Video of Koala & Dog Sharing a Drink in Backyard Offers Comfort Amidst Australia’s Bushfire Crisis

(Illustration - Getty Images)

Dogs and koalas typically aren’t known for their cordial relations in Australia, as canine attacks are known to be a major cause of koala fatalities. The bushfires that have ravaged the country have made headway changing that relationship; koala-rescue dogs, wearing special booties to protect their paws, have been employed to track injured koalas in fire-ravaged forests, and it’s garnered attention on social media.

But there are other instances of mending canine-koala relations on social media lately.

A recent video captured Rusty, a dog from Aston, Victoria, sharing a much-needed drink of water with local koala named Quasi from the backyard of Riley and Olivia Stone. Family member Danielle Stone took the video, and it was posted online by neighbor Andrew Frost.

Needless to say, it went massively viral.

Frost explained in his post:

“Neighbours Kevin and family have a resident Koala that comes down for a drink when it is really hot. [...] Riley Stone and Olivia Stone have a dog, Rusty, who knows the Koala well and they are mates (buddies for you in the US)—here they are hanging out filmed by Danielle Stone.”

The video shows the adorable interaction as Quasi dips into a big terra cotta jar filled with water for a much-needed thirst quenching. Rusty approaches and laps up a few drops but is clearly more interested in greeting his furry friend, with his tail wagging happily, giving him a sniff and a friendly lick.

As Danielle told 7 News, “Rusty doesn’t mind sharing the water bowl at all.” When Riley and Olivia see Quasi on their back porch, they usually try to give him some eucalyptus leaves to snack on.

The video provided a much-needed moment of comfort, and it quickly garnered interest from netizens. “Great video Andrew It shows up us humans when you see 2 different animals getting on so well together,” wrote Les.

Frost responded, “Thanks Les it is nice to post something positive rather than a whinge, petition etc. Special when you see something like this which is natural and unstaged.”

Kathie commented, “It is so heartwarming Andrew, just love it, but wish my dog was this gentle and accepting of other creatures!”

To which Frost said, “Kathie I can send you the out-takes if you want. Not pretty. (weak joke) I think animals get it when another is in serious trouble. These two have been known each other for several years.”

Frost later got a request from an American woman, Kathe, who asked if he could change the post’s settings so a broader audience could see it. When Frost made it public, the response from the United States and around the world was overwhelming.

In the wake of the video going viral, Frost commented, “Well Kathe that was an interesting idea of yours 100K+ shares and 2.4M views in about 24 hours and still growing.” The video has since garnered 7.2 million views to date in the space of one week.