02/06/2026
What a difference a year makes.
Today I rescued my second phalaris case of the season and I've bought both home to give them a chance, if they deteriorate I will euthanase but they could be part of the 27% that recover. The additional roo housing we bought at the start of the year is now being used as phalaris detox facility, might call it Ladys Cabin... We wouldn't have that additional housing if it weren't for the support we've received.
We were successful in one of the grants mentioned, Community Bank Hurstbridge, Diamond Creek, Eltham, Doreen-Mernda & Kinglake and that has allowed us to purchase along with all the donation and fundraising we did, our xray machine amongst other equipment our vets can use when visiting, surgical light and our stables flooring. The generosity of the public has allowed us to make many improvements to the shelter and its directly resulted in us being able to work more efficiently and save more lives now and in the future. The bird room won't be complete for several months but thats a very exciting project.
Thank you to an extra special couple who bought what is going to be a very useful piece of rescue gear for me. Its going to make life much easier for me and the roos.
So THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us so I dont have a day like that again (probably will to a degree but here's hoping). I want you to know I take great responsibility in spending donations, making sure its the best value for money, how it can make the most impact. Im a tightwad by nature so I will debate endlessly in my head if something is really needed or can something cheaper work just as well.
I euthanased a roo today. Sadly, thats a common occurrence but today was a little different. Years ago I would have taken the roo home, given her a chance. But these days there are just too many needing care that I didnt have the space or the time she would need to recover. I knew if i bought her home I would loose her anyway. She had phalaris staggers. Which makes them hypersensitive to everything but in particular noise and touch. That would mean I would need to house her alone...we are already at capacity so that is not possible. And its not like it would only be a day or 2. We are talking weeks. Then there is the time I would need to dedicate to nursing her, I dont have that sort of time anymore. And it sucks. It sucks there are so few shelter's dedicated to kangaroos, that I get asked to take roos from areas where there are shelters with facilities. They aren't as popular as koalas and wombats but there is more need for specialist facilities for roos than another "koala hospital", especially since werribee zoo is more than equipped to handle the bulk of koala cases. But funding goes to the cute and cuddly (appearance only). I know there seems to be plenty of roos...but there use to be plenty of everything...
Normally I can walk away from a euthanase case knowing I did the right thing. But today I can't, I know deep down it was the only option but doesn't mean it sits right.
I just want to get ahead. Improve our current facilities to a point where I'm happy. Have the equipment we need to improve our current diagnostics. So we can plan going forward, figuring out how we can expand. But it all comes back to money. Have a couple of grant we are waiting to hear back about but those are months away. I guess I'm just getting tired. Theres always something. 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
Picture is of Lady Muck a phalaris roo we rehabilitated back in 2016/17. This was after she'd been released, I found her roadside (a quiet dirt road but still not exactly where i wanted her hanging out) and brought her back home. She enjoyed a bit of rnr before heading out into the pen to mob up with the joeys. This was our first shed that unfortunately burnt down. We've come along way since then but still so many improvements to make.
https://www.mycause.com.au/p/330623/wildlife-shelter-hospital-equipment
