Wednesday marked a victory for vets and nurses at the Waroona Veterinary Clinic who have been working overtime to care for the hundreds of burnt and injured animals caught up in the bushfires that destroyed the town last week.
From cattle, galahs, cockatoos and magpies to sick, burnt dogs and two chickens, the clinic took to their Facebook page late Wednesday night to announce all of the animals admitted to the clinic that day had survived and are expected to make a full recovery.
Nurse Frosina uploaded a series of images of the wildlife and captioned the post with: “I am so proud of our team of vets and nurses who have been putting in extra hours and going over and above the call of duty. The best thing -- all of the patients we got into the clinic today survived and should make full recoveries from their injuries.”
On Tuesday, an alpaca rescued from Cookernup was admitted with severe injuries however sadly, the vets were unable to save him.
“It’s been an emotional week but of course, any day that we don’t have to say goodbye to an animal is a good one, especially given the tragedy of the fire,” Peta Turtur, trainee vet nurse at the Waroona Veterinary Clinic told The Huffington Post Australia.
Over 128 homes and 143 properties are now believed to have been razed by the blaze.
A female joey was rescued by firefighters on Tuesday.
A constant stream of animals have been admitted into the clinic this week, including a young female joey rescued by firefighters on Tuesday.
“She is well on the road to recovery, so much so she was hissing at me yesterday,” Turtur said.
“We’re still keeping an eye on her and just seeing how she goes. We want her to be eating as a normal joey and as soon as we’re happy with treatment she’ll be sent to a carer as her burns heal before hopefully being re-released into the wild,” Turtur said.
Turtur said the ultimate goal was to have the animals caring for themselves so they can be released back into the wild where they’ll have the best chance at a normal life.
A brush-tail possum was brought in with burns to his feet and claws.
As well as wildlife, cats and dogs suffering from singes and after effects of smoke inhalation have also been admitted.
“If you do pick up an animal from fire affected zones please take it to the closest vet to get checked. For domestic animals, we can also scan their microchip and let owners know their pet is safe,” Turtur said.
The clinic is offering treatment for all animals affected by the fire free of charge.