At Kimberley Care Group, We don’t just care about people. We care about all living things. And, living in the Kimberley, it’s often we see many animals without homes and without the true care they deserve.
As a business that operates on the ethos of care for all in the community, it feels almost natural that we should turn our attention to the animals who also require aid. We support as many people as we can in the community – in a variety of ways – and now it’s time to focus some of our time, money and efforts onto the animals who need support.
But we can’t do this alone. As many people will know, living in Broome and the surrounding communities, we come across lots of stray animals or animals who just aren’t getting the care and love they deserve. To change this, we’ve connected with the pioneer of the Foster Care model in Western Australia: SAFE.
Kimberley Care Group, over the next 12 months, will be donating $100,000 to SAFE’s mission.
As a community services organisation, we have a huge insight into how many people live, and survive. We see certain disparities between groups of people and individuals, and both SAFE and Kimberley Care Group agree that one of these disparities that has the biggest impact on animal welfare in the Kimberley is education. With different levels of education comes limited knowledge of how to properly look after animals, which is one of the reasons we see so many animals being treated poorly. With SAFE’s support, we’re going to ensure more people are educated on pet ownership.
If you’re based in the beautiful Kimberley, you would have heard about SAFE’s unshakeable commitment to the cause: ensuring as many animals as possible are saved from the streets and ensuring people are educated about caring for animals.
SAFE’s impact is multifaceted, but the true aim – to reduce the amount of strays we come across – is to promote and organise desexing.
When Kimberley Care Group first looked into a way to give back to the community, working with SAFE Broome seemed like the obvious choice. Now, we’re on a mission, with SAFE’s ubiquitous influence in the Kimberley, to empower animal owners with the correct knowledge to properly look after their pets. This will mean even more animals can be protected and saved.
Read on to find out how this collaboration is going to supercharge SAFE’s impact in the Kimberley.
A brief overview of SAFE’s mission and impact
When Sue Hedley OAM first set up SAFE – starting in Karratha and now supporting animals across Western Australia – the mission was to not only make a huge impact on the amount of animals saved, it was to change the cultural and social outlook on homeless animals. To reshift the opinion that euthanasia was the only viable option for re-homable animals.
Through a foster care model, SAFE has gently (but quickly) guided many to view animal care through a positive viewpoint, away from institutionalised care, which has a more cut and dry view of stray or relinquished animals. For so many animals, adoptive homes have been found: a fact that confirms that with time, compassion and financial backing, stray animals don’t need to remain stray.
SAFE and Sue’s belief system can be divided into three thought motives:
- “Staying in the moment – taking the action that is needed for the now
- Learning to ride the horse in the direction it’s going – going with the natural flow of life, accepting change as a natural phenomena, and working towards making positive change where one can
- Remaining positive, non-judgmental, and open to the possibilities, knowing that adversity is never as adverse as it first seems”
With the above, “animals can be matched and moved from foster care to permanent homes without any need to go to a shelter. Animals are now viewed by prospective adopters across the country and flown to their new homes.”
SAFE’s mission and achievements thus far are positively changing the landscape of animal rescue in Western Australia.
It’s all a learning curve
Animal care extends far beyond having a dog or cat in your garden or home. To own an animal is a luxury; it’s costly, it’s emotionally all-consuming at times, and takes up a lot of time, space and capacity for care.
To some, taking in a cat or a cute puppy might seem like a relaxed addition to the home, but in reality, this animal needs a quality of life that can – sometimes – rely heavily on having a stable flow of cash.
This is where education comes in; those who currently own dogs in the Kimberley – and those who are considering adopting – need to know how to look after their cat or dog.
So, what do we need to know?
Food and water
All living animals need to eat and drink to survive. Ensuring your animals have quality food (nutrient-rich) and clean water available is non-negotiable. You’ve taken an animal in, you need to make sure they’re getting what they need.
Microchipping
Once you own an animal, it is your responsibility to ensure this animal is linked to you. When a dog or cat has a microchip, it means that if they ever get lost, they can get their chip scanned and you, as the owner, can be located through the microchip database.
Fleas, ticks and worms
Fleas are no laughing matter. They are itchy and insufferable for an animal to go through, and they can even cause disease transmission or blood gorging if left untreated.
Worms, unsurprisingly, are the opposite of a barrel of laughs. They usually occur simultaneously with fleas which is why buying combined medication is the most effective preventative measure. Worms are usually ingested through the eggs laid by – you guessed it – fleas. The tell-tale signs are the, almost comical, dragging of the behind on the ground for relief from worms but you can also see them in your animal’s stool. They look like little bits of rice.
And, the trifecta of all things your animals should never have to experience, are ticks. Living in the Kimberley, dog walks in the bush are common, but this is where you’re likely to find creepy, crawly ticks that then latch on to your cat or dog’s skin (though it’s much rarer in cats). They will bite and suck blood from your pet, and, though they eventually fall off when ‘full,’ they can spread some serious diseases such as Lyme disease (which humans can get, too).
Diseases
As mentioned above, diseases can be spread through a variety of parasites. Making sure you’re on top of your preventative measures such as flea and tick protection tablets, (Nexgard is a popular one for dual action) and worming tablets will help your animal to avoid any discomfort, and the chances of life-threatening diseases. A tick collar will also help to ensure ticks are repelled from your pet’s skin. The more you can do, the better.
There is one disease which all pet owners of the Kimberley should be aware of, and it’s spread through ticks: E.canis.
E.canis, or Ehrlichiosis if you feel like using a tongue-twister, was first detected in the Kimberley in 2020 and there are many positive cases of it still today. Symptoms include:
- Lethargy
- Fever
- Lack of appetite
It’s good to take note of any changes in your pet to make sure you tackle the disease quickly – if present in your animal – and you can do so with antibiotics. But, if left too late, severe cases of E.canis might require blood transfusions, IV fluids and staying for a long-time at the veterinary hospital. These options are, of course, very expensive for anyone which is why prevention is better than cure. And, all these things are a personal expense so you need to put aside money for your pet’s care as your commitment to them.
How SAFE x KCG will see even more change in the Kimberley
The sad truth is, SAFE can’t do it all alone, and when money is a key component of saving as many animals as possible, the $100,000 will make a huge impact. But, that’s not all.
KCG has created an internal position to facilitate the project. A very important member of the Kimberley Care Group team, will facilitate all of the above alongside SAFE Broome. They will liaise with SAFE, vets, and rangers in order to get the best possible outcome for animals that we come across through our work (which is a lot).
Internally, this staff member will be identified as the direct contact for any and all animal welfare concerns that our staff force come across.
With their on-the-ground position, the plan of action and support will be as follows:
- KCG will fund (and promote) tick treatment for animals we come across.
- KCG will fund (and promote) desexing for animals we come across. We will use the “last litter” approach and assist in getting animals to the vet, then back to the owner.
- KCG will fund (and promote) microchipping and registering for animals we come across.
SAFE will not only share their databases to ensure we are supporting as many animals as possible, they will act as an educational and advisory board to promote the tools, resources and autonomy of pet ownership in Kimberley and the rest of WA. This will ensure KCG is not just funding medication where needed, but encouraging pet owners to become the best pet owners they can possibly be.
With our contribution, we are looking to help as many animals as we can.
Key takeaways
There’s alway room for more funding for SAFE to help them with their mission, so we hope while we educate and support owned pets during this partnership, we can also encourage other businesses to join the initiative.
Follow us on Instagram to stay on track of the SAFE x KCG collaboration.
References: