My husband Wade and I run Southern Koala Rescue and are committed to saving as many koalas as we can. One day, we were called out to rescue a koala that was stuck in a burning tree; but when the flames died down, we decided to return, thinking there could be other koalas that needed our help.

Wade and I were walking through the blackened bushland with our team of volunteers when I spotted a koala on a burnt tree with a swollen and infected wound the size of a 20-cent piece on its neck. Using rings on the end of poles, we coaxed（哄诱）the koala down and put it in a carrier before having it examined. The wound needed a minor operation and, afterwards, the koala, who we named Claire, had to stay indoors to keep flies off the injury. Claire was frightened of me at first, but after four weeks I gained her trust.

Finally, it was time for Claire to get ready to go outside and build up enough muscle movement to be released back into the wild. This was the most satisfying part of my job because not all koalas can be saved. I did miss them when they were gone, but I knew they were not meant to be pets.

After the Black Summer fires destroyed so much of the country from 2019 to 2020, extinction for koalas is a very real possibility. For individuals, one of the easiest ways you can help koalas is leaving a dish of water in your backyard. It can save a life and that counts.

Foxes and farmers have never got on well. These small dog-like animals have long been accused (控告)of killing farm animals. They are officially considered as harmful and farmers try to keep their numbers down by shooting or poisoning them.

Farmers can do call on the services of their local hunt to control the fox population . Hunting consists of hunting a fox across the countryside, with a group of specially trained dogs, followed by men and women riding horses. When the dogs eventually catch the fox , they kill it or a hunter shoots it.

People who take part in hunting think of it as a sport ; they wear a special uniform of red coats and white trousers , and follow strict codes of behavior. But owning a horse and hunting regularly is expensive , so most hunters are wealthy.

It is estimated (估计) that up to 100,000 people watch or take part in fox hunting . But over the last couple of decades the number of people opposed to fox hunting , because they think it is cruel, has risen sharply. Noisy confrontations between hunters and saboteurs have become so common that they are almost as much a part of hunting as the hunting of foxes itself. But this year supporters of fox hunting face a much bigger threat to their sport. A Labour Party Member of the Parliament, Mike Foster, is trying to get Parliament to approve a new law which will make the hunting of wild animals with dogs illegal. If the law is passed, wild animals like foxes will be protected under the ban in Britain.

It was our first evening dog-sitting while our teenage daughter was away on vacation. Louie searched the entire house for his “mommy”. While we were watching TV, this six-month-old dog dragged his large carrier down the stairs. This project took most of the evening. What happened next made us realize that he obviously put thought and reasoning into each move. He pulled each of his personal things down the stairs and put them in the carrier.

After Louie finished packing his “suitcase”, he jumped inside and pulled the zipper (拉链) closed. Then he lay down and went to sleep. The message was clear. He had seen his mommy pack her suitcase and go away. He must do the same to find her. In the morning, believing he had arrived, he jumped up — but his mommy was not there.

He surprised us with new undertakings every day. His favorite activity was going for a car ride to McDonald’s for chicken. But one day, my husband Paul didn’t stop at McDonald’s and left Louie in the car with the window open while he went off. That dog managed to jump out the window, walked two blocks and found Paul in a store. As Paul was paying for his things, he was shocked to look down and find Louie. Indeed, they stopped for some chicken on the way home.

One evening, when I was outside with Louie, I noticed a huge black bear. I screamed at Louie to come back inside the house. Instead, he fearlessly rushed to the bear’s back legs. The bear ran to get away from the little annoying dog. I was surprised at Louie’s bravery.

For Christmas that year, I turned Louie’s daily journal (日志) into a book written in a dog’s voice. Writing Louie’s story changed my life, and set me on the path to a new career as an author and radio talk-show host.