My Life with Andrew Boyle: My pet wallaby Dora ran away from home — a real explorer

At Araglin Animal Sanctuary, Andrew Boyle shares a moment with a spirited young parrot perched on his shoulder, its wings beating wildly. Picture Chani Anderson

2019 was full of news stories from the burning of Notre-Dame Cathedral to gruelling Brexit negotiations.

But despite all that was happening in the world, there was one week where our wallaby ‘Dora the Explorer’ dominated headlines. Granted, it was July and the height of silly season. 

Still, I like to think the public was genuinely rooting for a happy ending they could all feel a part of.

Dora hadn’t always been known by that name but rather earned the term of endearment from the media and public. It had been days since she ran away from home and people were talking about little else.

While my family and I were enjoying a trip to France, Dora had decided to embark on a holiday of her own. 

The fugitive had made her great escape from our private animal sanctuary in Araglin, Co Cork.

There were people looking after the animals while we were gone but none of them were responsible for Dora breaking out. Her escape inevitably came down to a stranger who visited unannounced to do a job but failed to shut the gate behind them. It was only on our arrival home that we were confronted with the worrying news that she was gone.

We have taken in a huge number of animals over the years including a gecko we found in a plummet of supermarket grapes. 

He had certainly landed in the right place. But none of our animals had ever escaped or attracted this much attention.

A taxi driver reported the first sighting. Before the man could so much as register what had happened, Dora had vanished into a billow of dust. 

Andrew Boyle scatters feed for his flock of pygmy goats at Araglin Animal Sanctuary, their eager rush around him a daily ritual. Since the loss of his pet wallaby, Andrew has poured his time and energy into giving rescued animals a safe home, each one depending on his care and constancy. Picture Chani Anderson

The headline that day set tongues wagging everywhere. “Reports of kangaroo spotted in rural Cork.’ A lot of people mistake wallabies for kangaroos – the main difference between the two is their size. 

Wallabies are smaller in height and more agile. Many people claimed to have spotted Dora during those first few days. 

They only ever managed a glimpse as she impatiently hopped from one location to another. Her eyes were fixed only on the road ahead. 

While this was undoubtedly a quirky story, drawing smiles and laughter from newspaper readers and radio listeners, it also had a serious element.

Each day she was gone only increased the risk to Dora’s life. Wallabies are prone to a fatal disease called Macropod Progressive Periodontal Disease which can often result from stress. 

Otherwise known as lumpy jaw, it is caused by bacteria entering open wounds in the mouth. The pain of the condition can make it impossible for wallabies to eat, often leading to starvation. It would have been a horrible way for Dora to go.

We had her a few years, after rescuing a number of wallabies from petting zoos that were due to shut down. Now, here she was on the greatest adventure of her life, albeit at serious risk.

It was a man named Eoin Heaslop who ultimately saved the day. He was the only one who had the wherewithal to stay at the scene after catching sight of Dora. 

My wife came with me as soon as we got word of her location. That was at 6.30am and Dora had found her way into a row of terraced houses in Kilworth village. 

A car parked in a little driveway served as a barrier to her escape and made it easy enough for us to catch her. I have to be cautious when catching animals, having endured a string of unfortunate injuries in the past.

Andrew Boyle with his dogs, a bulldog and an Irish wolfhound, at Araglin Animal Sanctuary. Picture Chani Anderson

WALLABIES can give you a hell of a kick as I’ve learned from experience. The injury wasn’t the only mishap I’ve had during my time operating an animal sanctuary. 

I’ve had my hand impaled by a deer’s antlers and sustained a nasty bite from a pig. Luckily, this event went off without off without a hitch despite the fact that Dora had strength enough to take on all of us.

As soon as we got her home we placed Dora in a crate to give her time to settle and adjust to her surroundings. Wallabies are normally much happier to be where they are supposed to be. She was undoubtedly happy to be back home.

Wallabies have a typical lifespan of 12 years so Dora sadly passed away recently. It was a sudden, but peaceful death.

We have wonderful memories of her time with us and how she brought the community together with a story of an unlikely fugitive that captured hearts and imaginations across the country.

More importantly, if Dora hadn’t escaped we would never have met Eoin Heaslop who has since become a good friend of ours. He sometimes comes to see us. 

When he has relatives over from the UK he’ll bring them over to see the animals. It transpired afterwards that Eoin and I have a lot in common as we both have a daughter with Down syndrome. This is one of the reasons why we have become such good friends.

Of course, we have Dora to thank for bringing us all together.