Natalie Stockdale
Natalie discovered that animals sustain us through the hardest times, and that protecting them depends on whether we dare to care.
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Natalie Stockdale's first memory is not of a person but of Kimba, a cartoon white lion. That choice tells you something about how she came to love animals. A white lion, a gentle mother, and a train full of suffering sheep at a railway station when she was eleven shaped the radar she has carried ever since: an acute sensitivity to what animals need, and what happens when no one speaks up for them.
Working on cattle stations in the Northern Territory and later as a governess on a sheep station in Queensland, Natalie witnessed violence become normal, passed from one generation to the next as if it were stockmanship. She saw a kelpy chained to a steel post, day after day, and stayed silent when she should have spoken. That regret stays with her still, a reminder that being a quiet bystander to animal suffering is a choice with weight.
During three years without rain on her own station outside Longreach, Natalie's daily walks with Tom the cat, Basel the sheep, and her pack of dogs were not a luxury. They were survival. Later, two pigs named Spring and Summer taught her that love does not belong only to popular species. A farmer once told her that sailing with whales during the worst drought of his life stopped him from ending his own. That gift no medication or speech could replicate.
This series explores what animals give us, and what we can give them in return: protection through genuine connection. It is built around transformation, not despair. Energy follows attention.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses suicide & self-harm prevention, 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
“no one will protect what they don't care about and no one will care about what they have never experienced”
“to this day I'm sorry for letting him down I'm sorry for not being a louder voice for him because just as what happens to us matters to us what happens to them matters to them”
“being with other people and the whales had u-turned his suicidal intentions”
The hero, today
Natalie was shaped by both her mother's empathy and a cartoon lion, suggesting that love of animals comes from nature and the stories that reach us early. When Natalie saw the chained kelpy, she stayed silent, and she still carries that as a failure, a reminder that being a quiet bystander to animal suffering is a choice with weight. During three years without rain on her own station, Natalie's daily walks with Tom the cat, Basel the sheep, and her dogs were not luxury but survival. Natalie's pigs from the film set taught her that love does not belong only to popular species, and that other people watching kindness happen creates its own ripple. A farmer told Natalie that sailing with whales during the worst drought of his life stopped him from ending his own, a gift no medication or speech could replicate. Natalie chose to build this series around transformation and lessons from animal connection rather than dwell in the cruelty itself, because energy follows attention.
Yes. Natalie Stockdale is a real person who shared their own story in their own words. Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit that shares first-person stories of overcoming adversity, told with the person's consent.
Kintsugi Heroes, a registered Australian not-for-profit. Every story is shared with the hero's own consent and reviewed under Kintsugi Heroes' trauma-informed content standard before it goes public.
Natalie was shaped by both her mother's empathy and a cartoon lion, suggesting that love of animals comes from nature and the stories that reach us early.
When Natalie saw the chained kelpy, she stayed silent, and she still carries that as a failure, a reminder that being a quiet bystander to animal suffering is a choice with weight.
During three years without rain on her own station, Natalie's daily walks with Tom the cat, Basel the sheep, and her dogs were not luxury but survival.
Natalie's pigs from the film set taught her that love does not belong only to popular species, and that other people watching kindness happen creates its own ripple.
[Music] welcome to the first episode of our new podcast series animals and us I'm Ian West mland the founder and CEO of kuki Heroes where we share inspirational overcoming adversity stories to give hope to people experiencing life challenges at kuki Heroes we understand the power of Storytelling to provide Healing Connection and understanding we're thrilled to bring you this new series that explores and celebrates the relationship between humans and animals each episode will feature guests sharing their lift experience the profound influence animals have had on their lives revealing amazing stories of connection healing and transformation the series will also include insights from experts in this fascinating field animals and us is produced by kuki Heroes and hosted by Natalie Stockdale Natalie is perfect for this role given her diverse background as a Humane educator previous head of the Jane good Foundation a resilience trainer and an accomplished author Natalie's compassion for both people and animals ensures that each episode is filled with inspiring and thought-provoking content so thank you for joining us on our first episode I'd like to hand over to our host natal [Music] stock thank you for your kind introduction Ian hello and welcome everyone to the first episode in our unique series based on profound lifechanging and in some cases life-saving relationships with other animals I say other before animals quite deliberately because biologically speaking we're one of many animal species sharing our planet According to some research there are about 1 and a half million known animal species on earth a fraction of the actual number of species yet to be discovered in this podcast your journey around the world meeting people whose lives have been profoundly shaped by their relationships with animals whether it's wolves in California dogs in Egypt camels in Australia bears in China orangutans in Borneo rhinos in Africa or beloved companion animals we'll explore and celebrate the powerful lifechanging connections that transcend barriers of species and highlight the essence of our shared existence so where do we begin our journey that explores such a vast topic let's begin with a theme that universally connects us all love today in a world where War disease Financial inequity violence and environmental pressures are front and center in in our Consciousness our need for love is more vital than ever and I ask you why would we limit our love to our own species when personal and Collective gain can be had by loving all Albert Einstein once remarked our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty in these words Einstein captured the essence of a universal truth that love and compassion are infinite resources to be shared with all beings indeed love and compassion extended to humans and other animals are essential to human wellness and the health of the planet that sustains us so with a spirit of love and compassion let's embark on this podcast Journey that reaches far beyond cute fluffy anecdotes although it might have some of those too to heartfelt stories and insights of deep connection and transformation being the first episode I'd like to share my own experiences of profound relationships with animals that have shaped and helped my life can you recall your first ever life memory experts say that our early childhood experience experiences play a critical role in shaping our future lives funnily enough my first ever life memory is the television cartoon called Kimber the White Lion if you were a young child in the late 196s you may remember this song lives down deep afric's the one who for those of you who don't know Kimber he was a young white lion in Africa who after losing both his parents to human villains became the king of the jungle protecting all the animals from harm and representing virtue and Justice was I born with a deep love of animals or did Kimber influence me nature or nurture well I didn't just watch Kimber I loved Kimber and felt very much invested in his welfare I know it sounds weird but even now more than 50 years later watching an old episode of Kimber on YouTube stirs Deep Emotions within go little Kimber save those animals you can do it in addition to the Kimber influence I was raised by a gentle and kind mother although she had no particular interest in animals I think I inherited mom's sense of empathy and care towards others so I attribute my love of animals to both nature and environmental influences when I was 11 years old I think I embodied the spirit of Kimber for the first time it was a hot dry summer day in a Tiny Town in Western Victoria walking to a friend's place in the morning as free ranging kids did back in the 1970s I saw a train packed with sheep at the station under the full blazing sun I felt sorry for the sheep and naively thought oh poor things but you won't suffer for long the train will surely take you to a nice Shady padic somewhere very soon how wrong I was at the end of the day walking back home the train was still there and many of the sheep had collapsed under the stress of the heat Limbs and panting heads awkwardly protruding through the bars shocked I ran to the station desperately searching for an adult who could save them but there was no one not a single human in sight I felt distraught that I couldn't help them not that night anyway the next morning I returned to the station and the train had gone I never discovered where they went nor why they were neglected and forced to suffer that day but overcome by a sense of Injustice I wrote to our local newspaper a letter about the need to transport animals kindly reflecting on the effect that my mother Kimber and those sheep had on me I became came sensitized to the welfare of animals as if a lifelong Animal Welfare radar had been switched on jump back with me now to the late 80s when I was a school teacher in a tiny Aboriginal community in the middle of the Northern Territory on weekends I'd sometimes go out to a cattle station to help must the cattle on horses for fun it was then that I first saw violence against animals one day I was sitting beside the head Stockman in their Toyota we were in the yards and all the cattle had been mustered in understandably agitated and frightened from the ordeal in the Toyota we were pushing the cattle from the large receiving yard into the smaller yards whenever a steer at the tail of the mob panicked and broke away the head Stopman would slam his foot on the accelerator and Chase the terrified animal knocking him to the ground once down this steer would rise again look around for his mob and caned back to it for safety the Stockman explained to me it's how you educate them although I knew nothing about stockmanship back then I knew innately that violence was wrong and that there must be a better kind of way and there is fortunately many graziers and stockmen you use and prefer low stress stock handling techniques it wasn't only the the violence that struck me that day I noticed the young stockmen there were watching and learning everything the older head Stockman was doing and no one raised an eyebrow violence in the Stockyards seemed normal there and perpetuated from one generation to the next this experience and many others involving violence and cruelty to Wildlife sheep cattle and sheep dogs taught me the importance of good role modeling and teaching kindness to people from a young age this of course paved the way for my later work in Humane education from Outback Northern Territory I moved to Outback Queensland in my early 20s to be a governs on a famous old sheep station teaching the children of the staff living there one of the staff members had a beautiful kelpy dog who was chained to a still post constantly L and never ever let off for exercise can you imagine how it would feel to be born into a life being chained by your neck to a steel post I expressed my concern for the dog to the station overseer and manager receiving the same reply it's not our dog there's nothing we can do regretfully I accepted this decision and put my head in the sand while the poor dog endured misery day after day to this day I'm sorry for letting him down I'm sorry for not being a louder voice for him because just as what happens to us matters to us what happens to them matters to them in the early 1990s the region was ravaged by drought and collapsed wool prices my husband and I bought toel a tired old 60,000 acre sheep and cattle station outside Long Reach with a big debt unbridled enthusiasm and naivity we thought it's got to rain soon it didn't rain on toel for another 3 years sheep throughout the region were dying being shot or given away by truckloads forcing us to generate income off the station my husband would work on other stations hundreds of kilometers away keeping him away for several weeks at a time while i' teach part-time at school of the air and be the primary station caretaker during my husband's long absences against this backdrop of extreme Devastation isolation and Solitude my relationship with my animal friends gave me comfort and joy Sunset strolls along the dusty tracks with Tom the cat Basel the sheep and the Lively pack of Jack Russell and Kelpies became our daily ritual I often carried a Handa on our walks to cut mulga branches for bezel to chew along the way back at the homestead were our chooks each with names that reflected their individuality blue legs a bantom hen ingeniously named after her blue legs was special when I sat on the veranda blue legs would stop her chook activities walk over to my feet to be gently placed on my L where should' be petted how lovely it felt for me to give this affection it was wasn't awe or excitement that you feel when watching whales in the ocean or or bears in a forest but reciprocal respect appreciation and Care although I wasn't aware at the time my animal friends on toel were vital for my resilience and well-being during those challenging years we can expand our empathy and compassion through relationships with animals as I did years later when I welcomed two pink pigs spring and summer into my life I adopted spring and summer from Paramount films after their short career in the world of Cinema playing the role of Wilbur in Charlotte's Web summer and spring taught me that loving relationships are not limited to the popular species and that their needs and desires are just as important as those of any other species spring and summer lived with our small herd of horses in a sprawling undulating Paddock with a Hut under which they made their beds of branches and leaves and took themselves to sleep each night it was a place where they could Thrive expressing themselves without fear or confinement like dogs the pigs would come running when called sit when asked to and loved having their bellies tickled closing their eyes in their Bliss giving them Joy not only gave me joy but also The Observers of our playful interactions this is not surprising given that research has shown that acts of kindness have a ripple effect benefiting not only the giver and the receiver but also the Observer another memory I have of the therapeutic power of animals is from 2007 when much of New South Wales was reeling from a severe drought and many farmers were feeling the strain at that time I operated a sailing chared business and organized nature-based retreats to give the struggling Farmers a break a highlight of these Retreats was sailing with humpback Wales little did I know the profound impact this experience would have one farmer described it as lifechanging while another said it was life saving in a heartfelt letter he wrote to me days after the retreat he said that being with other people and the whales had u-turned his suicidal intentions similarly in 2022 I took victims of the black summer bush fires on a whale watching Excursion witnessing the sheer Joy awe and gratitude wash over them was a further Testament to the deep and lasting impact of such experiences it wasn't a a fleeting high that you might feel from buying new dress or new shoes the feelings experienced through the whale encounters were deep meaningful and enduring ecos psychology research highlights the positive impact of wildlife encounters on mental well-being research has identified particular emotions often felt through profound connections with Wildlife these emotions include aliveness happiness hope meaning connectedness gratitude awe empathy compassion and peace isn't this amazing these are all desirable feelings that we aspire to experience and they're accessible to us all through other animals and many of us know it's not only wild animals who can benefit the well-being of humans research also shows that companion animals can bring a swag of health benefits to people of all ages including those with disabilities living with companion animals is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease lower heart rates and blood pressure companion animals help children to manage stress build confidence and develop a sense of responsibility they can also alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation promoting mental Wellness older people who live with companion animals exhibit better cognitive abilities such as improved attention memory and learning capabilities compared to those without companion animals and finally animal therapy during postsurgery recovery has been associated with decreased need for pain medication so far I've been discussing how animals are so influential on human well-being let's now shift to why science offers us several theories a popular theory is called the biophilia theory developed by the biologist Edward Wilson in the 1980s biof filia from the Greek words for life and love of explains our innate Affinity with the natural world a according to this Theory humans are biologically wired to need nature for their well-being and our ties to Nature are essential for our species survival our past as hunter gatherers relied on our ability to navigate and thrive in natural environments what fascinates me about biophilia is how our deep connection with nature is evident in our attraction to things that were crucial to our ancestors survival for example have you ever wondered why we typically choose to live or Holiday by a beach or river or lake our attraction to bodies of water is an example of biophilia historically humans settled near rivers lakes and oceans for food transportation and Recreation our fascination with water not only reflects its practical pors but also a deeper subconscious connection the most relevant aspect of biophilia for this program of course is our attraction to animals since ancient times humans have formed bonds with animals from the dogs who helped our ancestors in hunting and warmth and protection to the revered animals of ancient civilization and The Oxen donkeys and sheep believed to have been with Jesus at his birth animals have have occupied a sacred place in human culture and Consciousness by acknowledging and embracing our biophilia we not only honor our ancestral past but also nurture our well-being and sense sense of interconnectedness with the natural world by appreciating the things that have shaped our species survival we can foster a sense of Harmony Health and balance in our modern lives so far I've been discussing the benefits of animal human connections to humans which of course is a very human centered perspective let's now focus on animals perspectives can other animals benefit from their relationship with us well there are obvious benefits received by companion animals at least those lucky enough to live with kind humans these include companionship shelter food water safety and Freedom From Fear distress pain injury and disease these relationships are clearly Mutual beneficial to both humans and companion animals but what about wild animals can our interactions with wild animals benefit them according to research they absolutely can in the words of David atanur no one will protect what they don't care about and no one will care about what they have never experienced in other words people protect what they know and love therefore encounters with Wildlife can lead to a deeper appreciation of Wildlife and their habitats and proc conservation behaviors as people become more connected to nature and animals the often inspired to support conservation initiatives such as reducing waste promoting sustainability and advocating for habitat and and animal protection furthermore encounters with wild animals can lead to responsible ecotourism practices providing financial support for conservation projects and incentives for local communities to protect their natural resources to be clear I'm referring to encounters with wild animals in their natural environments this opens a segue to the dark side of human animal relationships we can't ignore it's a tragic reality that not everyone approaches animals with kindness and many Industries prioritize profit over Animal Welfare I've grappled with how to address this issue of animal cruelty in this podcast delving too deeply into this burrow would simply be depressing and unhelpful in achieving our aim to foster a happier healthier and Kinder world yet ignoring its existence is denying us the opportunity to learn and grow I believe that energy flows where our attention goes and therefore would like to focus on stories that showcase the transformational impact of human animal connections some of our future guests have been profound ly influenced by their exposure to animal cruelty and may want to share what they've learned from it and how the experience influenced them so while many stories May touch on the dark side including my own the focus will be on the lessons and Transformations that emerged from them as we draw to the end of the first episode of animals and US I'd like to thank you again for joining us we're excited about the fascinating guests lined up for future episodes each sharing stories that honor the profound impact of animals on our lives please join us in future episodes as we explore our interconnectedness with animals and discover how these relationships can enrich your life bye for now animals and us is a production of kugi Heroes thank you to Xavier Rd for his permission to use follow the Sun as our theme music for this series if you enjoyed this conversation share the podcast with a friend and let us know by leaving a rating and review on Apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts if you'd like to support kugi Heroes and the stories we share head to kuki heroes.com and follow the instructions to make a tax deductible donation thank you for listening and we'll see you next time brand new moon and brand new Sun
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This conversation includes a white lion shaped everything, the sheep in the station yard, violence in the stockyards, the chained kelpy she couldn't save, three years of no rain and spring and summer teach her something new.
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