BONUS COMIC: My Favourite Rescue by Hien Pham (Pledge Drive '25)

The First Pledge Drive Comic of 2025, by the ever incredible Hien Pham. Walk alongside as Hien talks about Rex, his most favorite of rescues. He's promised us a blog-post write up when he catches his breath; "with photos and a cute video of Rex that showcase more of my time at the refuge and with him PLUS updates from Rex's dad after he was adopted", we can't wait!

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Pledge Drive Exclusives - Links Page

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Pages are bellow posted in a stacked order, with the transcription beneath that!

Transcript

Today’s comic is colored in a beautiful swatch of bright pastels, as Hien doesn’t skimp on the visuals, and everything is beautifully rendered.

Page 1

Hien is snoozing on the bus! He's a rounder gentleman with dark skin, long black pulled back hair in a tidy bun, and facial hair, that is wispy and well loved. He's wearing a red top, and beige shorts, with some good walking shoes. Here in this panel, he's sets his chin in hand as the trip goes.

In an opposing panel, a wrinkly blonde dog with a red collar and brown ears eats excitedly from a bowl.

Hien narrates

'In 2021, I started volunteering for the local dogs refuge home to help manage my severe anxiety and depression.'

Ian exits the bus and scoots to the refuge, running past some imposing, fences, and bins.

In opposition, we see the dog now looking up

Narration

'I was in recovery from a bad mental health crisis. It was important for me to have low stakes regularly scheduled activities. I could opt into doing. '

Hien’s hand reaches up to a mesh and on the opposite the dog lifts their paw to match.

Hien

'Hey buddy! '

Narration

'It was here where I met Rex! My favorite rescue! '

Hien pokes Rex's nose through the mesh, as he wags his tail

Hien

'Ready for a walk?'

Page 2

Hien Puts a harness around the dog whose tail is wagging excitedly

Narration

'Rex had just turned two years old after arriving from a regional pound 4 1/2 hours north of Perth. '

A chibbie Hien and Rex start their adventure, in the foreground two older folk excitedly turned their heads as they see their favorite pair approach.

The two folk start stroking Rex, who looks on a happy blushing face

'Good boy! '

Hien approaches a walled-off area with warning signs, before opening and taking Rex further afield

Narration

'The gentle giants first family had a change in priorities, and they couldn’t take care of him anymore. '

Rex is sniffing the ground of the trail

Then scratching his back against some of the spike Australian flora

Narration

'At the refuge, Rex was beloved. I had to race other volunteers to walk him first in the morning! '

We see in and Rex gallivanting past other kenneled dogs. Before we sit with Hien as he looks onto his watch, waiting for Rex to do his business in the grass.

Narration

'His tender nature made a big difference, as the kennels were often more stressful than not.'

Page 3

With the walk done, Hien leaves Rex to go and attend other dogs. He squats down and looks at a pair, one a very chill large dark grey dog, and another a small yapping, angry beastie.

Narration

'A lot of the pups I worked with were fearful and reacted with aggression. '

We see Rex who’s sat in a dog bed looking tired and bored, as in the opposing panel Hien is giving a treat to the yappy dog, as another volunteer pets the big grey dog

Narration

'We tried as much as we could to ease their triggers with space and positive reinforcement. '

Rex is back in his kennel now, as a parent and their child come up and wave, Rex looks up in excitement

Parent

'Shame, he’s not good with cats. '

Ian is sitting in a kennel with a terrified dog, as he avoids eye contact, and whistles

Narration

'Some arrived anxious and untrusting of humans '

We visit Rex again as he sleeps

Hien is still with the nervous dog, holding a treat, and acting very chill, as the nervous dog approaches

Narration

They deserved patience and grace to heal at their own pace

Page 4

Hien looks at his watch. He’s sweating in the Australian heat and the afternoon as fast approaching.

Narration

'At the refuge, you can’t help but see yourself reflected in each and every dog you work with. '

He looks up with a smile

Narration

'I think I saw myself the most and Rex. '

We visit Rex again, who’s whipping his head round with a small smile

Narration

'He was lonely. '

Hien’s back in the kennel with a treat in hand, and excited Rex wags in anticipation

Narration

'All he wanted was some company with whom to wait for better days to come. '

The rest of this page is dedicated to a big pausing shot of Hien sitting with Rex as he chooses on his treat

Narration

'Three months after we met, Rex got adopted. The entire refuge blew up my phone with photos of him, walking out the gates. We were all so happy for him! Though, I’d be lying if I said, my heart didn’t ache for two weeks straight.'

Page 5

This page is colored in dark tones as the night has finally arrived!

Hien is walking past a different fence surrounding a building that has a warm light emanating from it with music and hearts floating around, it’s very subtly queer coded with rainbow lights

Hien approaches the fence gate .

Narration

'My time with the refuge eventually came to an end about a year after that. '

Hien pushes the gated fence door open and peers inside with a small smile

Narration

'I was getting a better hang of my mental health and felt brave enough to seek out chosen families of my own.'

He starts to walk down the path and runs his hand along the fence as he does so

Narration

Last I heard, Rex is with a lovely bloke up in the hills who takes him out on hikes every weekend. The refuge received photos of him, walking through streams in the bush, and looking out from the docks towards the open sea.

Hien struts towards the music and the noise, a sign post reads; 'den night'

Narration

Wherever he is now, I hope he knows I still think of him fondly. The better days we waited for together should only get better from here.

And that's the end of todays bonus comic! We all hope you like it! Drawn and written by Hien Pham, transcribed by Matthew Nolan (6/1/25)

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