IN FRONT of Mandy Browning’s Cockatoo home sits a beautiful family of three cockatiels.
Upon first glance, they look just like every other bustling mummy, daddy and baby bird, nothing like cockatiels that were on the verge of being put down.
Few would notice the horrific injuries sustained by papa bird Cozy, who lost a leg and part of his wing, and four-week-old baby Piglet, who lost his wing and will no longer be able to fly.
Ms Browning said she awoke recently to find the two birds on the bottom of their large cage, covered in blood as a result of what she believed was a fox or cat attack.
“Whatever it was just pulled whatever feathers and the leg that it could grab from outside the cage,” she said.
“When we went out, the dad and the baby were sitting in the middle of the bottom of the cage, the dad looked like he was in shock, fluffed up like he was dying and there was just blood and feathers at the bottom of the cage.”
She said Cozy, who was trying to protect his baby, was left with a badly damaged left side and Piglet only had a bone sticking out as a wing.
The heavily pregnant Ms Browning was left crying in distress.
“I was down low on the ground, on my hands and knees and just howling in tears,” she said.
“It was horrible, I just in shock wondering if they would survive and thinking about the pain they would’ve gone through, thinking the mum was going to lose her family.
She quickly took them to the Burwood Vet Clinic, where bird vet Dr Phil Sacks said they could be saved and would live happily with operations that would cost them $1200.
Ms Browning, who was not working and is expecting a child, said she and her partner could not afford such costs and prepared for the worst.
“It’s just my partner’s money or whatever savings I had, but we were paying a mortgage and really couldn’t afford to pay it,” she said.
“You don’t expect the next few things to happen so once I said I can’t afford it, you just expect they’ll be put down so when I told the vet I was really sad.”
That was when the Pet Medical Crisis Fund stepped in and rescued the cockatiels.
Jennifer Hunt, who runs the fund, said they stepped in whenever pets were at risk of being put down due to financial reasons.
“Working in with the Pet Medical Crisis Fund, vets are asked to reduce their costs to a minimum or at-cost so no donated funds go towards their profit,” she said.
“Dr Phil offered to do both surgeries for a total of $600 and Mandy was able to pay $300, so the fund the other half and Cozy and baby cockatiel had successful surgery and were reunited with mum Sookie.”
Ms Browning said without the support of the fund, the two birds would never have lived to see today.
“I was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude – it was just heart-warming to see that we could get through it with the kindness of two people and shocked it happened so quickly,” she said.
The Pet Medical Crisis Fund helped out 55 families last year and is in dire need of donations.
Ms Hunt said it currently had less than $10,000 to help pensioners and disadvantaged people throughout Victoria.
Ms Browning urged people to donate to the cause and save more pets from an unnecessary death.
“It’s one of those unforseen costs and it’s horrible to make that decision between your money and the animal that gives you so much joy,” she said.
“It was a lifesaver, literally, and it was like a godsend.
“When I’m on my feet I’ll be giving to them as well.”
Donations can be made by visiting www.petmedicalcrisisfund.com.au/donations.shtml.
All donations are used to pay vet fees to get pets back home.
