Dennis the adorable black staffy, is much more than just your average dog, he's a rescued dog who went viral online for his adorable bark, which sounds very similar to a seal! His fur-family, Drew & Carly absolutely adore him, taking him for daily runs/swims on the beach, at Bondi. We spoke to them about their adoption journey, to share with you, how truly paw-some rescuing a pet is!
1. How does your dog fit into your family?
He’s the third and final member to complete our Wolfpack. He’s literally a dog version of us. He is introverted yet outgoing. He talks when he has something important to say and can happily sit in silence when he doesn’t. He’s very physically active. Loves food. Loves spending time in nature. Obsessed with playing at the beach and loves a good sun bake.
2. What do you see when you look into his eyes?
A human trapped inside a dog’s (or land-seal’s) body. His facial expressions reveal his personality and level of intelligence. He understands people’s moods and emotions and is extremely responsive to a range of human cues such as touch, facial expressions, and speech.
3. What does your dog add to your life?
The value he brings to our Wolfpack is immeasurable. He adds humour, laughter, energy, excitement, purpose, adventure, and most importantly - unconditional love and loyalty. And that’s just naming a few.
4. How do you feel when you see him smile?
Absolute joy. We will never forget the day we took him out of his cage at the pound. He had lost his voice from barking so much and was jumping up and down, non-stop as high as our heads. We took him out of his cage to a grassy field, ran a few laps, then together we all lay in the sun where he fell asleep in our arms. At that point we knew there was no way we could put him back. From that day on, every time he smiles, we smile, because we know we have given him his best possible life and are forever grateful he has given the same to us.
5. What does he do that makes you laugh?
Everything. Next question.
Some of the sounds he makes are hilarious. He often talks like a kookaburra which gives us a good laugh.
His sneezes are also pretty funny because he shakes his head and sneezes about 5 times in a row.
We also get a good laugh when he lies sprawled out on his back in the sun and wiggles around while talking at the same time.
6. What is your favourite thing to do as a family/wolf pack ;)?
See question 1
7. What do you think you mean to your dog?
Food source. Uber driver. Stick thrower. Door opener.
On a serious note, I think he knows that we are the ones who rescued him from his cage. He looks at us with pure love and gratitude. We set him free and gave him the life he deserved.
8. In two words, what does your dog mean to you?
The world.
9. How has your dog changed your life?
He has made us more loving, selfless, responsible, kind, caring, and financially worse-off.
10. If you could speak dog, what would you want him to know?
Well, he already knows that we love him because we tell him at least 200 times per day but other than that I’d love him to know that his story went viral on social media and had 25 million views and he now has over 30 thousand instagram followers. So I guess I’d like him to know that he’s famous and loved across the globe.
14. Share with us his adoption story (do you know her background / what was it like when you first rescued / what did you do)
His adoption story was documented by The Dodo, an animal media company, in a 4-minute video that went viral. They summarised the entire story beautifully. I suggest you go watch it because reading it won’t do it justice.
Photography by Love Tails Photography