A barbecue of thanks for help

By Bridget Brady
GEORGE Smith will fire up the barbie this weekend and say thanks to the countless volunteers who offered to help care for his beloved horses.
After the News reported the elderly Cranbourne man’s request for help last month, animal welfare worker Barrie Tapp received more than 100 calls from Casey residents who put their hands up to chip in.
Mr Smith has bone cancer and had found it increasingly difficult to look after the seven horses on his property, which he said were his only reason for living. “I can’t bear to part with them. That’s what’s keeping me alive,” he said.
Mr Smith said it would be easy to give up if not for the help he had received to look after his horses.
Eastern Distributors in Dandenong and Petstock in Cranbourne have donated 10 bags of horse feed to Mr Smith, Triple R Equine Rescue donated rugs for the horses and an anonymous donation of $800 came through for fencing works at the property.
A roster has also been set up for volunteers to help Mr Smith, and he now has two visitors at different times in the day to help him check his horses.
Mr Tapp said a barbecue on Saturday was the perfect way to say thankyou to the “overwhelming” number of volunteers who wanted to help. Fittingly, the sausages and bread for the barbecue have been donated by Coles supermarket at Cranbourne West.
“You’ve got to recognise the volunteers in the community. The spirit around Casey is absolutely great,” Mr Tapp said. “George told me he felt so relived just knowing his horses were going to be looked after. He’s on top of the world at the moment.
“I just think the response we’ve had is marvellous. All the volunteers are lovely people from different variations of life.”