A stranger puppy you'll never find, trust me. This one is so strange that you'd almost think it wasn't a puppy at all!
OK, I'll be honest, it actually isn't a puppy...It's a kangaroo! His name isn't Joey either. A joey is what a baby kangaroo is called; Don't ask me why, I couldn't tell you.
So, what is Faith doing cuddling a kangaroo and why didn't I let her bring it home?
We were at an event recently, an off-road and camping show, and came across a stall run by a local native-fauna rescue group. They take in animals that are hit by cars mostly, however also do a lot of work with bushfire-affected animals during the summer.
They house the animals, heal their wounds or illnesses and, when able, release them back into the wild to live a normal life. The outfit is volunteer-run and funded by donations mainly, hence the stall at this event where they were raising awareness and funds.
They take in birds, reptiles, wombats, koalas and kangaroos most of which are injured by passing cars, and occasionally by ignorant ass holes who simply like to harm animals.
This little guy was found in the pouch of its dead mother on the side of the road and was brought in almost dead itself. After a few weeks he started to come good and now...Well, you can see that he's looking pretty happy and healthy. He'll be released after a couple months and will hop away into the bush to live a full life.
There's about 80 million kangaroos in Australia and it's difficult to go into a bushland setting, even close to towns and cities, and not see one. I have them only minutes from my house and I live only 12 minutes out of the capital city!
They roam free and unfortunately become casualties on the road mostly being killed, rather than wounded. The joey's don't always die on impact though, and groups like this one bring them back to health which is nice I think. (Provided someone brings the animal in.)
They were looking for a temporary home for this one which is why they placed him in Faith's arms...Sneaky tactic. It worked too because she wanted to bring him home and look after him for a couple months but I had to draw the line...We're not really set up for it. He was a cute little bugger though, and pretty friendly.
In all the time I've been driving in remote areas I've lost count how many kangaroos I have seen on, and beside, the road. They're a bit silly too as they tend to jump in the way of moving cars, not away from them.
I've hit two over the years. One was a glancing blow and I had to stop and dispatch it, the other was a head on with a 6 foot tall one. I hit it square on the bullbar in my 4x4 and it destroyed the grill and right side head light, turn light, crumpled the bonnet (hood), right quarter panel and some internal bits and pieces...It cost about $2700 to fix. I was lucky because hitting that same one in a car could have caused far more damage and even injury. The poor kangaroo was done for though I'm afraid.
Faith suggested that I could make amends for killing that kangaroo by helping this little guy out...But I was adamant. I dropped $20 in the tin and forced her to put the cute little fella back in his basket. Of course, I had to put up with Faith's pouting and complaining for a while, but bringing a kangaroo home wasn't on the agenda that day!
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Be well
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