Abandoned Dog Turned Cat Rescuer Leaves Sweet Legacy to Feline Friends

Ginny is not your typical rescue dog. She basically had sixth sense for saving cats, having rescued at least 1,000 cats by sniffing them out in the most random places.

Ginny would sniff cats out of dumpsters, glove compartments, pipes, and other places where they could easily be trapped.

In carrying out her mission, this Schnauzer/Siberian Husky mix had a faithful assistant - her human companion Philip Gonzalez.

But Ginny herself had been abused and abandoned. She was in such a bad shape that vets in the shelter thought of euthanasia. But Ginny showed signs of recovery and was soon up for adoption. This was when she met Philip.

Philip, who was injured in a construction accident and suffered from depression, said that Ginny gave him a purpose.

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A photo posted by @theginnyfund_ on Dec 30, 2015 at 5:45pm PST

As she had known what it was like to be abused and abandoned, Ginny sought to help other animals that are in need.

"She always wanted to be out searching," Philip told AmazingTales. The first time Ginny got into rescue work, she broke off her leash, ran to a pipe, pawed at it and whimpered as she always did when she found a cat. Five kittens came out of the pipe.

Ginny and Philip would drop by the local animal shelter every week to drop off the rescued cats. Ginny fell in love with her cats, mostly those with physical disability, and would visit them regularly.

Unfortunately, Ginny had passed away at age 17 in August 2005. But her legacy has lived on through Philip and The Ginny Fund, a group of volunteers who were inspired by Ginny's story and vowed to carry on her noble mission of taking care of cats who are living on the streets of Long Island, New York.

According to OneGreenPlanet, the group would wake up at 3 a.m. to make 19 stops around Long Island to get food and water to the cats. They also help promote and educate the public on the importance of their programs, finding homes for rescues and raising funds to build their dream sanctuary for unwanted animals.