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Parties get together to save the Catalpa Y

BY DONALD BERTRAND
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saint of cats dies

Famous pooch saved felines by hundreds
SHE WAS OLD and tired, could hardly walk and spent her last days flopped on a worn blanket.
Ginny, the little dog from Long Beach that rescued cats, was on her last leg. The 17-year-old mixed breed, who saved some 900 cats and was immortalized in two books, died yesterday in the company of her owner and 18 cats she saved from certain death. She hasnt eaten in three days. Shes suffering from old age right now, Ginnys owner, Philip Gonzalez, said yesterday, looking down at the Siberian Husky-Schnauzer mixs emaciated body as she took short, desperate breaths. I think shes going to go tonight. And just three hours later, about 2:30 p.m., Ginny took her last breath. The rescue dogs heartbroken owner fondly recalled the BY MICHAEL WHITE days when GinDAILY NEWS WRITER ny would sniff out kittens in peril. Gonzalez, 55, of Long Beach remembered when younger Ginny yelped and ran to the second floor of a Long Beach building under construction to rescue five kittens trapped in a pipe. Ginny threw her furry body against the tall plastic tube sticking up from the floor, Gonzalez said. The pipe fell over, revealing the helpless felines. These kittens were maybe 3 weeks old. Someone must have thrown them in there, said Gonzalez, who lives alone with three other dogs and the 18 cats. Ginny first gained relative fame in the 1990s when publisher HarperCollins learned of her story from a magazine article. Gonzalez co-authored two books about Ginny and her rescues: The Dog Who Rescues Cats and The Blessing of the Animals. Both were translated into numerous languages. They call her the Mother Theresa of cats, Gonzalez said. In another memorable rescue, Ginny dug through a box of glass near a warehouse to save a trapped kitten. She jumped out of the car and started digging into this box of broken glass, cutting her paws, Gonzalez said. Ginny somehow sensed when cats were in trouble, then found them, cleaned them and carried them from danger in her mouth. Gonzalez also tried to train Ginny to sniff out money, but to no avail. I said, You like these cats? You want to feed them all? Then you pay for it, Gonzalez said. But in fact, she already had, because both books are best sellers. I think she was a cat lady in a prior life, Gonzalez said.

THE CATALPA YMCA, threatened with closure for the past two years, will remain open and continue to be a neighborhood Y, it was announced yesterday. The Ridgewood facility was scheduled to close at the end of the month, but an agreement between the Y and elected officials will keep it open. The great passion that the community had for the Catalpa YMCA was part of the impetus behind the parties going the extra mile to make it work, said Jack Lund, president of the YMCA of Greater New York. Financial and building difficulties had previously forced the YMCA to consider closing the facility. In March 2003, the Y first announced plans to close the Ridgewood branch. In June 2003, it received a one-year reprieve. Then the following year, it got another reprieve while elected officials looked to buy the building a former courthouse and turn it over to a local community group to run. Here at Catalpa, we are committed to providing strong leadership, to maintaining strong programs and to building a robust membership, Lund said in announcing the decision to remain at the building at 64th St. and Catalpa Ave., which the Y has owned since 1965. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall allocated $500,000 to keeping the Catalpa Y open, and Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village) committed another $250,000. The Y has agreed to match that money. Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (DRidgeood) and State Sen. Serphin Maltese have promised state aid. Working with the elected officials and business groups, the YMCA will create a realistic plan to renovate the building, and to provide quality programs and services to Ridgewood and surrounding communities, said the Y president. The key is the difference in leadership between Jack Lund and his predecessor, added Gallagher. Lund, the former president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee, took over from Paula Gavin at the beginning of 2004. Gavin had said that the Catalpa Y was too small and had to be closed. dbertrand@nydailynews.com

DAILY NEWS Friday, August 26, 2005

RICHARD SLATTERY

Philip Gonzalez comforts his canine pal, Ginny, yesterday. The 17-year-old mixed breed had an amazing ability to save felines from perilous fates.
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