More money might come once the estate had been completely settled.
The windfall couldn't have come at a better time because this year the animal shelter would have to buy the leasehold land it was on from the council and put in a sewerage system. The shelter also needed a lot of maintenance.
The $10,000 was nowhere near enough to cover these costs, but would still be a huge help, said Ms Nahr.
Meanwhile the shelter continued to rely on and was very grateful for the generosity of locals.
She had been told that Ms Mandler had no husband or children, had "loads of energy, a really good heart, an agile mind, used to bike everywhere, and worked in TV in the early days", said Ms Nahr.
Ms Mandler's niece and executor of her estate, Jane Zajac, said animals and their welfare were her aunt's "passion in life".
It was no surprise she had left money to the SPCA and Cat Protection League, and dogs for the blind, but Ms Zajac had not been expecting Buller SPCA to turn up in the will.
"I thought at first it was just local shelters in the Christchurch area but then when I read the legacy it included Westport among five others," she said.
She could think of no connection her aunt would have had to Westport.
Before suffering a stroke that deprived her of mobility and speech, Ms Mandler had always had "loads of cats".
She had been a very theatrical woman, who was interested in the arts, could quote poetry and was beautifully spoken.
She was also a fashion designer.
Ms Mandler had been a resident at Kate Sheppard Hospital until the big September earthquake when she was moved to Nelson, then to Tauranga to be close to her niece.
She died October 5 last year aged 86.
"She's been my most amazing aunt my whole life, so we miss her dearly."
