When Mena Buckley’s beloved greyhound, Tassie, crawled off the couch and collapsed on the floor, she knew it was time for her dog to go.
She called her NDIS worker to visit her Wesburn home the next morning to dig a grave, but when he didn’t turn up, she started to worry.
“I started panicking a bit because of the heat. I thought, ‘I’m not going to have her decomposing on the back veranda. She’s worth more than that,’” she said.
“So that’s when I put the call out.”
Ms Buckley reached out for help on a local Facebook group, and the response to her call was nothing short of incredible.
“I was amazed at how many people answered that call. It really showed me how many people out there that really care,” Ms Buckley said.
The post on 26 January received 341 likes and 91 comments with community members far and wide offering to drop their things and assist Ms Buckley, who’s in her sixties and uses a motorised wheelchair to get around.
She was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support shown by the community.
Having worked in animal rescue, foster care and disability support while caring for her daughter with severe autism, Ms Buckley is no stranger to caring for others.
But when Tassie came into Ms Buckley’s life in July 2022, she’d just lost her father to cancer, and had been put in a wheelchair after she developed an autoimmune condition.
She needed Tassie as much as the rescued greyhound needed her.
“I always said dad sent her from beyond, I know she’ll take care of you.”
It was clear to Ms Buckley that Tassie had been a hunting or guard dog of some sort. Any sound that went bang terrified her, she’d bark defensively at any visitor and she had a weird habit of walking through doors backwards.
Ms Buckley said she was a “very sad little dog” when she took her in.
“I’ve rescued a lot of dogs and had a lot of dogs in my life. Most of them have all been abused and she never came across to me as an abused dog.”
“But she never had love.”
For the next three and a half years, Tassie would spend most of her time on the couch – “a real greyhound thing”, Ms Buckley said.
“She had her own personal little garden that she could go in and out at her own times but she never socialised with people. It took me probably a year to get her to back off from my friends.”
Ms Buckley’s home is full of these dog “ensuites” she’s built for Tassie and the other foster dogs she’s cared for in the past.
Little enclosed play areas jut out from the side of the house, and dog doors provide easy access to the inside.
But, Tassie was getting old, and Ms Buckley knew her time was coming.
“I already had a spot picked out for her in the garden so I knew she was sick. I wasn’t expecting her to die so soon.”
Luckily, her NDIS worker Chris had only slept in that day and still turned up to dig the grave for Tassie in a little nook of her wonderfully unique garden.
It would be understandable for anyone in this situation to react with anger or indignation, but there wasn’t a hint of resentment from Ms Buckley.
“Chris is a really hard worker. But oh boy, when he bombs out, he bombs out.”
She showed nothing but gratitude and appreciation for both Chris, and the wider community who were ready to help in a heartbeat.
“It’s just so heart warming to know so many people care,” Ms Buckley said.
Ms Buckley’s experience in animal rescue meant she frequently saw many perfect pets without homes and families.
She encouraged people to think twice before breeding pets, and for those looking to get a pet to go to an animal shelter first.
“As much as we love all of these dogs and all of these cats, there’s more animals than what there’s homes for them. So, please think before you breed animals
“Don’t just breed because puppies and kittens are beautiful. Go to pounds to rescue the ones that need homes.”
Now, Ms Buckley has a new dog called Jimmy, who’s full of life and has a lot of energy in him.
