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Horrendous as these photos are, and at the chance that you will be distressed by seeing them, I have decided that they must be shown.

This is a "pinkie" Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey that was rescued from the jaws a small poodle, and brought to me by a fellow carer, Kylie.

Kylie was on her way to my place when she saw the dog with something in its mouth. Realizing what it was she screamed at her partner to stop the car and she chased the dog, which eventually dropped the joey in the dirt.

The poor joey suffered horrible injuries, as you can see in these photos. He was bruised badly and had puncture wound all over his face, back and rear end. His eyes were full of grit as his head had been dragged in the dirt as the dog trotted along. He would have been in incredible pain.

By the time the joey got to me its breathing had become very laboured and rattly, and we assumed that his lungs had been punctured.

Todd and I euthanased him, but he was dying anyway.

So why am I showing you these photos? So that you can see what domestic animals do to our wild Australian native animals. Even a small dog, like a poodle, can cause utter devastation......... imagine what bigger dogs can do.

If a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch is chased there is a strong likelihood that the joey will be dropped. In instances of sheer terror the muscles around the pouch relax and the joey falls.

If a kangaroo is chased or is severely stressed it may develop Cardiac Myopathy, kind of like a heart attack. Kangaroos also suffer from Capture Myopathy, from being chased or restrained, which is rapid muscle degeneration and often results in death.

There is a chance that this joey may have died of stress induced myopathy. Additionally, if this joeys mother was chased and managed to get away she still may have died from a heart attack or Capture Myopathy.

I approached the owner of the dog and told him what had happened. He was very distressed and never thought that his small dog could do so much damage. He assured me that he would take measures so that it wouldn't happen again.

Once a dog has been "blooded" it will have the desire to repeats its actions. Unless the dog is enclosed in a suitable area, it will kill again. It's a certainty.

I urge everybody to keep domestic dogs and cats enclosed at all times, especially those that are living in or near bushland, so that they cannot kill or cause injury to our beautiful wild native animals.

Koala, attacked by a dog

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has kindly allowed me the use of this rather disturbing photograph with the hope that it may encourage pet owners to be responsible in their ownership of domestic animals.

This poor Koala was attacked by a Rottweiler in a suburban yard. It was reported that the koala was trying to get away and the dog grabbed it by the hindquarters as it was shimmying up a tree.

Sadly, this is a common occurrence with Koala's. If it is not the hindquarters that are grabbed is around the neck or shoulder area.

Usual injuries from this kind of incident are multiple puncture and tear wounds, with massive internal canine crush injuries.

This koala had about 60 odd puncture wounds on his rump and groin area with many deep lacerations. His musculature around the groin and thigh area was lacerated pretty badly.

He died from shock, blood loss and ultimately a perforation of the intestine.

The staff at the hospital gave him large amounts of fluids, and he was on strong painkillers and antibiotics. His wounds were flushed and he was kept in a warmed environment, but he died anyway.

Go here www.koalahospital.org.au to see the Port Macquarie Koala Hospitals web site.