The Kindness Collection

20% of all proceeds from The Kindness Collection is donated to The Lac La Biche Regional Humane Society.

"Be kind to every kind, not just mankind."

Here is my story.

Animals have always been incredibly important to me. Cats in particular. We have a beautiful dog named Zoey, and we had Marlow that we loved dearly who recently passed. I have fostered, rescued and taken in hundreds of cats over the years. I worked alongside amazing organizations to help as many as I could. I felt it gave me such an important purpose in life for the very first time. We currently have 5 cats of our own. Doodies, Bunchkin, Babe, Mama Kitty and Wiener Dog.

Our first came from a local Humane Society. She had a lazy eye and a crooked tail, and something about her stole our hearts. She was the one! We named her Doodies.

I then felt we needed another to keep her company, when I received a call that someone found a sick kitten covered in fresh cement in a ditch nearby. It was like it was meant to be. Why they called me of all people? I honestly don't know. We took him in and named him Bunchkin. 

The next one followed me home (chatting my ear off) from a walk one evening, and after thoroughly searching for an owner, none were found. She seemed desperate for love and affection, so we took her in and called her Babe.

My husband certainly felt as though we had enough cats (considering we had 2 dogs as well at this point)... until I received a call that there was a very sketchy and wounded cat found in the dumpster where I worked. She had had a litter of kittens inside the dumpster, but they unfortunately did not make it. I spent a few days trying to lure her out with tuna, until she finally took the bait and I was able to take her to the vet. She needed immediate care as she had a bad gash on her leg and serious mastitis from the loss of her kittens. She also had a severe respiratory virus. As if that wasn't enough... we found out she was already pregnant again. I spent a great amount of time earning her trust and making her feel safe with us. She soon fit right into our family and we named her Mama Kitty.

When Mama Kitty's litter of 7 were born, they were all very ill with the same respiratory virus. One by one they passed, until there were only 2 left. We had named them both and watched them grow until they were about a month old, although one kitten was still quite sick. After many visits to the vet, the kitten passed and we were left with only one. Him and Mama Kitty formed such a strong bond that there was no way we could ever separate them. I don't know how the name came to be, but we named him Wiener Dog and he is our miracle baby.

I continued to rescue and foster hundreds of cats after this, with many of them stealing my heart. There is nothing like having to give up an animal that you nursed back to health for months. I remember many times sitting in a parking lot crying my eyes out after handing over a kitten that I cared for for 6 months or even a year, or holding a senior cat while it took it's last breath. There is truly nothing like it.

Although rescuing and fostering brought a lot of heartache, pain and tears throughout my journey, I wouldn't take a second of it back. I hold each of these memories dearly knowing that I made even just the smallest difference. I hope to continue to make a difference in any way that I can.

I am blessed with a husband and family that has done nothing but encourage and support me along the way, and love the animals as much as me (although he will never admit it!). I now have a one year old son who I hope has the chance to experience the amount of love that I have in one lifetime.