dog, predating the
wolf. A 'marker' has been found in the Dingo which is
not present in the wolf, making the Dingo a separate species.
"It is believed that the Dingo is the
ancestor of all dog breeds."
Dingo Farm Australia,
"What
is a Dingo?" |
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The Gazeta
Wyborcza reports that the Australian canine has led a challenging
life, beginning as a reject from the Warsaw Zoo. Seven years ago,
his unplanned birth led zoo officials to abandon him as a puppy. He
was taken home by zoo employee Michał Jabłoński and later
passed on to Mr. Stępiński.
At Mr. Stępiński's house, the wild dog never quite fit in,
refusing to be housetrained and being a real dingo-ling when it came to
social etiquette. He didn't get along well with other house pets
except for one, a little female dachshund named Norka. More than
once, Dingo has come to her defense in in skirmishes with other dogs.
At last report, Dingo and Norka are spending long hours at home in the
armchair.
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