Mt Barker couple with a love for all creatures are first in regional WA to win State animal welfare award

Inside one house in Mt Barker there is a rabbit, a possum, eight kangaroos, two crows and a cat. Outside the house is one horse, five miniature horses, five sheep, 30 chickens and an assortment of ducks, corellas and canaries. It sounds like Old MacDonald’s farm, but it is actually the loving home of two of the State’s most dedicated wildlife carers. Pauline Pearce and her partner Kevin Purnell live among their rescued animals and have been caring for creatures big and small since 1996. They are known as Dreamers Dream Wildlife Rehabilitators and last week they became the first regional winners of the RSPCA WA’s Community Action Award. The couple did not set out on their wildlife journey in search of plaudits. Ms Pearce said she was surprised to be recognised in the RSPCA Animal Welfare Awards — so surprised that she thought it was a hoax. “We were in tears,” she said. “It is great that wildlife and rescues have been acknowledged, not just us. Maybe we will be able to educate a few more people with this.” Their passion for wildlife rehabilitation was sparked by the rescue of a possum on a drive to work one day. For a decade now, they have been making rescue bags that people can keep in their cars. The Mt Barker pair take pride in teaching people skills that they can use to care for animals. Ms Pearce said the biggest change she had noticed over the years had been the increase in the number of animals that people bring in. “It is a very slow death on the road, a joey can take five days to die and that is a terrible way to go,” she said. “To raise a kangaroo, you are looking at over $1000 for one. So it is not only time consuming but it’s not a cheap thing to do, but we love it. “We don’t go to the movies, we don’t go to dinner — our lives are our kids and we love it.”