Dr Scott Rescues Animals Injured In Devastating Floods | Vet On The Hill

In northern New South Wales, people and animals there are suffering, so I'm driving there straight away to see what I can do. And although thousands of animals survived, many have been left sick or badly injured. Scott's first stop is the small town of Corakay, 600km north of Sydney. Three weeks earlier, the town and surrounding region were under metres of flood water. Thousands of pets and farm animals were swept away to their deaths. Hi there, you must be Natalie. Hi, how are you? Going very well. Who's this? This is Moe. Scott's first stop is a pop-up equine hospital for flood victims, where Natalie's beloved horse Moe is receiving care. Natalie is one of the many locals with extraordinary tales of bravery and resilience. Very nerve-wracking. The water was pretty much over the panels, and the horses were swimming. I just knew they had to get there. Poor thing. And you lost some of your horses as well, didn't you? Yeah, I did, but I was lucky. I only lost three out of 20. So I was lucky to get them out of there, and lucky for the bridge. And what made you think about the bridge? Was it just the only place you could see that would be above the water? Well, everything else was underwater for miles. So you swam your horses to the bridge? Natalie is a hero. She managed to lead about 26 horses to safety in the middle of this sea of devastation and death. But Natalie herself is incredibly traumatised. She has seen animals being swept away to their deaths. Horrendous sights of whole herds of cattle washing down the river, bellowing all in a group, just going under the bridge. Nowhere to go. Cattle standing on roofs of houses and carports. It's just terrible. I can't believe that you've gone through everything you've gone through and the trauma you've gone through. I'm still here and I've got lots to live for. You're a legend. Can I give you a hug? Thank you. Not too hard. Well done. Honestly, well done. Thank you. Hi Nikita, I'm Scott. How are you doing? Hey, great to meet you. And you? Equine vet Nikita is part of a dedicated team of volunteers working around the clock to save horses suffering from flood-related disease and injuries. So who's this then? So this is Ledger and this is his lovely owner Nik. Hello. Hi guys. How are you doing? Hello buddy. He seems a little bit on the quiet side. What's wrong with him? So Ledger actually developed pneumonia when he was swimming through some flood water. Ledger's life was in danger when owner Nik's holiday ranch was suddenly inundated. Nik sent out an SOS to the Australian Outback Adventure Show on the Gold Coast and a team of stockmen and women leapt into action. OK, so we need every bridle and every halter to be used. Hello buddy. Airdropped onto Nik's property, their dramatic rescue saved more than 20 stranded horses, including Ledger. Good boys. Good boys. Get them on the ground. Well done you for your bravery. So good on you. Thank you Scott. Yeah. Listen to your lungs, eh? Certainly hear a few more sort of moist crackles. Yeah. Has he had many respiratory symptoms? Has he been coughing or sneezing? He's flat. I can tell from his demeanour that he's very flat. I think it's obvious talking to Nik. Ledger is a horse that's clearly close to a heart and Ledger's pneumonia is something that Nikita and I are concerned about. You've got an ultrasound there, so we're going to have a little scan of the chest? Yeah, yeah. It's amazing how far technology has come and that you can look an ultrasound, a horse in the field, and use your iPhone to look at the picture. It's amazing. Yeah, so quite significant consolidation there still. No wonder he's a bit sad. Yeah, yeah. He's got an abscess on his lung. The ultrasound scan reveals Ledger's pneumonia is extremely serious. So definitely more antibiotic treatment needed for him. Yeah. So obviously there's a long road yet. Yeah, still a long road yet to go, yeah. Yeah. Ledger has got some abscesses in his lungs that have been as a result of taking in, breathing in some of this nasty water that he was swimming through, then he's definitely not out of the danger zone yet. Good boy. Scott administers a dose of antibiotics. Nikita and the dedicated veterinary team will closely monitor Ledger's progress over the coming days. There you go. You're welcome. Good boy. There you go, mate. We had no idea the magnitude of conditions we would continue to see weeks after the flood water has receded, so that's where the real work's starting now. It's going to be a long process of recovery and checking on these horses. Here you go, Ledger. Give out that, mate. Good boy. There you go. All right. Get well soon. Oh, wow. Oh, my God. Scott's Australian-based colleagues, twin vets Audrey and Alison, are also helping out the flood-ravaged communities of northern New South Wales. This is so devastating. Like, oh, my God. Now that the water has subsided, we can see just how much damage has been done. It's absolutely devastating now because there's no water covering everything. We're seeing houses that are abandoned and just all the furniture and loved things on the road. It's so upsetting to see. So you need to use this for every animal. You've got one for every species. Audrey and Alison are teaming up with Elaine, the founder of volunteer organisation Vets for Compassion. The Korakai was completely submerged. Some people have seen their animals washed away, and that's heartbreaking to hear. A lot of farms with cattle, the ones that survive end up with hoof abscesses, infections in their feet and pneumonia because they've been submerged in water for many days. Audrey, where's your stethoscope? In my backpack. Very grateful for Ellie and Audrey to be here because they're very good with people. We have to be very sensitive how we speak to people because they're distraught. They've been through so much. Hi, Dave. Hi, Buddy. How are you going? That's Buddy, is it? That's Buddy boy. Hey, Buddy boy. The twins' first patient is Dave's Tenterfield Terrier, Buddy, who suffered a serious injury to his back at the height of the floods. Do you want to just explain to us what happened and how he got this? While the floods were on, we had people parked in our driveway and they had a car trailer and he raced in under the trailer and a piece of steel just virtually peeled his skin straight back. Like opening a can, it worms up and then I just pushed it forward and wrapped him up and brought him down here. When the floods came up, we were locked in for two weeks. When you look around and realise how devastating it was, it's unbelievable. That looks really sore. And obviously with all that water around, risk of infection. Vets for Compassion Volunteers treated Buddy's injury when it first happened. Alison and Audrey want to make sure the wound hasn't become infected. So this is after a week and you can still see it's scabbed over, which is great. It looks definitely a lot better than what you described. There's a bit of necrotic skin, so that's dead skin that's started to form. So we probably have to get that nice and clean and wash it off. When we examine Buddy, that wound is looking like it's healing. There's quite the defects still there, but it's healing really well. I think Dave's done a good job with cleaning and giving the antibiotics. So we're also giving him a full check over and make sure generally in his health that he's doing OK as well. Good little fella. As Alison starts to examine 11-year-old Buddy... Is he coughing or sneezing? No. ..she discovers a potentially serious condition. He has got a grade 1 heart burner. The valves in the heart are closing as well. So what happens is as the blood pumps through the chambers, a little bit is whooshing back the other way. What we'll do is say at his next vet check, just see if that's a heart burner, if that's progressed, as well as if he shows any signs of coughing, panting when he's going to bed or increased respiratory rate when he's sleeping. So Dave himself has been through quite a hectic situation in a few weeks. He has been affected by the floods in the sense that he's had to house all his neighbours and friends and family and they've brought their different pets, dogs and cats, into his household. So there's been a bit of chaos and Buddy's been a little bit stressed. I'm just going to give it a good clean. Here you go, Buddy. Yes, there's his dead skin just lifting off. But as the twins attend to Buddy's back injury... Oh, he's got skin infection. ..they notice another issue affecting many four-legged victims of the receding floodwaters. You can see there's these little pustules here and obviously with all that water around, he's got a bacterial infection. So now that the water has subsided, with all this mud and debris and bacteria around, it is causing quite a lot of problems. Things like pyodermas of the skin, conjunctivitis, urinary tract infections, all those things that pop up a little time after they've been in the floodwater. That's where the infection's coming from. Have a look at this. Yeah. Got all your fur stuck to your teeth from chewing. There is a lot of hair wrapped around the teeth. It's smelly, it's dirty, it's trapped with food and bacteria. You really need to get it out. This is just going to cause more infection in the mouth. Pyodermas, while they start off quite mild, can actually cause more damage if it's left alone. It can get worse and spread to the deeper tissues. All right, Dave, so we're giving it a clean-up. I'm going to give him an antihistamine shot for his underlying allergy, and then give you some more antibiotics and cream to put in. Half a tablet twice a day. Oh, you didn't even flinch. You're such a good boy. All right, Buddy, thanks for coming on film two. Thank you. He's a great little dog. I'm more than grateful for these girls and the fantastic job they've done with him. Buddy's a new dog. I'm really happy for him. See you later, Buddy. Go see your sister. Oh, he's so cute. In you go, mate. I can tell Buddy is feeling a lot better, and the best part of this job is that we're able to treat these animals and give them some sort of sense of relief that they're under our care and they're looked after, cos there's so much going on with these people and their homes and their friends, so just one tick off their plate and they can get on with their lives. Back at the pop-up equine hospital, Scott is hearing case after case of animals still suffering the devastating impact of the horrifying floods. So what sort of patients have you been dealing with? Obviously all horses, but what sort of state have they come in? The main problems we're seeing is pneumonia, laminitis and a bit of colic and also wounds, obviously, from escaping the floodwaters. These floods really caught people off guard, and as a result, a lot of horses were unable to escape, so some of these horses have been through the most epic journey of survival. Thank you. Scott wants to do whatever he can to help, so Nikita puts him to work treating 22-year-old Paddy. Good boy. Since he was rescued, his 15-year-old owner Jess has hardly left his side. Looking forward to coming home, buddy? Yeah. To hear the words that he's safe and sound, I was crying happy tears at that point, because he means the world to me. I'd do anything for that horse. So who's this handsome chap here? So this is Paddy, and this is Jess, his owner. Hi, Jess. Hello, mate. Hello, buddy. How are you? Are you OK? So, Nikita, I can just see he's got a bandage on his leg, so this was as a result of the injuries during the floods? Yeah, so Paddy had a bit of a tough time, so he was actually stuck on the Woodburn Bridge there for about six days. Paddy was one of several horses, along with 50 people, trapped on the bridge for almost a week until the swirling floodwaters subsided. He also sustained a wound swimming to the bridge to get to safety. This was surrounded by water, so it was just an island in the sea of all the water? Yeah. So no food? They only just got a little bit of food right at the end. Wow, must have been frightening for you. You love your boy. Yes, he is my heart and soul. There was a Facebook post saying that he was going downhill, and so I thought he was dying personally, so I was so upset. I was just absolutely heartbroken. You're just happy to have him back? I'm just happy to have him back, yeah. In one piece. I was so worried. Yeah, of course. I was absolutely worried. He's safe and sound, but I can see he's got a dressing on his leg, Nikita, so that's what we're here to sort out and have a look at? Yeah, 100%. So he's due for a bandage change now, so we'll take that off and give it a good clean-up and then pop a new one back on. OK. A mild sedative will ensure Scott isn't kicked while he treats the injured leg. I can still hit a horse vein. He's good. Phew! Paddy, like a lot of the horses caught up in the floods, have really serious trauma to their legs. As they're swimming to safety through fences, there's trees and all sorts of things, and they've literally lacerated their legs, and on top of that, they've now got really infected, sore legs. Beautiful handiwork. There we go. Alright, Paddy? Good boy. Well done. After three weeks of non-stop fighting to save lives, an exhausted Nikita is happy to have Scott's help. We need to fatten you up, boy. He's so thin. We're doing the best we can, obviously, with these guys that we can save, which makes me feel good, so I just try to hold on to those cases and not think too much about the ones we've lost. You just need to give him lots of food. We need to try and fill up these ribs here, don't we, mate? Trying to do that. Yeah. I don't think he's going to fight you on that. He looks like he's a bit of a foodie. Yes. Yes, he is very much a foodie. Well, you keep feeding up your boy. See ya. Driving through the flood-damaged areas, it's shocking. To see the devastation on the news is one thing, but to be here in reality is something else. The level of carnage is just horrifying. Scott has arrived in the devastated city of Lismore, where the floods were the worst in the town's recorded history. The unparalleled natural disaster destroyed much of the city, claiming several human lives and countless pets and animals. Scott's come to treat an injured dog with an incredible survival story. Hi, Naomi. How are you doing? I'm Scott. Hi, Scott. This is Sadie. Hi, Sadie. How are you? You OK? I'm really sorry, but I think this might be your mail. It was stuck up in a tree. Yeah, OK. So how are you two? Well, you know, it's been a bit of an ordeal, especially for Sadie. She spent 36 hours wedged in a tree. Wow. The raging floodwater swept through Naomi's house in the middle of the night. In total darkness, she climbed onto her roof to survive, but couldn't take her 12-year-old Marem across with her. How far did the floodwater go? So, well, the electricity box was under, so it was clear I wasn't going to be able to get out. I dragged the highest bit of furniture that I could move to try and get Sadie up as high as possible. We had the bench. It was up to about this tall that I'd put Sadie on. Right. And then just knowing that you had to leave the dog behind. That, yeah, it was just not physically possible for me to lift her above my head on the roof, and it was the most painful decision I think I've ever had to make. I knew she was at really great risk of not making it once I got on the roof. When she was rescued from her roof the following morning, Naomi was distraught to find her beloved Sadie was missing. She was gone. She wasn't there anymore. How were you at that moment? You must have been heartbroken. It was a pretty grim outlook at that stage, yeah. Swept away by the torrent, Sadie spent the next day and a half in this tree, hanging upside down, clinging to life. All I could say to people is, you know, and they asked me how I was, I'd just say, I've lost Sadie, and it was just a constant heartbreak. You're a strong boy. Good job, mate. While I was there, I got a phone call from my daughter saying they found Sadie, which I didn't believe it because I just thought, oh, people are wanting to keep their hopes up. I just couldn't believe it was possible that she'd survived. And what was your reaction, that she somehow miraculously survived? I cried when I first heard it, and then I was still just struggling to believe it. Hearing Naomi and Sadie's story is harrowing. This dog would have been so frightened. She was surrounded by this surging water in the dark. She hadn't eaten, she wasn't drinking, and also her back legs were caught in the top of this tree, meaning that she was having huge amounts of strain and stress on her muscles, a lot of pressure on her abdomen as well. This dog is truly incredible. And when we saw her, she wasn't great. She was quite close to dying. Well, I'm here on a vet visit specifically to see you, Mrs, so shall we have a little check over? There is a puncture wound in her right leg, which we didn't find until after. Just from moving debris? Moving debris or when she hit the tree, she might have got a branch in there or something, but it was quite deep and nasty. The injury appears to be healing well, so Scott applies an antiseptic cream to help prevent the wound from becoming infected. Let's have a little feel of this. Alright, good girl. So I suppose being in a tree, she must have had some abdominal pain, which makes sense if you're holding yourself up in a tree, but being stuck in the cold as well. Good girl. Examining Sadie, I'm really quite surprised at how well this 12-year-old dog has come out from such a traumatic situation. The stick injury that she suffered is healing nicely. Yes, she has a bit of abdominal pain, but it really shows how truly tough she is. You've got a bit of a problem with personal space, don't you? Yeah, she's really good at understanding the boundaries. Her chest is sounding clear, which is good. I think in the end she suffered soft tissue discomfort, muscular pain, and that's why she just couldn't get up. She would have been exhausted as well. Her old joints are feeling even stiffer than they normally do, but the emotional trauma that you've both suffered must run quite deep, I would have thought. Yeah, well, I mean, it was very traumatic to go through all that and get your head around losing everything, but to get her back turned things around. I hadn't lost everything then. I've got my dog back, and it's kind of made everything seem more positive and possible. And not just for me, too, for the whole community, like her story when people realized she'd come back. People were just so happy to hear a bit of good news, you know, that it wasn't all just loss and pain. Sadie the Wonder Dog, or the Unsinkable Sadie, she's being called. I really am quite moved by the story of Sadie and Naomi because Naomi literally had everything taken from her, all of her worldly possessions, her business, but the one thing that gave her the will to go on was Sadie. And the fact that she's now come back to us, she's this sort of bastion of hope, it just shows how truly important our canine companions are to us. She's certainly looking happy enough now. And fine. Rolling around in the melt. Totally fine in something gross, yeah. She's looking pretty happy about life there now. You're such a bright girl, aren't you? That's the triage van now because we've got an urgent call. It's a lady who lives on a farm and she's really, really worried about her goats. Back in Corakai, Audrey and Alison are meeting the Vets for Compassion team at a farm where the animals barely survived the floods. Good girl. Our entire property was inundated. House was under a metre, shed was under a metre and a half. It was a scramble. We had animals in non-normal places. Goats ended up in the horse float. As the floodwaters rose, owners Suellen and Grey fought bravely to save their goats, cattle and horses. It was just survival for the first 24 hours. The immediate impact was a lack of food. And then the hay run started and that was fantastic. The community came in and just started delivering hay from jet skis, boats, helicopters. Hay from the sky. Some famous movie stars hayed for some of that. I swapped between the pink one and the white one. Today, Suellen and Grey have asked Elaine and the twins to treat Bluey and Purple, two of the female goats rescued from the floodwaters. People are broken. You can see it on their faces. They've lost everything. They've lost their homes or their pets or their farms or their livelihood. But most people we've met have helped somebody else. They've lost everything but they're still helping their neighbour. So we're more than happy to help them. That started since floods. Yeah, just a chunk in there, I think. Do you want something to stain it? I'm concerned about Bluey and Purple because we know that they were wading around in floodwater. They could have picked up an infection in their eye, in their urinary tract. So we're anxious to see if there's any infections going on. It's all right. Straight away, the vets notice Bluey's eye is badly inflamed. They can't get a temperature now. We suspect there might be conjunctivitis or even worse, an ulcer going on in the eye with all the debris that's floating around in the floodwater as well as the bacteria. Something serious. An ulcer could endanger Bluey's eyesight. Ulcers could mean a prolonged healing time. It's also very painful and hard to manage. So we're hoping that there isn't an ulcer there. But if there is, we have to get on top of it as quick as possible. There's no cloudiness. I don't see an ulcer in there. So great news, Bluey does not have any ulcers there. That's a great relief. It means that we are more than likely dealing with a bacterial conjunctivitis. Caused from all that dirty water that the goats were floating in for days. A course of antibiotics will treat the conjunctivitis. Oh, it's all right. Next, Elaine discovers Bluey has a painful abdomen. Come on, stand up then. All right, come on. So we're going to treat Bluey for a urinary tract infection and we're administering a long-acting antibiotic and hopefully that should solve the problem. Good girl. All right, honey, done. All sorts of parasites in the dirty water. The twins' next patient is Purple, also suffering with conjunctivitis as well as other possible infections related to the floods. All done. Thank you very much. Sue Ellen and Grey have nothing but praise for the volunteer vets including the rapid relief team who initially came to their rescue. They were the first responders and they were just absolutely fantastic. Just amazing, they appeared from nowhere on boats. And they looked after horses that had been in water for four days, bandaging legs, looking after cattle. Once we knew our animals were safe, the stress levels came down and we could start to think about ourselves. But the first priority is you're looking after your animals. Thank you very much. I think Sue and Grey's story really highlight why Vets for Compassion is so important. You can see in these communities they put their pets first, they put their livestock first. Grey and Sue have lost absolutely everything apart from the few animals that they've saved. And it's really sad but also amazing to hear their story and see that they're moving forward and cleaning up and just getting on with life. It really is heartbreaking to think what's happened to all the animals caught up in this horrifying natural disaster. Scott's next visit is to a family who went to amazing lengths to save animals on their farm. I'm on my way to see Cherie and her family who have been through a pretty horrifying ordeal. Cherie very bravely had to swim across to her animals and bring them to a higher area so they could survive. OK, over we go. Once at the farm, Scott helps Cherie's four children round up the sheep and goats they've asked him to look at. That's it, come on. This way, that's it. Buddy, Peyton, Amity and Harlow, they are really worried about their animals. Some of the goats they reared since they were kids and these children are really bonded with these creatures. So if we just spin around that way, that's it. Scott's first patient is Molly the goat, who 13-year-old Buddy has cared for since she was a baby. You raised her on a bottle, well that's amazing. So she sees you as dad. Yep. A little bit pale actually. Like a lot of animals around here, they're all a bit thin. There was no food, there was no hay, everything was wet. So a lot of the animals just didn't eat for up to a week, so they've all lost body condition. As well as losing weight, Scott suspects Molly may have caught a chest infection. Good girl. It's OK. She's got slightly shallow breathing. Just a little bit raspy. A lot of these animals as well have swallowed water and then aspirated it, so they breathed it in because they were swimming for their lives. Mum Cherie also swam through the rising floodwaters to save the lives of many of her goats and sheep. It's currently a situation where there's just water everywhere. As far as you can see. That's where it was, where it cut through here. Wow. There's a bottom two litres of hay here, all got wet. Buddy was also a hero, riding through flooded farmland on horseback to rescue his grandparents' cattle. Yeah, the water was pushing pretty hard, and it was rising at the present time. It's pretty brave. It must have been so terrifying for Cherie and the kids. The land is so vast. How did the water rise so terrifyingly fast? And to see their animals in danger and their possessions just washed away. It must have been incredibly traumatising. Well, I'd better inject some happy drugs into your animals. First, Scott gives Molly antibiotics to treat her chest infection. Right. Good girl, Molly. Well done. There we go. Good girl. Yeah. OK, right, so who's next? Twins Harlow and Amity have a sheep they want Scott to look at. You got her? Good. It looks more like a cuddle than anything else. Hey, you guys are great sheep cuddlers. So, girls, your sheep here has got something called pneumonia, which is basically an infection. And she's got that because when she was swimming, she's breathed in some of the water. You know sometimes when you go for a swim and then you cough? She's breathed in some of that water. But as Scott tries to give the twins' sheep an antibiotic jab, he's rudely interrupted. Um, excuse me. Do you mind? I'm being a vet here. Oi. Your horse is trying to kiss me. Oi. Is Arthur a bit cheeky? Yeah, he's coming across that way. Fortunately, Arthur's flirting is brief and Scott can get back to being a vet. Good job, girls. Good job. While I'm in Australia, of course, I'm missing my own kids and it's so lovely to hang out with these Aussie kids that are passionate about animals. You guys have been amazing, eh? Real animal heroes. So keep doing a good job and looking after your animals for me. Yeah? Okay. Alright, look after your mum. She's a hero too. Okay? Alright. You are welcome. Alright, I'll see you guys later. Bye. See ya. You're welcome. With so many families still needing help, Scott has teamed up with Freya from Vets for Compassion for one final mission helping victims. Hi, guys. How are you going? Scott, nice to meet you. How are you doing? Hi, how are you? Hi, Freya. Hi, how are you going? Hi, Freya. So who have we got here? This is Stella. Stella. She's a bit on the lean side, isn't she? So I assume, guys, that she just had nothing to eat. Is that what the problem was? That's right. Yeah, she was very knocked around when we got her back from probably about seven or eight kays away. She obviously had been standing in water and hadn't eaten for a few days. While Stella was discovered a few kilometres away, some cattle survived staggering journeys after being washed away by rising flood water. Some were retrieved from Pimlico, which is probably 20, 25 kays. They're good swimmers. So let's help this beautiful cow right now. I mean, first things first, I'm just really shocked by these wounds. Look at that dead skin there. That just really needs to just come off. Yeah. Look at that. I mean, that's probably the most rudimentary surgery I've ever done. Is this sort of common where the skin's just sloughing off because they've been in water for so long? Yeah, it's pretty classic for what we've been seeing. Stella's suffering with some fairly significant injuries to her legs. She was standing in water for over a week, so she has dermatitis, but also the skin, it's all dead. It's now falling away, and you can see there's a lot of infection. So just putting a little bit of spray on here now just to try and clear up some of the infection and also encourage some wound healing, because there's really quite a lot to do. There you go. Good girl. So out of basically 160-odd animals, you've got 12. Yeah. And do you know what's happened to the rest? No, no. If you start thinking of... Well, it's going to break your heart to think about them individually. Yeah, it is. It's awful. It is. The tenacity of the Australian farmer is unbelievable. Neil and his wife, Penny, have been devastated by the floods. They saw their herd just being washed away. These people have been through hell, and they still describe themselves as lucky. We know we are fortunate. Seeing Stella come back, I just got a bit teary. It was just like, oh, Stella's coming back. And I took a photo and put it on to my kids. You know, Stella's home. Stella was a birthday present from Neil to Penny, and they regard her miraculous return as a sign of hope for the future. Stella's very special. For all those days where the water was very high, I had the binoculars out. I kept looking out into the paddock saying, I think I can see Stella. And I believed she'd survive. I don't know why, but I just kept saying to Neil, Stella's going to make this. Although Stella survived against the odds, being exposed to contaminated floodwater for days, her life is still in danger. I suppose one of the main problems now is managing infection, because the water was really dirty. You know, these animals have been standing in this filthy mud for a week, it seems. Yeah. This infection, it can make them very unwell and can even be lethal if they become septic. Just listen to your chest, young lady. One of the other issues that you're seeing with animals is pneumonia, right? Yeah, yeah. So lots of cases. They've obviously been swimming for a few days, so inhaling lots of water. Just outside Corakai, Scott and fellow volunteer vet Freya are examining Stella, who miraculously survived being swept away in the floods. Good girl. Stella's one of only a handful of survivors from Neil and Penny's cattle herd. The vets were concerned she might have contracted a life-threatening infection after swimming for days in toxic water. So, Freya, it's sounding nice and clear, actually, to me. Yeah, so her lungs sound just... Yeah, there's no crackles or wheezes or anything, so, yeah, I think they're sounding good. Poor Stella is incredibly resilient. She's a survivor, but she has got some battle scars. You can see her legs are all torn up, but she's alive, and she's here to tell her tale. Well, let's not tell her, but you've got some large needles there. Yeah, so we'll give her some penicillin. Be cruel to be kind, my love. And also some antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. So, yep, that's it. But they don't like the subcut injections. I'm sorry, baby. This is an anti-inflammatory just to try and reduce some of the discomfort that she's feeling while she's healing. Despite losing almost everything, Neil and Penny are grateful for Scott and Freya's help and the kindness of many other strangers who've come to their rescue. It's been unbelievable. Yeah, bushfire brigade washed out the house, washed out the sheds. They were brilliant. And young people, just two cars arrive, and they were just three girls, three guys, probably in their 30s, just turned up. What can we do? And I always ask where they came from, as I did you guys, you know, and always great distances. Well, I came from London. So, I don't know, I think I can top them. I think I win. We're on a farm that has never, ever flooded, and we never for a second thought we would flood. And then as the water started rising, we were just taking photos as it came up, and then suddenly it was sweeping through the house, and then brick by brick we watched it go up. Can I ask, how are you guys holding up? I mean, at first it was just a bit unbelievable. And then I think about day eight, we probably went flat like everybody probably would. But seeing Stella come back, it gives that bit of hope. Good girl, that's it, well done. Another survivor providing hope is this 10-month-old female calf. Ah, you've got a nice technique. Neil and Penny will look to her as they rebuild their decimated herd. You survived, haven't you? Very tough, very brave, very courageous. Shall we just call you Lucky? But like Stella, she too needs treatment. Good girl, Lucky, well done. New beginnings for Lucky. She's been given a reprieve in all forms, but now the future of this farm is on her shoulders. So, well done. I think this calf is going to not only recover, but also thrive. And I'm really hopeful that Stella will make a full recovery. Cows are so tough, so I think that Stella will make it. You just don't think about it too much and you just focus on the ones that are here. So, you know, you sort of keep hoping. We can come back. Righto, thank you. Thanks so much. Coming from the UK back to Australia and to see the level of devastation and just trying to help as much as I can. It is exciting, but it's also sobering. What these people have been through, I just don't know how they carry on. How do they move on from this? It is apocalyptic. It's a life-changing experience that these people have been through. And I'm really glad to be able to help them in any small way that I can.