Probably everybody knows the expression "cat-and-dog life." Indeed, dogs often hate cats and sometimes due to their hunting instincts they consider cats to be their prey. However, there some happy exceptions like Ginny the dog who spent her life rescuing cats.
Back in 1988 Philip Gonzalez, a construction worker, came to a NY shelter to get a four-legged friend. Although at first he wanted to take in a Doberman Pinscher but his eye caught a small adorable puppy.
According to the shelter staff, the puppy was a Siberian Husky and Schnauzer mix, so it was unknown what the pooch would look like when she grew up. Ginny, which is how the new owner named his pet, grew up a small doggie. She had a cute appearance because there was a lion-like mane on her neck. On seeing Gonzalez's pet everybody couldn't but smile because of the good-natured expression of Ginny's muzzle.
As Ginny grew older, she showed a feature very uncharacteristic of dogs. The doggie adored cats and wanted to spend all her time with them. Surprisingly, cats were not afraid of Ginny as well. When Ginny grew up, her love for cats was so overwhelming that she started saving cats in trouble.
"I didn’t train her," Gonzalez said. "Ginny was just magical in a way. I adopted her from a shelter, and they said she's never been with cats before. But she just had this knack of knowing when a cat was in trouble."
The five tiny kittens who fell into a vertical pipe at a construction site were the first to be rescued by Ginny. Soon after this successful mission, Ginny would go out with her owner and look for endangered felines.
She would find them in narrow crevices between buildings, in dried-up wells, in junkyards, and abandoned cars. Sometimes Ginny showed uncanny skill and bravery. She once retrieved a kitten from the very bottom of a crate filled with broken glass.
A well-deserved recognition as ... a cat
Ginny brought all the rescued cats home. Soon it became difficult for Gonzalez to take care of the rescued felines because he had to feed and cure them, and find them new owners. Luckily, Gonzalez never gave up on the poor creatures and carried out his duty without complaint.
But Ginny was a great help to Gonzalez, too. Her owner wrote the books Blessing of the Animals and True Stories of Ginny, the Dog Who Rescues Cats which became bestsellers and brought the man quite decent money. The unusual dog became a celebrity and was even invited as a guest of honor at the 1998 Westchester Cat Show.
At the event Ginny was publicly recognized as Cat of the Year. Thus the kind dog from Long Beach became the first to hold this title.
Ginny carried out her important rescue mission until her death in August 2005. She lived 17 years filled with love for her owner and cats. During her lifetime, she rescued about 900 felines. Thank you adorable doggie!
Source: bigpicture
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