Danielle Stone/FacebookWhile the bushfire crisis continues to rage on across southern Australia, a reason to smile is finally here as heartwarming footage emerges, showing a pet dog sharing its water with a thirsty koala.
Rusty, who belongs to the Stone family, has a regular visitor in the backyard of their home in Ashton, in Adelaide Hills, south Australia. During particularly hot days, a koala they have affectionately named Quasi, wanders up for a drink and to shield from the sun among the trees.
Recently, Danielle Stone captured some adorable footage of Rusty happily greeting his friend at their shared drinking bowl, where Quasi sups on some much needed water and then the pair share an affectionate nuzzle.
Check it out:
When Quasi makes his way onto the veranda, the Stone family cut eucalyptus leaves from a nearby tree for him to eat.
Danielle said their dog is always pleased to see Quasi, telling 7News:
Rusty doesn’t mind sharing the water bowl at all.
I think humans could learn a thing or two from this pair.
The heartwarming footage was shared to Facebook by a family friend on Wednesday, January 8, and has since gone viral with more than 150,000 shares at the time of writing.
Danielle Stone/FacebookHe wrote:
These two have known each other for several years.
Special when you see something like this which is natural and unstaged.
Rusty and Quasi’s adorable relationship warmed the spirits of many people during a time of heartache for many people living in Australia as the bushfires continue.
Danielle Stone/FacebookOne person wrote:
It’s beautiful to see nature, our animals and fauna all being together!
Another person said it was ‘so lovely to see a safe koala’, adding ‘some relief from the heartache for a moment’.
So far, the bushfire crisis has destroyed 160,000 hectares of land and 2,000 homes, killed 27 people and more than one billion animals.
If you want to help, you can donate to Fire and Rescue in Queensland, the County Fire Authority in Victoria, and the Wildlife Information Rescue in New South Wales.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.