By Sumeyya Ilanbey
Orphaned goats meet you at Christine Gilmore’s door, young joeys welcome you inside, but the real party is outside.
Welcome to Cooper’s Animal Refuge at Merrimu, home to dozens of injured wildlife.
“I have 25 kangaroos, wombats, possums, orphaned lambs, goats and chickens and a hawk,” Ms Gilmore says.
While there’s an army of volunteers to help her, Ms Gilmore, who moved to the O’Connell Road property a year ago – ostensibly on a 10-year lease – now needs to move by April.
Ms Gilmore is hoping the Melton and Moorabool communities will rally behind the refuge and help her find a property of at least two acres, in the Bacchus Marsh area.
Donations can be made at gofundme.com/coopers-animal-refuge, or call 0402 419 390.
