Red Dog's collar returns to the Pilbara

Much like Red Dog himself, the much loved Pilbara wander's original collar has done the rounds and has now been returned to its rightful home in the Pilbara.

Veteran Karratha veterinarian Rick Fenny said there was a long history behind the collar of Red Dog, which the canine wore as he roamed the region for almost eight years until his death in 1979.

"He had that collar as long as I knew him. I took it off Red Dog in November '79 when I buried him," he said.

"It was a particularly poignant collar, on the inside of it there's his name Red Dog with Blue in brackets and a little inscription saying 'I've been everywhere mate…' it's also got his original Roebourne dog registration number."

"After Red Dog died I had the collar in Roebourne at the vet clinic sitting in an old flower pot on the window sill, it was there for a long time."

And there the collar sat for many years until Dr Fenny said he discovered it had gone missing.

"Nelson Woss the producer of the Red Dog movie asked for the original collar to put it on the actor Koko who was playing Red Dog, but when I went to get it, the collar had vanished," he said.

"I turned the house upside down looking for it and in the end I came to the conclusion it had got thrown out or stolen. So we had a replica one made for the movie."

Mr Fenny said well after the movie was finished and screened in 2011, one of the staff at the Karratha vet hospital miraculously located the collar.

"I had it sent down to Perth and went to see Nelson and we put the collar on Koko. It was a goose-bump moment for me…," he said.

"After that I got it framed with a photo montage of Red Dog and it was put on display in Albany where lots of people have admired it, but we thought we ought to bring it back to Karratha where it belongs… it's an important part of our heritage.

"The collar may be used for the new Blue dog movie being made early next year but until then it will remain on display at the Karratha Vet Hospital."