Lulu’s looking for a home
Four-year-old shorthair needs a quiet place
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/10/2018 (2825 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For more than two years, Lulu has been watching people and traffic from her perch in the front window of the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter on Portage Avenue.
A black-and-white domestic shorthair cat with feathery white whiskers and blazing green-and-gold eyes, Lulu is really looking for someone to bring her into their family.
Lulu had a family once.
They moved and left her behind.
Another family found her, abandoned outside, and tried to keep her.
She was with them for several months, but she didn’t get along with the cats they already had in their home.
Carla Martinelli-Irvine said that family brought Lulu to the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter, Winnipeg’s first no-kill shelter, in March 2016.
“She’s such a good cat. She’s been here a long time,” said Martinelli-Irvine, the shelter’s founder, who said Lulu is spayed and is about four years old.
Mission accomplished
Barbie has found her “furever” home and she is the first “happy tail” for the Winnipeg Free Press‘s Rescue Mission feature.
Shortly after she was profiled on Sept. 17, Barbie was adopted from the Manitoba Mutts rescue by Allan Besson.
Besson, a retired Winnipeg Free Press sports reporter, said he read the story and contacted Manitoba Mutts immediately to fill out an adoption application for Barbie.
Within days, Barbie’s new life began as Besson’s best girl.
A seven-year-old shepherd cross with perky ears who looked like she was smiling in photos with her foster family, Barbie certainly is smiling now.
“It means the world to me to have her. I live alone, and we are great company for each other,” said Besson, whose 10-year-old Belgian shepherd Laddie died last April. Besson had adopted Laddie, who had only one eye, from the Winnipeg Humane Society when he was three. He said he still misses Laddie but he was also missing having a dog in his life.
“I was looking for a dog around seven years old, who was friendly. Barbie really fit the bill. Now she’s part of my family.”
Barbie had lived her first six years outside in a northern Manitoba community as a stray dog who gave birth to multiple litters of puppies and scrounged through garbage to stay alive. Her fortunes began to change in 2017 when Jasmine Colucci of K9 Advocates of Manitoba paid to have Barbie spayed. Then Jenn Taplin of Manitoba Mutts found a foster home in Winnipeg for Barbie with Mindy Brown and Wes Hanney. Barbie had lived with her foster family for a year before Besson adopted her.
She has taken over the floral futon in Besson’s office and she is going to classes with Besson to improve her ability to socialize with other dogs. After living all those years outdoors and fighting for survival, Barbie is slow to trust other dogs.
“We’re willing to spend all the time it takes to help get her used to other dogs,” Besson said. “I’m sure it won’t take too long. She’s smart. She learns fast.”
“She just needs a quiet home. She’s got tons of personality. If you give her time, she comes around to you. Once she knows you, she loves you.”
Martinelli-Irvine, who has been involved with animal rescue for more than 30 years, said she believes Lulu hasn’t been adopted yet because only certain homes would be suitable for her.
Lulu needs to be the only cat in her new home as she becomes stressed around other cats. She is also on a special diet to keep her weight in check.
She becomes upset by rambunctious activity and noise, but she seems to enjoy the company of a quiet, calm dog.
“She’s the type of cat that takes time to warm up to you. She has a little bit of trust issues. She likes to come to you on her own terms,” Martinelli-Irvine said. “I think she would do best in a single-pet home and one with older children.”
Lulu will tolerate being picked up but only by someone she knows. It takes time to build that trust, Martinelli-Irvine said.
“She’s harder to find a home for because everybody wants a cat that’s super affectionate, super cuddly, really quick. You pick up a kitten and it’s all over you. For a cat like Lulu, she’s harder to adopt,” she said.
Lulu has the shelter’s largest cat habitat by design. Filled with a variety of toys, climbing spaces, sisal pole and her own litter box, it is in the front window so she is the first pet visitors see when they visit or walk by the shelter.
“She’s got a lot of space here and a lot of things to do,” Martinelli-Irvine said. “We wanted her to get used to noises and see people. She spends most of her time here but she has free time in our office. All of the cats and dogs we have here get free time (in open spaces and out of their kennels or habitats). It’s important for them.”
She said it is heartbreaking for her and her staff to see so many animals who are homeless, abandoned or abused, but she said they keep their focus on saving the animals.
“We’re not here to judge people; we’re here to help the animals. First and foremost, is what’s best for the animals,” Martinelli-Irvine said.
“We always say about animals, ‘Treat them with kindness, treat them with love. These creatures are gifts from above.’ That’s our motto here.”
Martinelli-Irvine said because the shelter is no-kill, Lulu can live there for the rest of her life but she deserves more.
“It’s hard when an animal is here for this length of time,” she said.
Lulu’s adoption fee includes up-to-date vaccinations and a veterinarian checkup.
The shelter usually has about 60 cats and kittens as well as a bird sanctuary with an assortment of budgies and cockatiels. It has room for only two large dogs at a time but often has puppies.
“People sometimes say, ‘Why should I adopt from you? You’re no-kill.’ But I say, by adopting from us, it frees up a space so we can save another life,” Martinelli-Irvine said.
If you would like to adopt Lulu or donate to the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter, please contact Martinelli-Irvine at carla@wpgpet.ca, visit the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter on Facebook or go to the website at petrescueshelter.com.
ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
