Australian Fires – Dog To The rescue

byTravisD2008

129 followers

Updated 4 years ago

We have all heard about the Australian fires. Seen articles on our social media, watched news channels covering the story, and conversing about it with family, friends, and coworkers. However, we haven’t heard about the heros on the frontline, paws on the ground, searching for any signs of life of a koala bear. ‘Who are these brave heroes you ask?( The title is a spoiler I know.lol!) Well it’s none other than, yours truly, man’s (woman’s) bestfriend.

Earlier this year, I authored a article titled “What are the benefits of having a dog.” The article mentions how dogs improve our lives on a daily basis. Most people, myself included, don’t realize how special dogs are; what I came across today proves that dogs have special abilities. Meet some of the dogs thats are helping to find koalas in the aftermath, the Australian fires left behind.

KOALAS GOING EXTINCT?

Becky, Emma, and Tommy (the dogs) along with their trainer Steven Austin (no relation to STONE COLD!) are searching the charred land of Australia seeking to rescue surviving koala bears. Koalas were already on the verge of extinction with a estimated population of 100,000-200,000 prior to the bushfires; The Word Wildlife Fund estimates that more than 30,000 koalas may have deceased but can’t be sure until months from now.

The situation is a tragic one to say the least, and because koalas are known to breed slow, it could take hundreds of years to rebuild their population. In no way, will these dogs be able to rescue every koala but the koalas they do save, are vital to the survival of the koala species.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT (ROOF!…ROOF!…ROOF!)

The entire country of Australia (which is pretty huge) only has 8 dogs trained in the field of rescuing koalas; Becky Emma and Tommy are Springer spaniels and 3 of the best at what they do- finding injured koalas. So how do they track these koala bears you ask? Herewithin referred to as B.E.T. (Becky Emma and Tommy) track koalas by their “scat“. What is scat you ask? Scat is just another word for shit. Yes, that’s right folks these heros get a good whiff of koala’s shit and BOOM! dogs to the rescue. Must be a pretty strong scent if B.E.T. is able pick it up with all the different burning smells, such as, grass, leaves, trees, etc.

When one of the dogs are successful in finding a koala they are rewarded with a BIG…..! JUICY…! tennis ball ????

Imagine that, risking your life for the purpose of getting a tennis ball; that’s why you have to appreciate a good dog they are a very loyal species. The ball is given to them by their trainer Steve Austin.

Austin has been working with dogs close to 30 years. Austin believes that dogs are perfect for this type of mission, the first reason being they are not biased, and the second one is their strong noses. Dogs have the ability to separate the air, and they also have a special scent detecting organ that humans don’t have.

Koalas are naturally only found in Australia which makes them a huge part of the culture.

‘They just sit and eat all day and don’t bother anyone or hurt anything says Austin’. There have been a total of 16 koalas found by B.E.T. and Austin this season and they are on the hunt for more as the conditions from Australian fires become safer. Around 45 koalas are being treated for burns at the Port Macquarie hospital north of Sydney Australia.

How We Can Help!

We know that the people in Australia are facing huge issues with the events that are occuring. Of course we naturally think about all the “people” that are being affected, but what about the animals that are losing their homes, food and overall natural way of living. It is sad to hear and read about things like this, which is the reason I commend those that are doing something to help better the situation.

I wanted to also help by sharing this story with my readers who may have heard the story, but don’t quite know all of the details.

Now that we recognize the seriousness of this situation we can do things to help B.E.T. and Austin, on the journey to save their native neighbors. By raising awareness in reference to koalas extinction.

This type of awareness can draw mass media attention that can help push more like-minded folks and achieve government involvement. Most of us has had a chance to go to a zoo and see a koala. The future generation will not have that opportunity if things continue down this path. So I challenge you to help with this crisis before it comes to pass. Be sure to share comment and like the story. Thank you for reading.

https://sportyleash.com/