- Volunteer Corrie Johnston, 65, from Kingaroy, Qld, was sorting through donations at her local Vinnies when she found a dog had been dumped in the donation bin
- A black, tan and white chihuahua puppy had been left behind and in need of a new home.
- Now the scruff pup has found his forever home.
Here Corrie tells her story in her own words.
Sorting through the morning donations, I chatted with my fellow volunteer, Jen.
‘Anything good in there?’ I asked, as Jen held up a white linen shirt.
It was October 12, 2025, and I’d been volunteering at St Vincent De Paul for the last four years.
I’d relocated with my husband, Clyde, then 66, from Gatton to Kingaroy, Queensland, to care for my elderly parents Edith, 88, and Clarence, 91, in September 2021.
Heartbreakingly I lost Dad to stomach cancer soon after in August 2022 and Mum to kidney cancer in July 2025.
I missed them dearly and needed something to keep my mind busy.
‘Come have a look what’s been dropped in.’
Hoping to fill my days with meaningful work and friends, I signed up as a volunteer at my local Vinnies.
Three days a week, I split my time between serving customers at the checkout and sorting through the donations.
Now sorting through the bags of clothes with Jen, we hadn’t been working long when I heard the front counter call button sound.
Before I had the chance to finish what I was doing, the call button sounded again and again.
Frowning, I dropped everything out back and dashed to the front counter.
‘I’m coming!’ I called out as I went.
‘Come have a look what’s been dropped in,’ Shirley, who’d been working the front counter said.
We’d had all manner of weird and wild donations – including adult toys.
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So I wondered what could have caused such a fuss! Looking at the blue cooler bag sitting on the counter, I lifted the flap and looked inside.
Staring back at me was a black, tan and white little puppy.
‘How could someone leave you behind?’ I wondered, scooping the pup up in my arms.
I listened as Shirley relayed how a woman making her way into store heard his puppy cries coming from the donation crate outside the front door and brought the bag inside.
As she finished filling me in, another customer carrying three heavy donation bags dropped them into the crate with a thump.
‘This poor little guy would have been crushed to death had you not saved him,’ I told the woman.
‘I need you to pop in and pick up a special donation.’
Thankfully he’d been donated early morning and before the sweltering Queensland heat had hit for the day.
Asking customers around the store, sadly no one had seen who donated the puppy. ‘You can come home with me,’ I cooed to the scruffy pup.
With three chihuahuas of my own at home, Diesel, 10, Elina, six, and Coco, three, he was in safe hands.
‘I need you to pop into the shop and pick up a special donation,’ I told Clyde on the phone.
Arriving moments later, Clyde was shocked. ‘Let’s name him Vinnie,’ I beamed, after the shop we’d found him in.
Finishing my shift around 2.30pm, I raced home to see how Vinnie was settling in.
I found him cowering under the dining table.
‘You’re okay little one,’ I said, coaxing him out with a treat. I was rewarded with plenty of puppy kisses.
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That night, Vinnie followed my every move around the house and sat between my legs while I cooked dinner.
‘One for me, and one for you,’ I smiled, putting a slice of roast lamb in his food bowl.
Finding a fast friend in Coco, they cosied up on the end of the bed, Coco cleaning Vinnie like one of her own.
And while Elina and Diesel loved their newest little brother, they struggled to keep up with his high energy.
Two days later, I took him in to see the vet.
‘This little guy is in good shape, he’s only two months old,’ he confirmed, adding that he was a chihuahua cross.
Weighing just 700 grams, Vinnie had no microchip.
But now he had a place to call home.
Four months on, little Vinnie weighs a healthy three kilos and has a cheeky personality.
Vinnie may have had a ruff start to life. But now he’s found his forever family!
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