Another thoughtful human being...
A 28-year-old who helps the elderly (before they pass away) to re-home their pets, has celebrated her 100th adoption.
Angela Rafuse was inspired to create her charity after her 85-year-old grandfather died, leaving his cat, Mackenzie, without a home. None of Angela’s relatives had capacity to take on the responsibility, so she decided to take in the calico cat herself.
After a bad break up, Angela moved home to live with her parents in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and began sharing the basement with the feline.
“I was processing the grief and heartbreak of a breakup and losing my grandfather, but the only options left were taking her to a shelter or me adopting her. I had to take her.”
Although Mackenzie became very grumpy and hissed a lot, Angela soon realized the cat was just scared. It eventually warmed to her new owner after lots of love and attention, inspiring the Canadian woman to start a new venture in 2021. Angela’s nonprofit, ‘My Grandfather’s Cat’, facilitates adoptions of dogs and cats belonging to seniors who are either terminally ill or wishing to enter a retirement home.
While Angela and the tabby lived in her parent’s basement for 18 months, she started posting videos on TikTok. Soon the duo grew a following of 656,000 people—and many commented about how their grandparent’s pets had to go into shelters after they passed. “It was like a divine intervention. I knew this is what I should do.” “We had 30k followers at that point and I thought ‘I can launch it on TikTok, as there were so many people in need’.”
Angela’s launch date was May 18, on her late grandfather’s birthday—and since then it has brought peace of mind to 100 pet owners. “It gives me so much purpose in life—and I have an amazing team of volunteers.” Most seniors are referred to My Grandfather’s Cat by care homes or shelters. They submit an application and the team then writes a profile to post on social media. They then interview people who might be interested, and find out who is a good fit—and the senior has the opportunity to interview the family, too.
“The senior then picks their pet’s second forever home—and the adoptees can stay in touch with the new owner who will share updates.”
One case Angela will never forget is when she helped a woman who had terminal cancer and underwent euthanasia. “We helped her find a new home for her cats, Koko and Lily, and she chose a lovely multi-generational home with two seniors, their daughter, and grandson. “She passed away knowing her best friends had the best home.” It was the last and most important thing on her to-do list.
What a great comfort and inspiration this would be to anyone with a pet!
