news, local-news, bargo, dingo, sanctuary, work, dole, max, employment, volunteer

Australia's most iconic canines are helping local job-seekers learn skills while working in a serene environment. Job-seekers are being given the opportunity to care for dingoes as part of MAX Employment's Work for the Dole program at Bargo Dingo Sanctuary. The sanctuary breeds and currently looks after 31 dingoes. The volunteers are learning skills in native animal care, horticulture and community work. Sanctuary president Lucille Ellem said the volunteers got to work in a peaceful place where there were no hard-and-fast rules. "The dingoes calm a lot of people who have many worries," she said. Ms Ellem said through working with volunteers on the program she hoped to leave an impact on young people's lives. "Some of them care for the dingoes and some prefer general maintenance work. "We have volunteers running the tours as well and educating the public about the dingoes." The volunteers work full-time for six months and have to earn the right to pat the dingoes through doing gardening and maintenance work and in the long run they get to feed and groom the canines. Ms Ellem said she had two volunteers through the MAX Employment program but she hoped they would not be the last. Work for the Dole volunteer Laura Cole has fostered dogs before and has a certificate in conservation land management. "It has been really good. You don't get an office view like it," Ms Cole said. She said she would like to work at the sanctuary full-time but all positions were on a volunteer basis so she would have to look for paid work. The sanctuary offers tours for visitors to educate them on the Australian native breed and visitors can also meet and pat the dingoes. "We want people to have an experience of a lifetime because the dingoes really look through into your soul," Ms Ellem said. "They are aloof and watchful because they are always looking out for their own safety." Ms Ellem warns people against buying dingoes as pets because, even though it is legal, she said dingoes did not make ideal pets because they were good climbers and wanted to be free. "I wish people would stop breeding them," she said. "We need to respect what is best for the dogs."

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