Saanich cat champion Tryntje Horn was honoured on Wednesday by Pets-Plus with a $3,000 award towards Horn’s ongoing efforts to rescue cats.
A lively 85-year-old from Gordon Head, Horn has been at it for years and will rescue any animal, including a lot of dogs, but her specialty is cats. Her biggest aid in the effort to save cats is the Pacific Cat Clinic in Saanich, led by veterinarian Dr. Helen Bell. Bell and staff have cared for countless kittens and cats that Horn has brought in, and found them homes.
The retiree drives up and down the Island responding to calls to the Nana Foundation to rescue pets.
Read More: Saanich cat clinic takes on kittens in need
At home, she has seven dogs and 17 cats, she said.
“The cats are disabled, I have only the most vulnerable,” Horn said. “I call it my shelter. I have a dog with no eyes, these are the animals that live with me.”
This week Eric Coulson from Pets + Us pet insurance provider, visited to deliver the $3,000 award to Horn at the clinic. It was Bell who nominated Horn for the Pet Plus Us Champion award in the first place.
The award allots $1,500 to the winner and $1,500 to their charity of choice.
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“In this case [Horn] chose to put the full $3,000 towards the her foundation and the pets,” Coulson said.
Horn’s vet bill from the past year is at least $60,000, she said.
“If you add in all the costs of the care for the animals, it’s more, maybe $80,000,” she said.
A lot of the money comes from donations to the Nana Foundation.
To consider adopting a kitten, go online to victoriaadoptables.com or call 250-477-2062.
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