Rescue Dogs and Australian Firefighters Work Together to Brighten Up the New Year
With 2022 coming to a close, now’s the time to look forward to a 2023 filled with rescue puppies, dogs and firefighters, together once again in the Australian Firefighters Calendars.
Celebrating 30 years, the Australian Firefighters 2023 Calendar continues to deliver what it does best – smokin’ hot calendars that help raise funds for numerous animal charities across Australia and the United States.
Ray with a sweet one-eyed Frenchie, Spencer
The calendars all feature firefighters from Down Under with dogs, cats, horses, and wild animals from rescue organizations. The dog calendar features the firefighters with rescue dogs from Safe Haven Animal Rescue and All Breeds Canine Rescue. The horse calendar features therapy horses from Healing Hooves. And all the cats for this year’s cat calendar were rescues from Best Friends Felines.
The firefighters appearing in the calendars volunteered their time and are all-around great guys as you’ll discover while you take a look at this preview of the fun photos to be featured in the 2023 calendars. Enjoy!
Ben with Polo the terrier
Brenden Purvis, a Royal Australian Airforce firefighter, has been fighting fires in his community since he was 16-years-old when he joined his local Rural Fire Brigade (RFS). He also convinced his mom to get involved in the Wamuran Rural Fire Brigade. “Mum is still a serving member of the Rural Fire Brigade, far exceeding the number of years I was there. Mum’s involvement in serving our community fills me with immense pride.”
Ricky with Danse
Ricky Smith served his community as a Surf Lifesaver for 23 years before joining the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES). Joining his first surf club as an 8-year-old, Ricky finished his surf lifesaving career as a professional surf lifesaver, rescuing swimmers from Australia’s unpredictable and sometimes treacherous oceans every summer.
Says Smith, “The most rewarding part of being a surf lifesaver was rescuing people from a potentially life-threatening event and that’s why I wanted to continue serving the community by joining the fire service. For the past 6 years I have been able to continue helping people when they are at their most vulnerable.”
Dennis with Hank the Golden Retriever
Dennis Fay is a proud indigenous Torres Strait islander. Born on the tiny island of Badu (located between Australia and New Guinea), Dennis is a returned military veteran who was also a world ranked Muay Thai fighter. Along with his full-time job as an Aviation Firefighter, Dennis is now also fighting for another cause, something more important than anything he could achieve in the ring…. the preservation of marine life surrounding Badu.
He works with locals to help keep the beaches clean of plastic. The discarded plastic collected is being transformed into diving flippers. “Our hope is that by promoting authentic indigenous artists on our flippers that we can share our connection to nature with the world. Our aim is to repurpose something that was harmful to our environment into a product we can use back in the ocean to support the community,” says Fay.
Greig with his dogs Harley and Hugo.
Matt with Thunder the blue-eyed kitten
Matt Ross was headed for a life in high finance working for one of Australia’s biggest banks but he soon wanted a career that was more community based. “Although the selection process for the fire service was long and extremely competitive, it was well worth the effort. In the fire service I have found a more community focused and fulfilling career,” Ross says. “Due to the serious nature of firefighting, I found it necessary to increase my overall fitness level to keep up with the rigours of the job.”
Ben with Malia
Before joining Fire Rescue Victoria, Ben Wallace had a distinguished career in the Australian Army. Deployed for 3 active tours of Iraq and 1 tour of Afghanistan, Ben’s work in these war-torn countries changed the lives of countless families desperate for peace and safety.
“In Afghanistan I was deployed with the Australian Army Reconstruction Task Force. Our job was to build schools for young Afghani girls, my role was to protect the members of our task force and the Afghani girls from the Taliban,” says Wallace. “The schools we provided made it possible for these young girls to be educated, which in turn, provided better opportunities for them and their families.”
Matt with Pooh Bear, an echidnas
Mal with Kaylie
David with Oak
Ged with Jesse the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Nathan with Brutus the bulldog
Among this year’s recipients of donations from the calendar sales will be Rescue Rebuild, a shelter renovation program of Greater Good Charities, recruits volunteers from across the U.S. to renovate animal shelters, domestic violence shelters, veterans housing and homeless shelters. All Breed Canine Rescue Inc, The Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, Healing Hooves, Safe Haven Animal Rescue and others will also receive proceeds.
To buy an Australian Firefighters 2023 Calendar visit their website.
