Peter Burgess and his dog Milly were equally relieved to see each other after being separated on Sunday afternoon. 

“It’s good to see old Milly, we thought we’d lost her there for a while, but it’s great she’s back with us,” he said. 

Mr Burgess and his wife Yetty were out of town when the fire started and hit a roadblock on their way home. 

“When we came over Brown Mountain we saw the smoke, but by the time we got to Thompsons Drive we were stopped by police,” he said.

“We weren’t allowed to get in, we wanted to get the dog and anything else from the house, but that didn't happen.”

Mr Burgess said Local Land Services South East district veterinarian Helen Schaefer had been a huge comfort to the couple during a very distressing time. 

“Helen actually came back and said they couldn't find the dog, but she took a photo of our house which was really great because my wife was fretting we were going back to nothing,” he said.

“She’s been out there a couple of times and even fed our chooks, they’ve survived the whole thing, it’s really fantastic.”

Milly was spotted by journalists on Monday who fed her and put her inside the Burgess house where Local Land Services picked her up on Tuesday morning. 

“I didn’t sleep the first night, but last night was the best sleep I’ve ever had, knowing that this thing [Milly] had been found and the house was okay,” Mr Burgess said. 

After reuniting at the Bega Showground, Mr Burgess and Milly headed to the Bega saleyards where Ms Burgess was volunteering in the kitchen making sandwiches for the farmers. 

“I think I’ll now go up to the saleyards and get my wife and have a bit of a tap dance round the kitchen up there,” he said.

All animals during the Tathra fire should be registered with Local Land Services South East on 02 6491 7800.

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