Dallas is a six-month-old kelpie cross who is looking for a new home.

It is possible she was rejected as a working dog because of her size but Australian Working Dog Rescue Incorporated foster carer Nicole Avery believes being small has its virtues.

“We know she is a kelpie cross, but we don’t know what she’s crossed with. I have a feeling it was a smaller breed because she’s quite little,” Ms Avery says.

“She’s too small to be a working dog actually.

“When we first got her she was very timid and very scared. I think she hadn’t been around people too much. We had to put in a bit a work to build up her confidence. Within about five days she turned around heaps.

“She’s very gentle and she is not high energy at all. I think she’d make a great indoor dog because she loves it inside and she’s going to be quite small. She sleeps all day too and is not boisterous at all. I think she’d be great for a family with kids because she doesn’t jump up on people or for an elderly person because she is not very high maintenance.

“I’ve had her just on a week and I think I will keep her for a few weeks to train her a bit more. I’ll have to train her to walk on a lead because she’s had no experience of that before.”

Dallas was rescued from a pound at West Wylong where she was picked up as a stray along with her sister. She was very close to being put to sleep before she was rescued.

“A lot of the country pounds will only keep dogs a couple of days and then euthanase them,” Ms Avery said.

“We rescue a lot of dogs out of country pounds in New South Wales. There are probably more dogs needing rescue in rural NSW perhaps because there are a lot of dogs which have not been desexed. It seems to be a rural problem.”

Ms Avery has been an AWDRI foster carer for about 18 months and has looked after a couple of dozen dogs already. To date she has had a 100 per cent strike rate for finding homes for the dogs.

“Having them in foster care means we can get a look at what their personality is like. It means when we advertise them we can explain what they are like and who they would be most suited to,” Ms Avery says.

• For further information on how to adopt an AWDRI dog, www.workingdogrescue.com.au