Since moving to Pormpuraaw eight months ago, Constable Montana Watson has dedicated her time to giving stray dogs a new lease on life. Photo: Supplied.
She has called Pormpuraaw home for less than a year, but one police officer with a big heart has managed to save more than 15 stray dogs in need of a better future, with one of them even finding a forever home in her family.
When Constable Montana Watson joined the western Cape York community in July 2024, she was heartbroken by the state of the dogs roaming around, taken aback by how malnourished they looked.
“It just broke my heart seeing all the dogs, seeing how skinny they were and how much they needed, like food and affection,” she said.
“I started emailing a few different rescue agencies, and Remote Animal Assistance is the one that came back to me, and they were awesome.
“They basically said that if there’s any dogs I find that are in need of a home, they can assist in rehoming them and getting them back to full health.”
Whether in uniform looking after members of the community, or in shorts and thongs enjoying her free time, Constable Watson said she always kept an eye out for pups in need of help.
“It’s a good feeling to know that I’m able to help dogs that are helpless,” she said.
“Even the dogs with owners, if they’re asking me for help, I’m more than happy to, even when I’m not at work; if it’s something I can do for a dog, I’ll do it.”
She explained that oftentimes, she would find dogs at private residences looking for food.
“One of the first lot I found, they were just super skinny, they were at an address, and I went and spoke to the owner at the address and just said I’m concerned about them,” Constable Watson said.
Zada then, when she was found at eight weeks old, versus now as a member of Constable Watson’s family. Photos: Supplied.
“He pretty much said to me, ‘look, they’re not mine, they come here looking for food, I haven’t got enough food for my dogs, let alone these ones as well’.
“I totally get that, because it’s (dog food) expensive up here, it’s hard to come by, and people don’t have money for other people’s dogs.”
Other than assisting with rehoming, the constable said she also carried a stockpile of tick and worming tablets that were donated by Tropical Vets in Atherton, available for any community members wanting some for their pets.
“Word sort of got out that I had them and I was helping, so people were coming up and asking, which I was really happy with, because people were wanting to care for their dogs,” she said.
“It’d be awesome to have the vet up more regularly, but I think they struggle to get here as often as they like; it’s sort of once every two or three months at the moment, and the treatments only last a month.
“I try and keep in the back of my mind which houses I’ve been to, and every month, I try and pop back there and give them to them again, and they’re super appreciative, because they’ve got no other way of really getting them up.”
As an avid dog lover, Constable Watson could not bring herself to part ways with her first save and decided to adopt her, but knew she had to do her best not to get too attached from then on.
“She was so tiny – she was only about eight weeks old and she was on her own, and we ended up keeping her,” she said of her dog, Zada.
“My partner, who’s also in police up here, said to me ‘should we keep her?’, and I was like ‘yeah, I can’t part with her’.
“I try not to get too attached to them, because I do just fall in love with them straight away, and I would adopt every single one if I could.”
On shift or not, the work to make sure dogs in western Cape York community are taken care of never stops for Constable Montana Watson. Photo: Supplied.
Original Article published by Chisa Hasegawa on Cape York Weekly.
