Mandy’s Ark a refuge to all
MANDY Mcivor’s home resembled Noah’s Ark during the floods as the animal lover cared for horses, dogs, chickens, peacocks, a wallaby, Siamese fighting fish and Wilbur the infant pig.
Ms Mcivor first spoke to the Bulletin about flooding in March 2018 when she swam through dangerous waters to save her beloved horses.
Again in December she had to move her animals due to rising floodwaters from the Bohle River, which backs on to her property on Hammond Way, Kelso.
Her Queenslander home has never been inundated by water, but became an island refuge for five horses, her two dogs, more than a dozen chickens and Wilbur for about eight days during Townsville’s latest crisis.
With her partner overseas for work and Ms Mcivor eight months pregnant, she again rose to the occasion to save her animals, even feeding peacocks and pulling a trapped wallaby from waters near her home.
“I saw this little wallaby caught in the fence line so I went over there and had to grab him by the tail and take him into the shed,” Ms Mciv- or said. “The horses were all under the house with the chickens and the dogs.”
At one stage, Wilbur lost movement in his rear legs and was heavily distressed.
“I called the vet and gave him some antibiotics,” Ms Mcivor said. “It ended up being dippity-pig, which is basically stress related, so she ended up on bed rest for three days in her own room.”
The horses had to be walked through floodwater to get to higher ground and sadly the wallaby broke out of the shed and was washed away, but Ms Mcivor is safe and well and so are all her pets.
She managed to get to a doctor on Tuesday. Her pregnancy continues to run smoothly and her spirits are high.