Ingrid Schreiner’s family have always been animal lovers, but they’ve recently taken protection to another level — venturing across flooded roads and setting up an emergency shelter for dogs they rescued in a town left empty by emergency evacuation.
Last week hundreds of Daly River residents were forced to leave their beloved pets behind when the remote Northern Territory community was evacuated due to a major flood threat.
With little notice, most didn’t even have time to make arrangements for their animals.
The river is expected to reach major floor level today, with a peak of 14 metres predicted.
Ingrid and her family lived in the Daly River community, also called Nauiyu, for years, and they remember the heavy anxiety the almost-annual flood evacuations brought.
Jontae and Tessie have labelled Kit Kat the luckiest cat in Daly River. (Supplied: John Bonson)
Now living 10 kilometres outside of Daly River, on a property near the remote community of Five Mile, Ingrid and her young kids saw an opportunity to help when the latest evacuation was announced.
As residents were flown to Darwin, the family’s thoughts turned to their friends’ animals as heavy rain mounted and the Daly River rose.
They’d been there before and knew that soon, most animals would be left to fend for themselves.
“Our pets are our companions and our protectors so [we] just understood how important animals and companionship is to community members,” Ingrid said.
“We have been in a community just before evacuation … one of the highest stressors for us was, what are we going to do with our animals?”
Ingrid, Tessie and Jontae drove into the community to collect as many dogs as they could, before the flooding. (Supplied: John Bonson)
Before the evacuation order was given, the Schreiner family made a five-hour round trip to Darwin for extra supplies, cramming the car with dog food, and construction equipment to build emergency kennels.
When the order came, Ingrid’s partner John Bonson rushed to build the cages, welding together chainlink fences and metal structures to keep the pups in Five Mile, which lies outside the flood zone.
While John worked in Five Mile, Ingrid and their kids Jontae and Tessie made the nail-biting, 10km trip into Daly River, escorted by police.
Ingrid said the roads were already difficult to drive on, with most covered in water, and at one point the group had to stop for a water buffalo.
As they rolled into town, one of her children acted as a second set of eyes on the road, while the other was on croc watch.
Tessie was worried for her friends’ animals. (Supplied: John Bonson)
“We saw a tiny crocodile on the road, it slithered into the water,” 11-year-old Tessie said.
“It was like a ghost town.”
Tessie said she was on a mission to save her friends’ pets, working as a guide to signal which dogs were friendly, so that Ingrid could stay safe when scooping them into carriers.
“I was stressed — if we didn’t have enough room, some of them might have gotten eaten or drowned,” Tessie said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has estimated that Daly River flood levels will reach 14 metres, making it a major flood. (Supplied: John Bonson)
They managed to find and capture 10 dogs safely — a few of them puppies — to bring them to Five Mile.
As the group was getting ready to leave Daly River, a small cat approached their feet, meowing.
The family said cats usually climbed into trees to avoid the floodwaters, but this one — called Kit Kat — wouldn’t leave them alone.
“The kids couldn’t leave him behind,” Ingrid said.
John said he had been staying in contact with the Daly River evacuees while they were in Darwin, to give them updates about the dogs at Five Mile, which the family has been visiting daily.
“They are obviously concerned about their pets and animals,” he said.
“There’s a bit of peace of mind knowing the animal welfare mob are onto things, have got food and are working with the local authorities and extra police that have been flown in.”
Pets ‘a serious priority’ for authorities
David Moore says there is an animal welfare officer on the ground in Daly River, helping to look after the pets left behind. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
On Sunday, incident controller David Moore said authorities were closely watching the pets that had been left in the community.
“Pets are a serious priority at the moment,” he said.
He said an animal welfare officer was now stationed in the community, who was tending to the animals left there around the clock, with the support of police.
He also noted there were “a number of houses that are still open that have allowed pets to congregate in”.
Superintendent Moore said overall the animals were “very well-fed and watered”, and authorities were providing updates and photos to the evacuees staying in Darwin’s Foskey Pavilion.