Savvy Pets, 1/24/20: Woof to Finn and Scout … and Dogs Rescuing Koalas in Australia

Woof! WOOF! WOOF WOOF! Say hello to Finn, a 4 y/o Border Collie / Australian Shepherd / Lab mix and Scout, an Australian Shepherd and some random small dog breed (as officially reported through a dog DNA lab). These adorable ones share a home with Gail (T1, a fiddle player, stand-up jokester and vocalist, as well as my first mentor in my roller coaster DIY adventures) and her husband, Michael.

Mostly Finn is a giant baby. He spent the first 4 months of his life in the Colorado Prison Trained K9 program which followed the international service dog curriculum (wow, who knew?!), where he spent 24/7 with his trainer who taught him to be a very well behaved puppy. As soon as we adopted him straight from the program, he began alerting me to lows. AGAIN, WOW!!!

Scout came to us through a very sketchy “rescue” organization. We got her about a year after Finn arrived. Scout is 3 years old now. She is an Australian Shepherd and some random small dog breed (as officially reported through a dog DNA lab). She is the sweetest little dog ever, with the biggest smile and grin of any dog I’ve ever seen.

The two are best friends. They play together, sharing the same toys. Finn always makes sure Scout gets to help bring the ball back to me during fetch. They are never apart – and I cannot take one with me to the Home Depot or anywhere else without the other. They cry when they are apart from each other.

Australian Shepherds are notoriously known as “Velcro dogs”. They are securely attached to their people. On a scale of 1-10, they are both 11s. They are always underfoot and by my side. Both of them. Looking out for each other and for me. ❤

My heart is happy, reading about Finn and Scout. THANK YOU Gail for sharing your pups!!!

Who knew that dogs smile when they have a ball in their mouth? She is one happy puppy!
#ScoutTheHappyDog

PLEASE share your wonderful pets and stories with The Savvy Diabetic!!! Send pix and a few lines about how amazinng they are, to: joanne@TheSavvyDiabetic.com! You and your pet(s) will be famous!!!

And speaking of Aussies, Meet the team of dogs rescuing koalas injured in Australia’s fires as reported on CBSNews.com, 15 January 2020.

Koalas have been hit particularly hard by Australia’s raging bushfires. One Australian has turned to a familiar friend to help the animals – dogs. CBS News followed three special canines, Tommy, Emma and Becky, and their trainer Steve Austin, as they searched scorched land for injured but still living koalas.

Austin, who has been working with dogs for 30 years, explained why dogs are perfect for the job. “The beauty of the dog is it’s got no bias. It won’t go, ‘oh well there can’t be a koala over there. There has to be a koala,'” he said, adding that the dogs’ noses are their best tool.

His team of three is specifically trained to find injured koalas by tracking the scent of their waste, known as scat. After one of the dogs finds a koala, Austin gives them what he calls their “ultimate reward” – a tennis ball worth less than a dollar.

Austin’s concern comes from koalas’ place in Australia’s cultural identity. He explained, “They’ve got that lovely ambience about them. They don’t hurt nothing. They just sit and eat. And they’re very Australian because they’re found nowhere else in the world so we have to look out for them, which is very important that we do.”

Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital in Sydney said she’s grateful for the dog teams, and that they streamline the whole rescue process. “Koalas are very discreet,” she noted. “They hide themselves very well, particularly if they’re being traumatized.”

Ashton called koalas “gentle, docile creatures,” and expressed fear about their ability to bounce back from their shrunken numbers. “But there is a light. And the light is now people have seen the plight of the koala and maybe we can get off our backsides,” she said. “With the help of the government and like-minded people we can actually do something that will help them.”

Austin’s team represents just three of eight dogs in the entire country trained to do the job. He hopes that as conditions become safer, he can get as many dogs into as many areas as possible to continue rescuing koalas injured by the fires.