Animals & Us
Juliette Wells
An artist's love for animals became the foundation for a family to teach the world about acceptance across difference.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Juliette Wells grew up on the edge of Karingai Chase National Park in New South Wales, climbing trees and collecting cicadas, bringing home strays since kindergarten. She became a children's entertainer and clown before a breakup and her father's death shifted her toward art. Making resin work taught her something crucial: trying to force control breaks everything. The same lesson applies to animals and to teaching. She discovered that creating a calm, loving, free environment with humour gets far more from both.
During lockdown, Juliette and her partner Rhys found an abandoned fledgling magpie at an off-leash dog park where 40 different dog breeds came daily. They named him Molly. Peggy, their Staffordshire Bull Terrier, initially ran from the tiny bird. Then something shifted. Peggy had a phantom pregnancy and began producing milk, nurturing Molly as her own. Peggy's daughter Ruby, who heard Molly singing while still in the womb, learned gentleness from her mother's example. Two species people fear or misunderstand found in each other exactly what the world needed to see: love and acceptance across difference.
On March 1st of the previous year, Juliette dropped Molly at the department with no certainty he would return. Peggy fell into depression. Media camped at their door. The Premier of Queensland stepped in. The crisis brought Juliette and Rhys closer. Two hundred thousand signatures on petitions showed her that animals touch people's lives at a depth most things cannot reach. Even after Molly came home, Juliette was scared to go outside, unsure if people wanted to congratulate or confront them. A widow in her late seventies, grieving her husband, hid under her covers during thunderstorms watching Peggy and Molly videos to calm herself. Juliette went from struggling to film herself as an artist to standing at press conferences without fear. She is a totally different person now.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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