Angels bringing donated dog food for the pets rescued when the floods hit Burketown

A band of angels including aviation firms, supermarkets and a dog trainer have combined forces to deliver donated dog and puppy food to help the Burketown residents caring for rescued pets.

When the Royal Flying Doctor Service touched down in Burketown earlier this week, the aircraft carried special cargo for the dogs left behind when residents were forced to evacuate.

As the floodwaters which devastated the Gulf slowly recede, the town’s airstrip was on Wednesday dry enough for an RFDS plane to land and deliver 88kg of donated dog and puppy food from Mt Isa’s Coles and Woolworths to feed the many animals rescued.

Burketown resident Paula McKinlay met the aircraft with two of the puppies from a litter of seven she, Chris Moren and Mark Hocking rescued from floodwaters along with their mother on March 10.

Royal Flying Doctor Service pilot Shaun Adamson holds one of the rescued puppies after he delivered a load of donated dog food to Burketown resident Paula McKinlay who is part of team who rescued abandoned canines after residents had to evacuate. Picture: Supplied

“We are overwhelmed with the wonderful donations of dog food from Coles and Woolworths in Mt Isa,” Ms McKinlay said.

“This food will really take the pressure off because I had some food for my dogs but we were running low.”

Burketown-based Savannah Aviation will deliver the rest of the donated pet food next week.

On March 22, Royal Flying Doctor Service pilot Shaun Adamson (left) delivered donated dog food to Burketown so locals including Paula McKinlay (right) holding Flood the puppy, could feed the dogs they rescued after their owners were forced to evacuate when the floods devastated the Gulf. Picture: Supplied

“We asked Paula what she wanted then tripled it with 77 700g cans of wet dog food, 12 8kg bags of dry food and puppy biscuits,” Woolworths manager Matt Piper said.

“Our staff were happy to do something so positive.”

On March 11, Savannah Helicopter pilot Jack Terry ensured Zera the dog was able to be evacuated with her family from Burketown as the flood devastated the town. Picture: Supplied

Pauline McLeod who runs Mt Isa’s Dogs Eye View Dog Training collected the donated goods and took them to the airport.

In Mt Isa, Pauline McLeod who runs Dogs Eye View dog training collected donated dog food from Coles and Woolworths and took it the airport so it could be flown into Burketown to help locals care for rescued dogs left behind when people had to be evacuated due to the floods. Picture: Supplied

“This was very much a real team and community effort,” she said.

“When I went to the supermarkets I was impressed with the generous amount of dog food they gave.”

At Woolworths Mt Isa, manager Matt Piper said staff including Suntreeya (left) and Rewi (right) helped to pack up the store's donation of pet supplies for the rescued dogs at Burketown. Picture: Supplied

Burketown-based Savannah Aviation owner Amanda Wilkinson said her firm was happy to help.

“We will load up an aircraft and bring the dog food along with staff and other items,” Ms Wilkinson said.

Originally published as Angels bringing donated dog food for the pets rescued when the floods hit Burketown