Email
Print
ShareMelbourne: An ardent animal lover, who died alone in her Sydney home, has left her 3-million-dollar estate to stray cats and dogs.
Daina Silins, a former dentist from Newport, was found slumped in her armchair three days after her death last November.
Although she never married and never owned any animals, Silins loved animals.
She owned dozens of books on different species of dogs and cats, and a collection of old notes and coins believed to be worth 60,000 dollars.
In her will, Silins has donated her 3.27-million-dollar estate including her home, properties in Fiji and Bensville on the Central Coast to animal welfare groups.
She had arranged for The Cat Protection Society, Animal Welfare League and Domestic Animals Birth Control Society to receive about 1-million-dollar each.
"At her dental surgery she would feed every stray cat that came along, no one would go hungry," News.com.au quoted former client Keith Clissold as saying.
"She didn't have any family but everybody knew her.
"She used to wear a bright red coat and a big hat. Because of her good work I still have a lot of my own teeth in my mouth.
"At her funeral there were 10 or 11 people who had known her," Mr Clissold said. "She really was one of those characters in life," Clissold added.
Silins' prized coin collection included 28 rare Seige Notes from 1884 signed by British General Charles Gordon, made famous in the 1966 Hollywood movie Khartoum starring Charlton Heston as Gordon.
