Fair Oaks Responsible Dog Owners Group

It Takes a Dog to Raise a Village: True Stories of Remarkable Canine Vagabonds

by: Ruth Gordon

This collection of true stories celebrates the lives of a handful of vagabond dogs who spurned confinement and one-family ownership. Each dog's tale is unique: Boozer had his own bank account and appeared on Good Morning America; Owney spent his life riding U.S. mail trains and can now be seen in the Smithsonian Institute; Greyfriars Bobby snuck into the cemetery every night for 14 years to sleep on his deceased master's grave; Lampo became famous for riding the railways of Italy but always returned to the same station. These atypical dogs all share the same independent spirit that inspires human admiration and devotion.

Recently, a work associate sent me a link to Wikipedia about a dog named RED DOG, a Kelpie/Cattle dog cross which was well-known for his travels through Western Australia's Pilbara region. There is a statue in his memory in Dampier, Western Australia, which is one of the towns to which he often returned.

Well, that got my interest up so I did some further research on RED DOG.

Red Dog is believed to have been born in the town of Paraburdoo, Western Australia in 1971 and had a variety of names to those who knew him, including: Bluey, Tally Ho, and Dog of the Northwest. Tally Ho was his first name, given to him by a man called Colonel Cummings, who is believed to have been his first owner and the one who brought him to Dampier. The nickname, "Red Dog" has been attributed to the red dirt of the Pilbara Region. His second owner was John Stazzonelli, a truck driver with Hammersley Iron, whose work allowed Red to travel as far as Perth, Broome, Roebourne, Point Samson and Port Hedland.

Following John's death in 1975, Red spent a lot of time traveling on his own although he was taken in by many members of the community and a veterinarian who treated him. Red was made a member of the Dampier Salts Sport and Social Club and the Transport Union. He was also given a bank account with Wales Bank, which is said to have used him as a mascot and sales tool with the slogan, "If Red banks at the Wales, then you can too". Although he had many friends, it is believed that his death in 1979 was caused by deliberate strychnine poisoning. Red is buried in an unmarked grave somewhere between Dampier and Karratha.

Red Dog's story and statue have caught the attention of a number of people passing through Dampier including British author Louis de Bernières, who was inspired to write a book about him, and Australian Author Nancy Gillespie, who also wrote about Red.

FURTHER RESEARCH FINDS...

It Takes a Dog to Raise a Village: True Stories of Remarkable Canine

This book not only tells the story of RED DOG, but other Canine vagabonds such as OLD DRUM (another of my favorite stories).

This book is an easy ready but well worth the price. Available at Barnes and Noble and other bookstores.

Oh, and if this grabs your interest as it did mine, the book written by Louis De Bernieres can be found at Amazon.Com entitled: RED DOG

Dan Barkley, FORDOG