This Adorable Puppy Was Rescued by an Australian Family — but It Turned Out to Be a Dingo (Video)

A family in Australia who rescued a stray puppy in their backyard learned that he was actually an endangered dingo.

"He was very laid back and happy to be picked up. Really just ever so cute, he was just a little floof," veterinarian Rebekah Day, who was the first to care for the animal once it was rescued, told CNN

The Australian Dingo Foundation heard about the pup and reached out to Day to take him into their care. They then sent a genetics sample to the University of New South Wales who confirmed last week that the animal was “100% pure Victoria highlands dingo," the sanctuary posted on Instagram last week.

The dingo was named Wandi and, naturally, now has an Instagram of his own.

The Australian Dingo Foundation believes that Wandi was stolen from home by an eagle, due to wound marks on his back. They believe that he walked a long way after he was dropped by the eagle because his nails are heavily worn down. He is less than one year old.

"Wandi will become part of our breeding program, adding new genes to increase strength and diversity of our captive insurance population of pure dingoes we have at our sanctuary," the sanctuary wrote on Instagram.

As part of his new life at the sanctuary, Wandi is working on socialization. He has been given a companion and is slowly meeting the rest of the pack.

Dingos are native to Australia but are now considered an endangered species. The species is threatened due to hunting and inbreeding. But the breed is also slowly disappearing due to hybridization with domestic dogs.