Months after it was found hiding and crying in the garden of a backyard in north-eastern Victoria, DNA testing has confirmed a small pup that was suspected to have arrived by air is pure dingo.

Key points: An alpine dingo pup suspected to have crash-landed in a Victorian back yard is now living happily at a sanctuary

An alpine dingo pup suspected to have crash-landed in a Victorian back yard is now living happily at a sanctuary After being appraised as "seriously cute" by a vet, DNA testing confirmed 'Wandi' is of a breed "on the verge of extinction"

After being appraised as "seriously cute" by a vet, DNA testing confirmed 'Wandi' is of a breed "on the verge of extinction" The pup could prove to be "very valuable" to a breeding program run by the Australian Dingo Foundation

'Wandi' was discovered in August at Wandiligong, near Bright, and is thought to have been dropped there by an eagle.

At the time the residents thought the animal may have been a fox or dog, but after looking after the animal for 24 hours they took the pup to the Alpine Animal Hospital.

"He was a puppy when he was brought to us, so about eight to ten weeks [of age]," Veterinarian Dr Bec Day said.

"He had a mark on his back [from what is believed to be an eagle's claws] and there were no other pups nearby. The resident hadn't heard any [other dingos] calling. So he was just a lonely little soul sitting in a backyard.

"He was adorable, serious puppy cuteness. No fear of people at all. He was quite calm about the whole process."

Wandi was professionally appraised as "adorable" and "seriously cute" by the vet. ( Supplied )

The hospital undertook DNA testing on Wandi to determine his breed and then moved to the Australian Dingo Foundation's sanctuary while the results were pending.

The sanctuary sits at the foothills of the Macedon Ranges in Victoria and breeds pure dingoes.

"It is just incredible," Dr Day said.

"The DNA testing takes a couple of weeks, so we've just had to tread water. He was introduced to the sanctuary during that time.

"And now that the results are back he can be used as part of their breeding program."

Wandi's new home

One of the sanctuary's main focuses is on preserving and conserving the gene pool of the original dingo.

The dingo spent 24 hours with his rescuers before they took him to the local vets. ( Supplied )

And by all accounts Wandi is fitting right in.

"Wandi has a little playmate his same age because he has been born at the perfectly right time for dingos in winter," said the director of the Australian Dingo Foundation, Lyn Watson.

"He has tamed quite nicely. Whilst he is wild and always will be, he has become quite happy here and he likes the people that are caring for him."

The team at the sanctuary are keeping detailed records of his development.

"He is just amazing to watch," she said.

"We are really excited to have him — not only to observe the way he develops, but also how he behaves right next door to the dingos that are bred here."

Extinction fears

Ms Watson said there were three types of dingo in Australia — tropical dingoes from the Kimberley and Pilbara areas, inland dingoes which live in the deserts and central parts of the country, and Wandi's type being the alpine dingo.

'Wandi' was rescued by a Victorian woman who appealed to the internet to help with his breed. ( Supplied )

It is this breed the sanctuary is most concerned about.

"This type, the alpine dingo, unfortunately shares the eastern seaboard areas … where 80 per cent of the Australian population lives," Ms Watson said.

"So not only is the habitat of the alpine dingo dwindling to nothing, but our persecution of this animal — because it sadly looks like a dog — has pushed this beautiful alpine dingo very close to extinction."

The foundation is determined to make sure that does not become a reality.

"The first step we have made is the zoological recognition of the Australian dingo as a species of its own, Canis dingo," she said.

Ms Watson said unlike the tropical and inland dingos, the alpine dingo is endangered — which makes the discovery of Wandi so special.

"For us he is going to be a very valuable little thing," Ms Watson said, "depending on his eventual development and the way he continues to get along with everybody else in the sanctuary".

"At this point he has all of the features we demand before we do breed anything."