Red Dog (c. 197121 November 1979) was a

kelpie A kelpie, or water kelpie (Scottish Gaelic: '' each-uisge''), is a mythical shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. Legends of these shape-shifting water-horses, under various names, spread across the British Isles, appea ...

/ cattle dog cross that was well known for his travels through

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

's vast

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region. Red Dog had a series of owners and lengthy periods travelling on his own, essentially becoming a beloved friend and mascot of the greater Pilbara community. A statue was installed in his memory in Dampier, one of the towns to which he often returned. He is frequently referred to as a "red kelpie" or a "red cloud kelpie".

Story

Red Dog was believed to have been born in the town of

Paraburdoo, Western Australia Paraburdoo () is a mining town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The region is served by Paraburdoo Airport, which is situated from the town. Etymology The name of the town comes from an Aboriginal word that apparently means "feather ...

in 1971. Red Dog was called by a variety of names by those who knew him, including Bluey, Tally Ho, and Dog of the Northwest. Tally Ho was his first name, given to him by Colin Cummings, who is believed to have been his first owner, and brought him to Dampier. The nickname "Red Dog" has been attributed to the red dirt of the Pilbara region (although "red dog" is a common nickname for red kelpies and heelers, much in the same way as "blue dog" or "Bluey" is a common nickname for the

Australian cattle dog The Australian Cattle Dog, or simply Cattle Dog, is a breed of herding dog developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. This breed is a medium-sized, short-Coat (dog), coated dog that occurs in two main ...

). His second owner was John Stazzonelli, a bus driver with Hamersley Iron, who took the dog with him in his bus. With Stazzonelli, Red Dog travelled as far as

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Broome, Roebourne,

Point Samson A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

. Following Stazzonelli's death in 1975, Red Dog spent a lot of time travelling on his own. He was also taken in by many members of the community, and a

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

who treated him. Each time he visited the vet, it was with a new owner. Red was made a member of the Dampier Salts Sport and Social Club and the Transport Workers' Union, and was also given a bank account with the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia. It was established in 1817 in Sydney. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches throughout Australia and New Zealand, expanding into Oceania ...

, which was said to have used him as a mascot, with the slogan "If Red banks at the Wales, then you can too." Although Red Dog was well liked, it is believed that he was deliberately poisoned in 1979 with

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

. Red Dog was buried, by veterinarian Rick Fenny, in a secret unmarked grave around

Roebourne, Western Australia Roebourne , also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu (also spelled Yirramagardu), is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital ...

. There is a plaque, fixed to a boulder, very close to where Red Dog was buried, about outside of the town of Cossack, WA. There is a pin on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

showing the spot, although it is a little tricky to find it. Fenny's book ''Pip – My first red kelpie'' talks about his time with Red Dog.

Legacy

Soon after Red's death, Australian author Nancy Gillespie wrote and compiled anecdotes and poetry written by several people of the Pilbara region for her 1983 book '' Red Dog'', as did Beverly Duckett in her 1993 book, ''Red Dog: the Pilbara Wanderer''. Red Dog's story and statue have caught the attention of a number of people passing through Dampier, including

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Louis de Bernières Louis de Bernières (born 8 December 1954) is an English novelist. He is known for his 1994 Historical fiction, historical war novel ''Captain Corelli's Mandolin''. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Nove ...

. He wrote a book loosely based on Red's legend, called '' Red Dog''. A

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

club has been named in his honour. De Bernières's novel was adapted as a critically acclaimed

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

about Red. It was made in Australia and released in August 2011. Based on a screenplay by Daniel Taplitz, it is directed by

Kriv Stenders Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, film producer, and director, best known for his 2011 film '' Red Dog'' (2011) and the 2014 thriller film '' Kill Me Three Times''. His new film '' The Correspondent'', based on a memoir by Australian journ ...

. The title role was played by Koko. In 2016 a prequel was released, '' Red Dog: True Blue'', which imagines an origin story for Red Dog. de Bernières also wrote a novel called ''Blue Dog'' to go with the prequel film.

References

External links

This original link is no longer working as of April 10 2025 *http://www.reddogwa.com Here is a link to the archived page {{cite web , title = reddogwa.com - Home , url = http://www.reddogwa.com/ , date = 2013-02-01 , archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130201095000/http://www.reddogwa.com/ , archivedate = 2013-02-01 Individual dogs Dog monuments Pilbara 1971 animal births 1979 animal deaths Australian folklore Sculptures of dogs in Australia Tall tales

Story

Legacy

See also

References

External links