Molly and Peggy: Inside story of the events that stunned the world
The story of Peggy and Molly was one of the most uplifting to be found. But behind the cute pictures, trouble was looming. This is how the sweetest of tales took a sudden and devastating turn.
Gold Coast
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They are images guaranteed to melt any heart.
A curious magpie, snuggled up lovingly against the ripples in the fur of its best friend, a Staffordshire bull terrier.
The pair rolling and playing. Laying together on a warm bed. Gazing out at the tropical greenery of a Queensland reserve.
The magpie making an adorable barking sound, imitating its canine mate.
The story of Peggy, the adorable pup, and Molly, its Magpie mate, was an online sensation.
Regular video updates on Facebook and Instagram had not just Australians transfixed, but tens of thousands around the world.
The posts, created by Gold Coast couple Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, were a cherished daily dose of happiness for the more than one million people who tuned in on Facebook, and 700,000 on Instagram.
But behind the idyllic scenes, trouble had been brewing.
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
The story began in September 2020.
Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen were walking Peggy in a northern Gold Coast dog park when they noticed a small bird on the ground, “lost, weak and frightened”.
In a September 2021 interview, Ms Wells said the couple were at first unsure how to help the seemingly abandoned bird.
“It was during the day, nobody was around and Reece just came across a little baby bird walking around,” she said.
“And he came back and he said, ‘oh, there’s a bird, what should we do?’
“So we stayed around for a while to see if the parents were there, or if it fell out of the nest.
“We saw the parents there but they weren’t interested in having anything to do with her.
“So Reece knelt down to see if the bird was ok and she ran up his arm and rested on his shoulder.”
The pair decided to bring that lost and frightened bird home and nurse it back to health.
It was to be the start of a journey that would transform their lives in a way neither had imagined.
Ms Wells, an artist, was working on her art one day when she noticed something very special: Peggy and the magpie they had since named Molly were lying together on the floor.
“I took videos and photos and I rang Reece and I said, ‘you’ll never guess what happened’,” she said. “And since then they would just snuggle in together. It was just beautiful.”
Extraordinarily, Peggy produced milk for the fragile bird, further melting hearts.
Ms Reece decided to share the heartwarming images with the world. The Peggy and Molly page was born.
THE STORY THE WORLD NEEDED
Like so many success stories, a key element was timing.
Molly and Peggy was introduced to a world struggling through Covid-19 lockdowns.
For millions stuck at home in Melbourne and Sydney and many other cities around the world, the story of the unlikely friendship between a magpie and a dog was just the lift they needed.
“The most overwhelming thing is how we’re helping mental health, especially during lockdown,” Ms Wells said at the time.
“They tell us it’s the first thing they do, go on Peggy and Molly’s page, and it makes them happy.”
The success of the page was beyond anything the couple could have expected.
Its message of positivity and acceptance drew in more than 700,000 followers on Instagram and more than a million followers on Facebook.
Peggy and Molly was becoming a much-loved brand, with a website selling calendars, T-shirts and cards.
In November last year a Peggy and Molly book was launched through publishers Penguin.
But there were bumps in the road. A difficult moment came when Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen were told by their landlord that their lease was not being renewed and they would have to leave their home by the end of March 2022.
The couple, and their beloved animal companions, looked like becoming the latest victims of a rental crisis gripping Queensland.
Ms Wells said the “rug was pulled out from us”.
“We had plans of buying this place but with the rise in house prices we have been knocked out of the running,” Ms Wells said.
“... This is the only place Peggy, Molly and Ruby (Peggy’s six-month-old puppy) have ever known.
“One minute we were cruising along and the next minute the rug is pulled out from under us. We are devastated to tell you the truth.”
A friend launched a GoFundMe page to help the couple buy a property.
It soon raised more than $100,000 and the crisis was averted.
But further trouble was not far away.
EYEBROWS RAISED
The first complaint to wildlife authorities was made 11 months ago, in April 2023.
The success of the Peggy and Molly page had raised eyebrows among people who had dedicated their lives to protecting Queensland’s native animals.
While most of the world saw only positivity in Molly’s story, they were not so sure.
They knew that a native animal should not be kept without a permit. And they were worried that the wide reach of Peggy and Molly’s story might make people believe it was ok to try and adopt native animals and bring them into homes.
“Good intentions or not it is illegal and if one person is allowed to do this then what’s to stop everyone else,” one person said.
“As a wildlife carer our main aim is to get animals back to the wild without them imprinting on domestic animals or humans.
“It is dangerous for the bird, not to mention if it happens to end up with a not so friendly dog that makes a meal out of it.”
Officials in the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) began investigating.
In winter last year, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen got a knock on their door.
“(DESI) turned up on our door on the 13th of June wanting us to surrender Molly,” Ms Wells said. “We refused as he was thriving in the trees surrounding our property and was accepted here.
“After long discussions they left and we thought everything was ok.”
But everything was not ok. The department continued to receive complaints. Early this year they were back, and Molly was surrendered on March 1.
“It is alleged that the bird was taken from the wild and kept unlawfully, with no permit, licence or authority being issued by DESI,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“All Queensland native animals are protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. To keep a native animal that originates from the wild, a person must have a permit, licence or authority to lawfully have the animal in their possession.
“ ... Animals in rehabilitation must not associate with domestic animals due to the potential for them to be subjected to stress and the risks of behavioural imprinting and transmission of diseases. Animals from the wild, must stay wild.”
The millions of people worldwide following Peggy and Molly’s antics were completely unaware of the drama until the story broke in the Gold Coast Bulletin and Courier Mail on March 26.
It was shocking news that none of them expected.
And it marked the start of one of the biggest social media campaigns the world has seen.
AN EXTRAORDINARY CAMPAIGN
Within hours of the news breaking, Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen addressed their followers in an online video.
They were emotional. But also determined.
“After much discussions and exhausting all avenues to preserve a stable, safe environment for Molly over the past few months I had to make the toughest decision of my life and I handed over a wild bird to be in captivity,” Ms Wells said.
“I asked on the day if I could visit him regularly and monitor his progress but so far they have not responded to any of my requests.
“We may have been a little naive in the beginning but we have done our best to rectify this, from the moment we found a little sick bird to this day, everything we have done has been done with pure intentions and just the joy of sharing this beautiful interspecies friendship that we were so honoured to witness.”
They also came out fighting.
“DESI decided to remove Molly from the wild and put him in a cage, which absolutely blows my mind,” Mr Mortensen said. “Why not come up with a solution.
“Guys you can help us in the fight to return Molly the Magpie home by writing an email to the local MP and also the Department, asking them to open an investigation into the DESI officers’ handling of this situation.”
To their almost two million followers, it was a call to action that had to be heeded.
The result was immediate, and for those on the receiving end, overwhelming.
SWAMPED WITH MESSAGES
Michael Crandon is the MP for Coomera on the northern Gold Coast.
He first met Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen in January, when they came to him about their problem with DESI.
He says he advised the couple to “go through the process” with the department and keep him up to date with how things progressed, but never heard another thing. Until Wednesday, when it was all he heard about.
His social media posts about local issues affecting the Coomera community were overwhelmed by comments about Molly, disrupting, he said, his ability to communicate with his community.
By 5pm more than 1500 emails about the magpie’s fate had spilled into his inbox, “causing havoc” for his office.
A large portion of the emails were addressed to DESI, with Mr Crandon CCed. Many were far from pleasant reading.
“I’ve had a glance through (the emails) and some of the people are absolutely disgusting with what they’re saying. It beggars belief to be perfectly honest,” Mr Crandon said.
“They’re attacking me, but they’re attacking the department, attacking the departmental officers for doing their job.”
Mr Crandon, who said he sympathised with all sides in the story, said many of the people seemed to think he was responsible for Molly’s surrender.
“They’ve decided for some reason or another to target me,” he said.
“All of these folk appear to be of the understanding that I’m doing this.”
Even worse was the treatment meted out to veteran wildlife carer Cat Coake.
DEATH THREATS AND TEARS
Ms Coake had appeared in an ABC story about the case, expressing her concerns about Molly and questioning why DESI had not acted earlier.
The story did not go unnoticed by some online trolls, who responded by bombarding Ms Coake’s social media with death threats and threats of violence so vile they cannot be repeated here.
“It’s just not right,” Ms Coake said.
“I’m just the one that has most recently said, ‘this has got to stop guys’.
“So I’m the last one in. Not that it matters, because I’m a 110 per cent behind the law being as it is.”
Speaking through tears Ms Coake said online trolls had even reached her son, who had nothing to do with it.
“I’m really upset because my son has just had threats, which is just ridiculous,” she said.
“I’ve had to close everything (social media accounts) down.”
For someone who had dedicated more than 20 years of her life to helping native wildlife, it was brutal and cruel.
It was also in stark contrast to the message of the Peggy and Molly account, punctuated with slogans such as “All you need is love” and “If you can be anything, be kind”.
This newspaper does not suggest Ms Wells or Mr Mortensen had any involvement in the abuse directed at Ms Coake, nor is there any suggestion they endorse such views.
Indeed, in a message on social media, Ms Wells urged supporters not to join with the online mob.
“We do please ask that you do not spread hate or fear on these people,” she said. “I know of one person who made a mistake of putting her name out in one of the articles and is in fear of her safety and her family’s safety.”
DESI, meanwhile, pleaded for an end to the abuse.
“We are aware that experienced, passionate wildlife carers and staff have been subjected to threats and abuse,” a spokesperson said.
“This abuse is unacceptable, and it must stop.”
HOPE FOR A HAPPY ENDING
Mr Crandon said that while he understood the “human emotion” involved in Molly’s surrender, he also sympathised with DESI officers who feared an unfortunate precedent was being set by the case.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles appeared to have no such concerns, on Wednesday declaring he “supported” the campaign to get Molly home.
By Thursday morning he was telling media that the department would work with Ms Wells and Mr Mortensen to make it happen.
“The environment department stands ready to train Molly’s parents to be wildlife carers, to get them that certification so that Molly can be reunited with their family,” Mr Miles said.
“What I’m suggesting now is that we work with them to get them that permit so that Molly can be reunited with his family.
“ ... I think sometimes common sense needs to prevail and in this instance ensuring that they can legally take care of Molly is the best outcome.”
The couple, who spoke of their devastation at losing Molly just hours earlier, were thrilled by the developments.
“Wow, wow, wow. Who could have ever imagined such a little bird would send the loudest message,” they wrote.
“Thank you for the outpouring of love and support we are so overwhelmed.
“We have the Queensland Premier supporting us.
“We have an army of millions all around the world supporting us.
“We have tv crews camping in our doorstep.
“This situation has blown up way bigger than we could have ever imagined.
“These three animals have sent a message loud and clear to the world about love, acceptance and unity in differences.”
No doubt fresh images of Peggy and Molly will soon appear, inspiring and uplifiting millions.
Bringing joy and positivity to the world.
But in a whirlwind few weeks there has also been anguish, fear and tears.
The power of social media at its very finest. And for an unlucky few, its very worst.
Originally published as Molly and Peggy: Inside story of the events that stunned the world
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