
A year ago while most people were still coming to terms with the devastation of the tornado, Donna Wild had one thing on her mind – supporting the pets.
“I wanted to find out what the biggest problem was for animals and try to fix it as best I could,” Donna explained.
“People were able to take in animals to help, but getting food in was the biggest problem because people couldn’t get off the mountain.”
Donna was able to secure food donations and for two months gave out over $10,000 worth of food to locals struggling to feed their pets.
“We filled up a truck three times, three utes and one van with food,” she said.
“The simple task of providing food meant people didn’t have to think about rehoming the animal.”
Donna runs the home-to-home pet adoption charity Into Loving Homes.
Prior to this she’d been running Till the Cows Come Home, rehoming unwanted farm animals.
“I feel like I came into this life to do work for animals, and I have been doing it for over 15 years. I grew up with a mum who would let me bring in any animal that needed help,” Donna shared.
“I also had that empathy in me. I became vegetarian at the age of 11 when I found out it was actually animals we were eating.”
Five years ago she moved to Tamborine Mountain to acquire acreage to accommodate the farm animals from Till the Cows Come Home.
“I absolutely fell in love with it. The people, the nature, the fresh produce and there are a lot of animal lovers living here,” she revealed.
“The animal lovers here are really special. Here people have an open mind.”
Now, the single mum and her ten-year-old daughter share their home with three dogs, a cat and a pony, all adopted through Into Loving Homes.
For most people just running a pet adoption charity would be enough, but Donna also opens her home to foster children.
Since starting out just over two years ago she has fostered 15 children, ranging in age from 11 days old to 11 years old.
“Again, my empathetic mum was a foster carer when I was a child, and it made enough of an impact on me to do it too,” Donna said.
Recently Donna has enjoyed exploring Australia with her daughter, while her spare time is filled with making raw vegan dishes, paddle boarding and jet skiing.
And she laughed revealing her dreams to become a helicopter pilot and adopt a wild brumby.
For now though her focus is on Into Loving Homes, with a deadline of April to raise enough funds to keep it running.
“I feel devastated and worried. I want to keep it going with all my heart, but financially I can’t do it on my own anymore.”