The Central West has been ravaged by drought over the past 18 months, leaving no-one on the land unaffected – be it farmers and families, stock and wildlife.
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One group which often slips under the radar in times of need are working dogs.
Food for working dogs isn’t the biggest or most concerning expense for farmers, but it all adds up, and one group in Orange is looking for donations of wet or dry feed for pooches in need.
Larlee Ramsey and Cath Asimus are two of the administrators of the Orange NSW Lost and Found Pets group that is organising the drive.
Mrs Ramsey said a “brainwave” on Monday night led to launching this week.
“There are people collecting animal food and cattle feed but no-one was collecting for the dogs and the animals so we thought ‘why not, let’s do this’,” she said.
“You see a lot of dogs disappear … and with a lot of the drought photos you see and you realise no-one’s collecting anything for them.”
In four days Mrs Ramsey has collected 14 bags of food, with 40 kilograms of dry food and two trays of wet food dropped in to the main collection point of Orange Real Estate on Friday morning.
The office of Member for Orange Phil Donato is also a drop-off point, but the group is yet to find a weekend location to collect food.
However, Mrs Ramsey and the rest of the group are still doing what they can on weekends.
“Find us on Facebook, message us, either Cath or I can pick it up or you can drop it at our place,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be a big bag, it can be a three kilogram one or a single tin, it doesn’t matter.”
The food will be distributed by Pay It Forward.
Orange Real Estate property manager Chelsea Preen said there had been “heaps” of donations in the first few days of the program starting – especially the 40kg donation on Friday.
“We’re all for the animals, we all love supporting the farmers,” she said.