Why pal Amy can’t wait to be out standing in her own field

Down on her farm, animal lover Amy Storey is running out of grass for her 100-plus pets — including Summer, her favourite foal. But here’s the good news: Amy (25) has her eye on a new spread, made up of double the number of fields, where she plans to make a childhood dream come true.

“I can’t talk too much yet about our move to a new place,” explains Amy (right), from Parkgate in Co Antrim, “but when the deal is made, my plan will be to establish what I’ll call a ‘mobile ark’ to transport my best pets around schools and social events to show them off to children and their parents, too. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was little.”

Amy adds: “I’m not a farmer in the strict sense of the word — I don’t grow crops, or plough the fields. But I’m into the animal world and I have been fascinated by four-legged creatures and birds since I was at school.

“My work with pets, caring for them and studying their habits on the land and in the fresh air, is my ideal way to live. Working in an office, or running a shop, or a business, simply doesn’t appeal.”

So, don’t tell Amy that the summer just ended has been an indifferent season.

That little foal I referred to earlier was born in June to her pony, Rosie, when the sun was shining bright.

And, naturally, she was called Summer given the day that she arrived.

“Summer and Rosie made the sky blue for me,” confides Amy. Now, with the harvest in full swing, she and her boyfriend, Kyle Paterson, an auxiliary nurse, who shares her love of every kind of animal, are looking forward to moving on to pastures new.

Amy, a former pupil of Antrim Grammar School, had a rabbit called Misty as her first pet when she was tiny.

She inherited her love of pets from her mum, Helen, who, as she got older, presented her daughter with a Yorkshire terrier called Candy.

Among her charges now are Trevor the dancing turkey, Mickey the Clydesdale, Parker the llama, Bella the pony and goats, Brian and Butters.

She has no favourites, but Trevor the talented turkey comes close.

“He’ll skip around to any tune, although he prefers rock ‘n’ roll,” reveals Amy. “He’s a lot of fun.”