By Fatima Halloum
You might think Dean Scully was kid-ing if he told you what he discovered in the decommissioned open sewer at Federation Trail while walking his dog in early November.
Curiously peering beyond the barbed wire fence, Mr Scully spotted small goats in the trenches of the former sewer, where unkempt weeds now sprouted.
The small goats didn’t appear to be distressed, but they were trapped.
Stained brick walls about two metres high guarded either side of the ditch, and while the goats could move freely within the channel, Mr Scully deduced the animals wouldn’t be able to get out on their own.
“I wasn’t too worried about them because goats will eat anything, but what I am worried about is if we have a long hot spell, their water’s going to dry up, or if we have a big raining spell, the drain is going to possibly fill with water,” he said.
Phone calls were made to numerous organisations in an earnest attempt to find someone who could help, he was referred from the RSPCA, to Wyndham council, who informed him the management of the sewer was Melbourne Water’s responsibility and someone would chase it up.
“Three weeks later I’m walking my dog along Federation Trail again, and she alerts to something in the drain, and lo and behold, there’s two white goats still there,” he said.
“It concerns or it worries me when I see animals in a situation where they could be harmed, or die.”
A spokesperson for Wyndham council said Melbourne Water was contacted on two occasions, on November 4 and 15, to advise them of the resident’s concern.
“The land is owned and managed by Melbourne Water and council officers are not authorised to enter their property,” the spokesperson said.
A Melbourne Water spokesperson said the earlier notifications that the goats were in the sewer were unfortunately missed, but action was taken as soon as Melbourne Water was notified.
Following an inquiry by Star Weekly on Tuesday, December 6, representatives from Melbourne Water attended the open sewer and left fresh water and food for the goats.
“When I first heard about the goats, I came out to assess the situation within 20 minutes and found they were safe and not distressed,” Melbourne Water waterways and land officer Gerard Morel said.
“[But] a decommissioned sewer is not a forever home.”
Star Weekly on December 6 also contacted Edgar’s Mission, a not-for-profit animal sanctuary in Lancefield.
Mr Morel met with the sanctuary’s founder Pam Ahern on Wednesday, December 7 at Federation Trail.
“That was to give us an opportunity to see how we could actually pull this rescue off, there was quite a lot of challenges with that deep channel to get down there, and then to actually get the goats out, we didn’t know what we were going to find when we were in that channel,” Ms Ahern said.
On the morning of Thursday, December 8, Edgar’s Mission representatives geared up for rescue, with radios and head torches, donning weather proof gumboots and jackets.
Mr Morel joined them in the tunnel of the open sewer, where the team hoped to corner the goats before bringing them to safety.
Mr Scully stood near the fence line, waiting, listening to the commotion and echoing bleats of the goats.
About half an hour later, an excited ‘they’ve got them’, reverberated through the concrete arches of the tunnel.
Their white fur was almost completely stained a murky, splotchy brown, but the goats were safe.
“The goats weren’t living in ideal conditions, they were very vulnerable for predators, there are foxes in this area, these are very small goats,” Ms Ahern said.
“It was fortunate there were two goats so they had the company of the other, and they really were very strongly bonded together and that’s what actually helped us catch them, because we got the first one, and the other goat fled, but they could hear the other goat calling and they actually ran back towards us, which gave us the opportunity to catch the second goat.
“We’re just so grateful for the people that refuse to give up, Dean kept getting knocked back and he refused to give up and that really does speak to the goodness of the human heart that when he saw an animal in trouble, he wasn’t going to turn away and that really gives me hope for the future.”
The goats have since been named Gerard and Deana, and will spend their days free, at the Edgar’s Mission Animal Sanctuary.
Mr Scully said he was “really happy” the rescue had a good outcome, and the goats were “happy and healthy”.
“What more could I ask for?,” he said.
How the goats became trapped in the trench is a question that remains unanswered.
