“Romeow” is what you would call a pampered cat. The biggest decision of his day is where he should nap. He has an automatic feeder and a water fountain that delivers fresh water all day long. He is loved. But his life was not always this good. When Lindsay Burkart rescued him and his 14 cat friends, they were mostly in bad shape. Burkart, who runs Nali Animal Orphanage, was contacted by another organization and asked to help rehome the exotic shorthair cats from a breeder who had health issues and was no longer able to take care of them. Burkart packed up all the cats and began the task of treating the sick ones and neutering them so they could find forever homes.
Nali takes its name from the two people who founded it in 2009: Natalie Santerre and Lindsay Burkart. In 2013 Nali was registered as a non-profit organization. Over the years it has chosen other volunteers who help foster. Altogether there are about nine homes that take in animals. Burkart explains, “We are foster-based and count on volunteers who can share their time and home with cats or dogs, or other things too.”
Nali is not limited to one region. Animals come in from everywhere; Montreal, the West Island, Saint-Lazare, to name a few. Most of the animals are from the street, but animal control will sometimes contact the Orphanage. The pandemic was hard on Nali. “It really hurt us financially and with our volunteers,” says Burkart. In an emergency, they will sometimes ask for volunteers to foster, via Facebook.
Nali mostly fosters cats and dogs, but it has fostered snakes and pigs, and even rehomed a tarantula. “There is a specific group of people who like tarantulas,” laughs Burkart. Nali is mostly successful in placing the animals, but those that are not placed become longtime fosters.
Rescuing animals is expensive. Adoption fees help, but “Fundraising is very important,” says Burkart. To help with costs, they often hold microchipping clinics. Sometimes, if an animal’s health requirements are beyond what they can cover, they will fundraise for that specific animal or, if need be, they may transfer the animal to a different organization within their network. On September 21, Nali will hold its biggest fundraiser of the year. It will have a table outside the Champlain Veterinary Clinic during the Hemmingford Townwide Garage Sale. Anyone who would like to donate can go to the Facebook page and message, or email at nali.rescue@gmail.com.
Over the last eight years, Nali has rehomed around 2000 cats, 500 dogs, 75 rabbits, 30 guinea pigs, and an array of many other animals. Romeow and his cat friends appear to be very happy to be a part of those numbers.