Untitled Document

JT's TALE

JT arrived in very tragic circumstances.

He had a wonderful family who loved him very much.
Then tragically their son died after a road accident.

In the beginning JT was only staying with us temporarily,
but as the weeks went by JT began to make friends within our mob,
and although they loved him very much,
his family decided it was in his best interests to stay at Roo Gully permanently.
Theirs was a selfless act we greatly admire.

JT was named because he was the second joey to be cared for by his first family,
and the initials actually stand for 'Joey Two'!

The volunteers all thought that JT was misfortunate
being raised with Nicky, our very cheeky Euro.

Because unlike Nicky he was a very gentle, quiet and shy young joey.

JT preferred to spend many hours inside the house with us.

Then, thanks to Nicky's influence, he gained enough courage
to venture outside on to the lawn.

Then he spied the creek.

And he was off to explore.

He discovered it was a beautiful world
beyond the house.

JT also discovered the joys of hopping at full speed.
With his nostrils flared, he easily outran Nicky.

And so began a change that surprised us all, especially Nicky.

JT had to associate
with Nicky when had their bottles.

But he didn't want to be involved when Nicky was naughty with the volunteers.

He preferred to watch from his pouch.

Then one day JT boxed Nicky.

And Nicky backed down.
JT was growing up.

Because of his gentle nature,
JT was a favourite with all of the volunteers

But he had to begin to let go of human company,
because it was time for him to start mixing with the mob.

JT was disadvantaged because he was younger than the other joeys.
And because he was raised as an only joey, he had no friends outside.

Then up on the lawn JT met Bron,
the mob's Kindergarten teacher.

She immediately took him under her wing,
amd JT discovered he was kangaroo,
and not a human.

Every day we took JT down beyond the creek,
where he explored Roo Gully. He loved it.

And slowly he began
to meet the other members of the mob.

But at this stage he still had no real friends,
and hopped home for his bottles,
before sleeping inside the house.

Then came the turning point.

JT went down with the volunteers
to give the older joeys, Kiah and Leila,
their morning bottles.

And every now and again
he would spend the day with them.

Before being carried home across
the often flooded creek.

Making friends was not easy for JT.
He was not a pushy joey.

And Kiah and Leila, having been raised together
had formed a very strong bond.

JT was often the lonely figure standing in the paddock on his own.

Then his luck changed.

Bron suddenly looked upon JT as her new charge.

And young Leila, who used to bash him up,
mainly because she was the lowest ranking roo in the mob
and JT was the new kid on the block...

...decided the little guy wasn't so bad after all.

Today JT is a very accepted member of the Roo Gully mob.

He still adores Bron,
who continually keeps tabs on all her young ones.

And he is very good mates with Kiah and Leila.

Better still JT is regularly visited by his former family.
And he loves seeing them.

On behalf of JT and his mates we thank you for caring