A 66-year-old woman with dementia says sheâs devastated after her therapy cat was taken from her and replaced with a robotic stuffed animal by staff at the care home she resides in.
Dawn Douglas told CTV Vancouver Island that employees at the Sunridge Place care facility in Duncan, B.C. removed her Siamese-cross cat named âSnoopâ from her suite while she was in another room.
âI want my cat back,â Douglas said on Wednesday. âThey had no right taking my pet.â
The senior said sheâs taken care of Snoop ever since it was a kitten.
âShe loves me with all her heart and I know sheâs missing me,â Douglas said.
She moved into the private facility, owned by Park Place Seniors Living, in July 2016. Her sons said administration told them that the cat would be allowed to move in with her under a few conditions. The family had to ensure that Snoopâs shots were all up to date and Douglas would be responsible for cleaning up her petâs litter.
On Feb. 10, the cat was moved into Douglasâ room at the care home.
âNot even 24 hours [later] I was getting phone calls from the RN [registered nurse] working here saying that the cat has to be removed,â Drew Douglas, one of the womanâs sons, told CTV Vancouver Island.
Two days later, the family said Sunridge Place employees went in to the seniorâs room while she was out and seized the cat after Drew Douglas refused to come pick it up. In its place, Dawn Douglas found a robotic stuffed cat sitting in her room.
âThey told me, âWeâre going to give it a bathâ and Iâd get her back,â she recalled. âI never did.â
Lynda Foley, the vice-president of quality assurance for Park Place Seniors Living, said the cat was removed after one of the employees inside the care home was hospitalized due to an allergic reaction.
âThe interim solution, they made arrangements to have the cat be re-homed with a staff member thatâs very loving and has promised to look after the cat while we work with the family,â Foley said during a phone interview.
The company also said the family was never given permission to move Snoop into the facility, which doesnât allow pets to live there.
On Wednesday, Dawn Douglasâ sons picked up Snoop from its temporary owner. They said they plan to keep fighting to have the cat returned to their mother in the care home.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Islandâs Jessica Lepp