After Lightning Ridge’s ‘Animal Shelter’ came under financial threat, supporters from near and far have come to support the makeshift animal service, fundraising thousands of dollars to support the local couple who have devoted their lives to the cause. 

Dorothy ‘Dottie’ Thompson began taking in sick, orphaned and injured animals - domestic or wild - when she first moved to Lightning Ridge thirty years ago, when the town had no sign of vets or animal care services. 

Since then, her home has been opened to animals from around town, where she is called to around 50 rescues each week, whether it be helping an injured dog or wrangling a dangerous snake back into the wild. 

Now 75 and her husband 85, covering the costs has become much more difficult, causing her to call to the community to help keep it alive through a GoFundMe page. 

“We’ve been told to apply for a grant but I don’t want to take that money off of someone else who needs it. Along with the donations though, we’ve also been getting presents in the mail, like tick and wound prevention spray, which is very expensive,” Mrs Thompson said. 

The day to day expenses of offering free care and homing animals in need inevitably come with a high cost, and with the odds against Mrs Thompson, they continue to rise. 

“I used to have a deal with the supermarket where they would supply scraps from the butcher as a way of sponsoring the animals while we kept them away from the shop,” she said. 

Eager to find a way for her services to continue, Mrs Thompson has also been known to capitalise on the roadkill around town when supplies run short, or to dabble in ‘dumpster diving’.

Known around town as everyones ‘grandma’, the services of the retired nurse practitioner have been invaluable to the community who don’t have around the clock access to a vet. 

Despite not being a qualified vet, with the Walgett vet being an hour away and Lightning Ridge only being serviced one day a week, for some her services are the best alternative.

“What would you like people to do if their dog gets hit by a car at 8 o’clock at night and they’ve got to get all the way to Coonamble? The dog would be dead by then,” Mrs Thompson said. 

As time passes, Mrs Thompson said her age has slowed her from being able to keep pace with too many snakes, but the successors she has formed through young locals being interested in caring for the animals have been able to take up some of the slack. 

One of her proteges, Kirsty Fitzgerald, sought out a WIRES qualification, and is now qualified to deal with macropods and snake handling. 

“Before that, I was the only person that could do anything for people that had snakes in their houses.” Mrs Thompson said. 

Since starting the fundraising account, over seven thousand dollars has been raised in support of the cause. 

“Thank you all for the $5 or $500, you’ve been so generous”

“Rest assured I’m very proud to know there are very lovely people like you out there, thank you one and all”