Ten Australian firefighters on Wednesday visited a shelter for stray dogs in New Taipei City and donated NT$235,000 to assist in its efforts.
The Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (ANZCham) invited the firefighters to visit PACK Taiwan in Sanjhih District (三芝), a sanctuary for about 200 sick, disabled, abused, old or neglected dogs.
A day earlier, the firefighters — who are featured in the Australian Firefighter Calendar — ran an auction in Taipei to raise money for the shelter.
Photo: CNA
Items they auctioned included the latest edition of the calendar, which showcases more than 25 Australian firefighters from aviation, military and urban fire services posing with animals.
“These stray animals are just like us, they need help just like us,” firefighter Dennis Fay said, adding that for the past five years, he has raised money for charities by taking part in the calendar.
Since its launch in 1993, a portion of the proceeds from calendar sales, totaling more than US$3.4 million, have been directed toward charitable organizations across Australia, said David Rogers, the calendar’s director.
The calendar has a history of supporting animal refuges and Australian wildlife, and would continue to do so, Rogers said.
Australia’s rural firefighters and children with cancer also benefit from donations, he added.
Queensland Trade and Investment Commissioner in Taiwan Patrick Hafenstein said that Australian firefighters have been visiting Taiwan since 2018.
Wednesday’s visit marked their first promotional event in Taiwan since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hafenstein said.
ANZCham executive director Glenn Lio (劉少浡) said that the firefighters would share their experience with their counterparts in Taiwan and demonstrate emergency rescue operations with policy advocate Enoch Wu’s (吳怡農) community service organization Forward Alliance.
The firefighters are to leave Taiwan today.
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