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Welcome to the Ginny Fan Club!
 The Ginny Fan Club was established to commemorate Ginny, a Schnauzer/Siberian-Husky mix, who impacted the lives of hundreds of homeless cats and captured the hearts of all who knew her. Although Ginny left her earthly home on August 25, 2005, this site is dedicated to keeping her memory and her spirit alive. Adopted from a shelter by her life-long caretaker, Philip Gonzalez, Ginny returned her good fortune by rescuing as many as 900 lost and homeless cats during her lifetime. More than just a canine oddity, Ginny’s caretaker maintains that her heroic antics were based on an inherent love for cats, a love that was enthusiastically returned by her grateful feline friends. Ginny was only a youngster when she made her first feline rescue – a litter of five tiny kittens that were trapped inside a pipe. Although her caretaker first considered Ginny’s find a mere coincidence, she would prove him wrong by the countless cat rescues she made throughout her lifetime. Ignoring even the most dangerous of circumstances, Ginny was known to rescue cats and kittens from not only pipes but also from dumpsters, glass-laden containers and even a glove compartment or two. Ginny’s story is made all the more poignant by the fact that she had once experienced her own dire circumstances, abandoned and locked in a closet with her puppies for a week before she was rescued and taken to the shelter where Gonzalez found her. According to her caretaker, Ginny’s love and desire to save those in need was not confined to her feline friends. On the contrary, Ginny demonstrated on at least one occasion that she was prepared to rescue humans as well. Recognizing that a blind man’s life was in peril when he attempted to step off a curb into busy traffic, Ginny jumped off the curb before him, barking incessantly until he turned back to safety. Such was the character and life of one of the most extraordinary, and now unforgettable, dogs – Ginny. We are glad that you have decided to visit us here at Ginny’s Fan Club. Please feel free to explore our website, where you will find stories, pictures and videos about Ginny. Each page is dedicated to providing you with a closer look at a remarkable and loving dog that dedicated her own life to rescuing the animals she loved. While you’re at it, why not consider making a donation to The Ginny Fund, a non-profit organization established by Philip to provide care to homeless cats. Your gift will be used to help carry on Ginny’s legacy by supporting the feeding and caring of the lost and homeless cats that she loved so much. If you have any questions or a wish for this website, please share it with the Ginny Fan Club by using the feedback form. The Ginny Fan Club receives no funding from The Ginny Fund, but instead, as stated, directs all donations to it. Thank you! |
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Why Give to the Ginny Fund?
 We can only imagine what it was that compelled Ginny to come to the rescue of cats in distress. Could it be that she sensed their fear or felt their pain? Perhaps these unfortunate animals called out to her in a way we humans cannot understand. Whatever the reason, she came to their aid no matter what the cost. Because of Ginny’s remarkable deeds and the growing number of cats in need, her caretaker Philip Gonzalez established the Ginny Fund in an effort to assist in caring for Ginny’s precious “cat friends”.
Perhaps you are wondering “What makes the Ginny Fund so special?” It is very important that we understand that most of the cats assisted by the Ginny Fund are strays. Many are feral and have no particular place of residence. They are often in need of immediate food, shelter and veterinary care. While many animal shelters and humane societies provide such care to strays, the Ginny Fund is quite unique in that its system of caring is geared toward the special needs of feral cats.
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“A Thank You from the Ginny Fund”
Expressions of goodwill and thanksgiving abound at this time of the year. In this same spirit we would like to take a moment to say thank you to a very special supporter of The Ginny Fund, Mr. Matthew Manns, District Manager of Royal Canin, a leading provider of pet nutrition and an official sponsor of the Westchester Cat Show held in Westchester County, New York.
Ginny had been a friend and frequent attendee of the Westchester Cat Show and had been awarded the title “Cat of The Year” by the Westchester Feline Club in 1998. Sadly, Ginny passed away in August of 2005 and on November 19th a Memorial Ceremony was held in her honor during the Westchester Cat Show. Many who knew and loved Ginny were there and came forward to speak about her unwavering love and devotion for her feline friends.
Inspired by Ginny’s story and on behalf of Royal Canin, Mr. Manns donated a year’s supply of Royal Canin Cat Food for the feral cats under Philip’s care as well as a year’s supply of food for those cats that live in Ginny and Philip’s home. The benefits of this compassionate gift were felt throughout the year.
We the Ginny Fan Club and the Ginny Fund, on behalf of our beloved Ginny and all the beautiful feral cats of Long Beach, would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Manns and Royal Canin for their kindness and generous support of Ginny’s mission.
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The Story Of Jon Luc
Sunday, July 16 @ 23:49:24 CDT (1169 reads) |  philip writes "Jon Luc is my father's dog. He was a very great companion with Ginny and a son to my dad. He was the greatest friend i could ever have. Somthing very tragic happened today, Jon Luc died. Even though my dad took this hard he is still staying strong. * In Loving Memory, Jon Luc *"
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Anonymous: Merlins Magic
Tuesday, April 25 @ 20:37:44 CDT (968 reads) | Anonymous writes "I grew up a cat lover. I'm absolutely insane for them. I always wanted one. It didn't matter to me what kind, a calico, a purebred, an Aby. Finally, on New Years Eve, my mother adopted a cat. My first cat was a stray, dropped off by a foolish person who couldn't take care of him. My new cat, named Merlin for his magical yellow eyes, came into the house, sniffing, and hiding under chairs. He was always a chubby cat, but he had a heart of gold. "
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Emily Weinstein: Saint Ginny of Long Island
Thursday, September 29 @ 00:57:20 CDT (2300 reads) | Philip Gonzalez is one of those lucky people who find meaning in their work. As a hot-steam pipe fitter at Ellis Island and the World Trade Center, he takes great pride in his work. It affords him a luxurious life of travel and material goods. On one fateful day his comfortable existence comes to a complete end.
Philip's coat gets caught on a large metal stripping machine that is running full tilt. He awakes from a severe concussion with a destroyed writing arm, reconstructed jaw and check and a career that is no longer his. His neighbor/friend, Sheilah Harris, is very concerned. But Philip does not even want to take care of himself, let alone a dependent. I ask Phil, " why didn't she suggest a self sufficient companion, like a cat?" "Sheilah did not like cats."
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Gene Martinez: Put it down... It'll never live - it's pathetic
Friday, November 11 @ 21:54:55 CST (1636 reads) |  Our story is not one of incredible heroicism or profound bravery, rather it is one of triumph over incredible odds - it's a tale of survival.
My husband and I were living with my best friend since junior high and his partner. My best friend - Josh, has always had a passion for animals. He is currently working towards his degree in veterinary medicine and has worked in a number of shelters and veterinary offices.
Over the years, Josh and I have co-habitated in many different settings - and he has brough home some of the most..... 'unique' animals that I have ever seen. I didn't have a problem with the 3-legged Italian Greyhound, the epileptic chihua chihua or the giant Mastiff...
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Olivia Chan: Crying for Black Girl
Monday, October 24 @ 22:02:04 CDT (2313 reads) |
She died in my arm… She died hungry.
 Looking down at her bloody little body, tears swelled up in my eyes and I sobbed uncontrollably. Holding her tight, I heard myself repeating: “Why? Oh God… Why? Please don’t go, Please, hold on… I am sorry, so sorry! She only wanted to eat, she is hungry… baby, please! NO!” Her leg twitched, a gust of blood stream out from her mouth and spilled directly unto my bare arm and neck. She lay still then. Cradling her in my arms, I stared out of the car window. Images flash up again and again in my head. Her eyes! As she looked at the bright headlight shining on her, it is not so much fear as shock. It is as if she is asking herself: “What is this?” She froze, too late.
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Philip Gonzalez: The Story Of Van Gogh
Monday, October 17 @ 23:01:42 CDT (2103 reads) |  Sixteen years ago, when Ginny started rescuing cats, I would go with her to a vacant lot that had many feral cats that we would feed and water. They all would gather around Ginny and she would play with them. There were about forty cats living there. The leader was a big unneutered gray and white Tomcat, the father of all the cats there. Many times he would attack dogs, and every dog in the immediate area feared him. Ginny, though, had no fear of him - she loved him and he loved her back. Once I tried to touch him and he just about tore me apart. I brought Ginny back home, saying, "I would never feed a feral cat again."
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Philip Gonzalez: The Rescue of Chloe
Thursday, October 06 @ 00:13:09 CDT (1936 reads) |  One day after a major snow storm that dropped about 14 inches, I went out with Ginny to try and find some of her cats in the colonies that we had so we could dig them out and give them hot food and water. Hot food you are wondering? What I do is I put the cans of food on the dashboard and turn the defrost to high. It heats the cans nice and hot, and the cats love it because it warms them up.
After we had visited about 13 colonies and freed some of the trapped cats and fed them, Ginny began running and playing in the snow, which she loved - it was the Siberian Husky in her. I let her play in the snow for about a half hour. Then I told her to get into the car, and she jumped right in and sat in the front passenger seat. It was dark and driving was hard because many of the streets were not plowed, but another 6 blocks and we would be home, dry and warm. Suddenly Ginny started barking and jumping up and down from the seat to the floor and back up on the seat again. I stopped the car and looked at Ginny, wondering what was wrong. She kept on barking.
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Olivia Chan: Marshmellow
Monday, September 19 @ 01:17:45 CDT (1679 reads) |  One of the reasons I named him Marshmellow is because he is so sweet and mellow. Of the five cats that I have, Marsh is the friendliest; he will let you pick him up and pet him any time. He is not a lap cat but he likes to follow me around the house. I am so glad that he has chosen me to spend the rest of his life with. Marsh is a success story. In spite of his tumor, declawing operation, gun shot and possible abandonment, he not only survived, he even kept his spirit high. Now, whenever I look at Marsh, I can't help but admire him. He has become such an inspiration to me.
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Philip Gonzalez: Calisto's story
Wednesday, September 28 @ 23:39:56 CDT (1330 reads) |  Calisto, a beautiful calico cat, was living outside with some other strays. I would feed them every night, and Ginny was friends with all of them, but they would see me and run away.
I saw that a few of the cats were starting to mate and I figured that in a few months instead of five cats there might be twenty. I decided to trap them and have them spayed, neutered and vaccinated, and an ear notched (a nearly painless procedure that allows people to determine if a cat is being cared for or not) before I released them back where I trapped them.
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'Saint' of cats dies
Wednesday, September 07 @ 16:09:45 CDT (1799 reads) |
| Famous pooch saved felines by hundreds |
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| 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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She was
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 legs. The 17-year-old mixed breed, who saved some 900 cats
and was immortalized in two books, died yesterday in the company of her
caretaker and 18 cats she saved from certain death.
"She
hasn't eaten in three days. She's suffering from old age right now,"
Ginny's friend, Philip Gonzalez, said yesterday, looking down at the
Siberian Husky-Schnauzer mix's emaciated body as she took short,
desperate breaths.
"I think she's going to go tonight."
And
just three hours later, about 2:30 p.m., Ginny took her last breath.
The rescue dog's heartbroken friend fondly recalled the days when Ginny
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 Harper Collins 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. |
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The dog who loved cats, Ginny, 1988 - 2005
Thursday, October 06 @ 23:24:36 CDT (1708 reads) | Ginny, a schnauzer-husky mix from Long Beach who made headlines a decade ago for saving sick and disabled cats, died Thursday of old age. She was 17.
Ginny's interspecies exploits were detailed in a best-selling book, "The Dog Who Rescues Cats: The True Story of Ginny" (HarperCollins, 1995). Co-authored by her owner, Philip Gonzalez, it has been translated into eight languages, including Hebrew, Finnish and Japanese, and was followed by another compilation of her cat capers, "The Blessing of the Animals," in 1996.
A former steamfitter, Gonzalez, 55, adopted the quirky mutt with the bat ears and boa-like ruff of neck hair in 1990, in an effort to shake the depression he was feeling after severely injuring his right arm in a work accident. |  |
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What your cat does while you are gone
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