German Shepherd rescues Eastern Grey kangaroo joey

German Shepherd breeder Yvonne Day, of Stockleigh, was walking her dogs when she noticed a bit of a commotion.

“We’ve got big acreage and we get a lot of kangaroos coming across our property,” she said.

“I saw two kangaroos that went through the back paddock. Normally the dogs will run after them but can never catch them, and I’m always worried about a kangaroo that turns around and has a go at a dog.

“I actually have four German Shepherds, I’ve got Trixie’s mum, she’s nine years old; and Trixie, who is five, and she had seven puppies last year, so I kept two of them.

“My two young dogs were jumping up and down... so I went over with a stick just in case it was a snake, and there was this little joey, and I thought ‘oh no, it’s going to be a dead joey’.”

According to Mrs Day, the baby kangaroo looked like a big mouse, something the dogs would normally kill.

“But they started licking it and Trixie was so motherly, and her mother as well, they were very caring,” she said.

“I thought I can’t have them all hovering over it, it’s scared, so I took the other three away and left Trixie to look after it.”

Mrs Day was amazed to see what Trixie did next.

“She just loved it and was so totally caring, with the little one looking for the pouch. She just didn’t care, she was just so beautiful with it. I couldn’t believe how lovely. She knew it was a baby,” she said.

“She’s just an amazing dog. When she had the pups I had her in a box and her mother was in there with her when she was giving birth, actually helping her lick the babies. They bought them up together.

“I took the photos and video because I thought this will never happen again, it’s just so special.”

​The joey is now in the care of local wildlife carer Alma Searle.

“We called it Trixie after her hero who found her,” Ms Searle said.

“The joey is around 185 days old and a female just getting fur.”