This horse was air lifted from the flooded Nicola River valley to safe ground with help from the B.C. Horse Council.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kim Cardinal
December 17, 2021 - 7:30 AM
A woman who lost almost everything in the devastating floods that burst through the Nicola River valley last month, is hoping to get reunited with something very precious soon.
Kim Cardinal’s home and property, which once sat along the Merritt-Spences Bridge Highway, also called Highway 8, was tragically swept asunder along with those of her neighbours on Nov. 15.
Cardinal said she watched as her whole property disappeared in a matter of less than ten minutes. She and her husband lost several animals, but were able to rescue their horse, Winter, and two ponies thanks to the help of the B.C. Horse Council.
The animals were lifted out in nets by helicopter to safe ground, then taken to a safe location in Kamloops. Now that Cardinal and her husband have found a long-term place to stay at a cabin in Spence’s Bridge, she wants her therapy horse home with her, and she is appealing to the public for help.
“My horses are okay where they are, it is me who needs them for my mental health,” she said. “I want to get up every morning and get my hugs and love from them and I know they want it from me. Winter is my therapy horse and little Spicy is his buddy. I want to brush them and clean their hooves. This will help me so very much.”
READ MORE: Interior farmer hit by flooding in both Merritt and Abbotsford
Cardinal said she is grateful to friends in Kamloops who are caring for the horses. Winter the horse and Spicy the pony are a bonded set and the other pony went to a good home.
Spicy the pony with best friend Winter the horse.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kim Cardinal
The couple lost everything, including their vehicles and winter supply of hay.
“The insurance company declined our claim on the home and property,” she said. “Even though we have good insurance. We are told the highway is so damaged it will be a long time before we will be able to access where our property used to be and our vehicles.”
Cardinal is asking anyone that has hay, a horse shelter or panels for a corral to donate them.
“Everywhere got hit hard this summer due to heat, fires and floods,” she said. “If you can help me in any way to have my horses here, even if it’s just a panel or two, it will add up. I had a friend drive all the way from the Alberta border to bring me two large bales of hay.”
Cardinal said she is beyond grateful for all the support she has received from so many and for those who rescued her horses.
“I am lost but my heart has grown so big,” she said. “Even though we don’t have a home we are alive and have a roof over our heads.
“Winter helped my mental health and I helped his. We have a bond that not many people get. I'm lost without him as he is lost without me, we need each other.”
Steven Rice, a director with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Rice and a farmer in the area, said he and many other residents were forced to flee their properties with little more than the clothes on their backs.
READ MORE: People on Highway 8 facing long-term disaster after B.C. flooding
"The people on Highway 8, where our disaster is, have been hit with a long-term disaster. This isn't a month or two, it's a year or two for lots of us," he said.
The flooding hit on Nov. 15, with a subsequent mudslide wiping out the highway and destroying or damaging dozens of properties.
If you can help provide hay or panels to Kim Cardinal contact her here.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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