Recently we travelled to Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to visit family. Umagico to be precise. This little community is filled with amazing people, dogs, and horses.
We had run out of a few essentials so we drove to the community shop to stock up. I've always wanted a dog and had been pestering my husband for awhile now. I jumped out of our Ute and headed into the shop while hubby stayed in the car. Upon my return he was smiling but didn't say why.
Throwing the shopping in the car quickly he slowly backed out chitchatting about how many street dogs had been roaming around and yet today there was not one in sight. I agreed with him as I couldn't see any street dogs sniffing and playing around the area. Highly unusual as we had been in Umagico for 5 weeks now.
As we slowly pulled out the carpark hubby said: "Do you still want a dog?"
Heck yes! There was no hesitation there. He stopped the car and told me to open my door. Upon opening the car door I spotted this gorgeous puppy running towards me and it jumped straight into my arms. What a wonderful happy moment.
(The day we found her. We named her Coco)
Where did this puppy come from?
While I was in the community shop my husband saw this puppy following me to the door. I didn't notice it at all. He reckons some little kids were kicking and pushing it away from them and he felt sorry for the little dog. He said that if we were meant to have this street dog then it would follow me back to the car. Apparently it did but me being me... I didn't notice it.
Because I didn't notice the dog hubby figured it might not be for us so he slowly pulled out the carpark but that dog ran after the car which he saw in his mirror. That's where he asked if I still wanted a dog. So here we are with the most precious cargo... a little female pup, rescued from the street, literally. I will tell you why.
Remember we had been in Umagico for weeks now and every day we would see properbly 100 dogs or more roaming the streets, around the shop, on the sports oval, and at the caravan park. The dogs were packing in groups of 10 or more and it was quite scary walking around sometimes. Mostly we drove due to the dogs. You also didn't see many kids playing in the streets probably because of it not being safe with so many dogs, some are quite aggressive too.
After we picked up this gorgeous little girl puppy we set off to the local ranger to check whether we could keep the pup or was it chipped or what's the go here. The pup was skinny, malnourished, full of ticks, worms and scabs. That's when we learned why the street dogs had suddenly disappeared overnight!
The friendly Torres Strait Islander ranger told us that all the dogs had been rounded up overnight and throughout that day. He said the dogs were packing and had become dangerous. Locals were told to keep their dogs in their locked yards or they would be caught and impounded.
He remembered our little puppy being very fast, escaping the rangers somewhere around the community shop. They caught the mother dog and her two male pups. The ranger told us that she was one very lucky puppy if we were to keep her and give her a home which of course we will.
Being a Queensland Government initiative in the Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) one can get their dogs checked by a vet for free and receive free worming, tick, flea tablets too. This was most appreciated by us as the ranger gave us 6 months supply for free and we were able to worm her immediately. Patiently we spent hours removing the ticks from her body and from between the toes... 47 ticks in total!
(Coco when we first found her)
In case you wonder what happens to the caught street dogs... these are checked, treated for worms, fleas, ticks and sterilized to avoid further breeding. These dogs are then transported to Cairns or Brisbane where they are relocated with families. I presume only the best dogs make it and the unpredictable aggressive dogs are humanely put down. Unfortunate as this may seem it's practical. You can't keep aggressive dogs in my opinion.
Anyway here we are, survived the rough trip south again and one puppy richer. What a beautiful little girl she is. Placid, obedient and already doubled in weight. She is doing great!
Some people have said she has Mastiff and Boxer in her with whatever else. She is going to be a big girl I reckon but that's alright with us. It's her gentle soft nature which is important to us. She is toilet trained already, our caravan stays dry yeah!
Little Coco was allowed to go up in the ferris wheel with us in Cairns. She has no fear of heights and was exceptionally well behaved. I still can't believe what a good dog she is.
She sleeps on the caravan floor for now until she's old enough to sleep outside. We reckon she is roughly 10-12 weeks tops. Maybe the runt of the litter. We are thankful for such privilege to share our lives with Coco and thank you Coco for choosing us ❤