TEX O’GRADY has been awarded the Member Of The Order Of Australia for outstanding services.

Having done a fair bit of general charitable work when he was in the Navy, it wasn’t until he left in 1992, suffering from undiagnosed PTSD and feeling restless, that Tex came across people who were worse off than himself.

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“I helped out in whatever way I could – everything from advice to financial help to helping out with doing some work,” Coffs resident Tex told NOTA.

“In 1999 I was managing a property in Cooma and I came across a Cattle Dog pup, the runt of the litter and he had attitude.

“This pup, Cash, became my best mate and we rode everywhere together.

“We were invited to lead various charity rides which we did.

“It was through Cash that I learned what a difference we could make to a lot of people and how we could bring joy into their lives.”

After the devastating death of Cash being hit by a car, Tex took a year to be convinced to get another dog and continue his good work.

“Over a period of six months I looked at over 200 Cattle Dogs and then one day, after a tip and a chat with a breeder I rode up to Mudgee and picked out a five-week-old bundle of fur, actually she picked me.

“I called her Bundy – little did I know at the time, what a team we would make.

“Bundy underwent some serious training and became a qualified Assistance Dog and a Therapy Dog.

“Bundy was granted a Ministerial Declaration to ride on the front of my motorbike.

“We have led the Pink Ribbon Ride in Sydney for years, taking a Breast Cancer survivor on the pillion seat with us.

“To walk into St. Vincent’s Hospital Palliative Care ward with Bundy and visit some of the patients who may have only hours to live, no family or friends, we would start a conversation, put Bundy on the bed and you would see a lifeless figure just beam life.

“I never left one of those wards with a dry eye.

“We have spoken many, many times on Mental Health and Prostate Cancer and about what T and B (Tex and Bundy) do.

“We have brought joy, happiness and smiles to tens of thousands of people throughout Australia and indeed the world.

“Bundy was a ‘pillion in a million’.

“One of our first big charitable rides was from Sydney to Brisbane for Project Kid Safe; riding to Darwin as part of the Long Ride raising funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, of which Bundy and I were made Official Champions.

“Bundy has travelled the highest number of kilometres on a bike for a dog (1,020,000kms) and she has helped raise over $6 million dollars for various charities over twelve years.”

Sadly, after a fantastic life, Bundy passed away on 26 August 2021.

Tex has been keeping busy with his work with Veterans and Emergency Services personnel, with a good deal of time spent on the water.

“S.V. Mystic – Sailing for Veterans/EMS has been a passionate project that has taken five years to come to fruition.

“The various lockdowns have slowed us up a bit, but we’ve managed a few trips out around the Solitaries and some whale watching.

“These few trips have proven to me that our program and what we do is successful.

“My inspiration comes from helping others and to see this project grow, so that we can have several boats sailing the East and West coasts supporting our Veterans and First Responders.

“We are after a financial sponsor (maybe a Corporate Company who could see a benefit in aligning themselves with our project).

“We need to raise around $15,000 per annum to keep the running costs alive to run Mystic.”

For more on Tex and Bundy, watch the highly recommended YouTube documentary ‘She’ll Never Ride Again’.

By Andrea FERRARI