Canberra fire: animals rescued...

[Miss Meow]

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There was a wonderful follow-up story on TV last night.

A young boy named Christopher lost his best friend during the Canberra fires - his dog named Poppy. Christopher's parents said he was so distraught that he wore Poppy's dog tags on a chain around his neck, and he'd grip her collar at night when sleeping. He became withdrawn from his family and friends, and at school gave up music, which was his favourite activity.

Recently Christopher and his mother visited the RSPCA to see if he liked any of the dogs. He saw a black dog (border collie mix?) who he liked, and took her for a walk and all went well. They went back with Christopher's father for another visit and took the dog home. You've never seen such an excited dog! I don't know how long she was from death row, but strays are generally only given 28 days to be re-homed. The final footage was of the boy and his dog playing in the backyard, and they wer both so happy. Christopher said that he'd give anything to have Poppy back, but he knows that can't happen so he'll love this dog.

It was so sweet, I bawled my eyes out. The family lost everything in the fires so I e-mailed the TV network to see if I can get in touch with them and send Christopher a collar or something nice for his dog.

[luckies4me]

That's a great story Nicole! That would be so neat if you could send him something special for his new pooch. It is so sad to hear about what is happening. How long is this supposed to last? Can they not do anything about the fires? Perhaps do some puposeful burning to try to prevent it from spreading? Such a terrible loss of wildlife and family pets. So sad. I hope all clears up quickly.

[Miss Meow]

Cass, this was in January so people are just starting to rebuild now. The drought made the bush and undergrowth so dry that was even too dangerous to backburn around the suburbs (regular controlled burning versus leaving the bush alone is a never-ending argument here!) The family above are in a co-operative so they help other families build their houses, and then the other families help build their house. Great idea.

Cheers!