Puppy found in Australian family's back yard was a purebred dingo

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A puppy believed to have been dropped by a bird of prey into an Australian family's back yard was brought to a veterinarian and later discovered to be a purebred dingo.

Veterinarian Rebekah Day of Alpine Animal Hospital in Bright, Victoria, said a Wandiligong family found the small puppy in their back yard and initially left it alone, believing to be a stray dog.

The family eventually brought the puppy to Alpine Animal Hospital when no one came to claim the canine, and Day noticed marks on the animal's back that indicated it may have been dropped into the back yard by a bird of prey.

Lyn Watson, director of the Australian Dingo Foundation, asked Day to send a genetic sample from the puppy to the University of New South Wales, which revealed the animal was 100 percent purebred dingo.

The dingo, now named Wandi, was taken into the care of the Australian Dingo Foundation, which said the young canine will be an important part of its breeding program for the species, which is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.