RDAUTBMag2026

LIFE LINE CAROLE PRITCHARD My husband Ron and I live on an acre of ground adjoining bushland in Queensland. We are magpie lovers and feed some of these birds once a day. A couple of years ago, after returning home from the supermarket, we drove into our garage and opened the door into the house. On returning to the rear of the car to unload the shopping, we saw a magpie standing about a metre away. It showed no fear of us at all and stood there as if it knew that we could help it. There was a lot of fishing line tangled around one of its legs. I called out to Ron, who by now was upstairs, to bring a little bit of meat. While I hand fed the magpie, my husband managed to grab hold of it. I raced upstairs to fetch a pair of my small embroidery scissors and was able to painstakingly snip the twisted fishing line away. ‘Maggie’ had some difficulty walking, so obviously the fishing line had been there for a while. We placed a dish of water nearby and she stayed around for a few days, eating the meat we gave her and getting stronger. Each day we saw an improvement in her walking ability. Although she initially seemed very content to sit on a branch in one of our trees, after a week, she finally flew away home to nearby bushland. We believe the bird ‘knew’ us from a previous time. A while back we had fed a pair of magpies, and maybe she had once been one of their young. Needless to say, we were very pleased with the outcome. SMART ANIMALS Your pet and wildlife stories could be published here! Send your stories to letters@readersdigest. com.au reader ’ s digest 14   MAY 2026 EWE GOT A FRIEND IN ME ROSEMARY FRANCIS Woolly was already an elderly ewe when we inherited her in 2000. Her daughter, Cloudy, was also one of the small mob we adopted. They both quickly settled in their new paddocks on New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula and were content to share the hillsides with a pig, a donkey, several goats and a few llamas. After several years we noticed Woolly wasn’t able to keep up with the flock. She stumbled occasionally and banged into fence posts. We also saw that Cloudy was staying close to her mother’s side. So, we put a dog collar on Cloudy and added some bells. As Woolly’s eyesight started deteriorating, she listened for the tinkling bells moving towards them. By the time Woolly was completely blind, she had learned to depend on her daughter. Cloudy never moved far from Woolly and checked on her frequently. She led her to good pasture to graze and to the water trough when she needed to drink. They both responded to my voice, coming to the fence for treats when I called. In howling gales and cold winter storms, Cloudy would walk alongside Woolly, guiding her to the shelter of manuka scrub or into the barn. A decade later, Cloudy’s anguished bleating alerted us to her mother’s demise. Cloudy died the same week. Sheep have a reputation for being stupid, but I’ve seen with my own eyes that they are intelligent and can be very compassionate. readersdigest.com.au    15 Smart Animals