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René Chartrand, the famous “Catman of Parliament Hill,” has died.
Chartrand tended to the cats at the now-gone cat sanctuary every day for 21 years until ill health forced his “retirement” in 2008.
Chartrand died Sunday in hospital in Gatineau. He was 92.
“I’m not allowed to get sick. The cats would get angry if I missed a day,” Chartrand told the Citizen in a 2000 interview, when he was 79.
“I’ll be here Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. I still enjoy it, this is all I have to do.”
Chartrand, a retired blue-collar worker who grew up in Lowertown, took the bus daily to the Hill from his home in Sandy Hill, where he kept his own cats. He took over as the caregiver in 1987 when the cat colony’s previous tender, his neighbour Irène Desormeaux, grew too ill.
With support from Ralston Purina, who supplied the food, vets at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital who provided care, and a bevy of cat-loving volunteers, Chartrand made the sanctuary, on the edge of the escarpment just west of the Centre Block, a Hill tourist attraction.
“The tourists loved him,” said Brian Caines, a retired public servant who helped manage the sanctuary.
“He was so easy to talk to. He was fluent in both English and French. And he was so good with children.”
Tributes also poured in on the Cats of Parliament Hill Facebook page.
“He added a much needed touch of gentleness, whimsy and humanity to Parliament Hill,” wrote a Facebook fan who goes by Claire delalune. “His mission and the beautiful animals he cared for enthralled visitors from everywhere. So sorry to hear he’s gone.”
“My condolences to his family. When I was having a bad day, I would see him with the cats and it would always make me smile,” added Marne McPhee.
The cat sanctuary carried on for just a few more years after Chartrand retired. The cats were all spayed and neutered and the colony dwindled from its peak of 28 animals to just four when it closed in 2012. In fact, raccoons outnumbered the kitties by two-to-one at the end.
Public Works dismantled the wooden shelters and feeding platforms that year.
“He was one of a kind,” Caines said. “God bless him. He was the perfect example of human kindness.”
Chartrand is survived by his brother, Raymond, and five children: Marie-Chantal, Pierre, Louise, Bernard and Claude. A memorial service will be held Dec. 29 at the Coopérative funéraire de l’Outaouais at 95 Boul. de la Cité-des-Jeunes in Gatineau.
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
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Chartrand tended to the cats at the now-gone cat sanctuary every day for 21 years until ill health forced his “retirement” in 2008.
Chartrand died Sunday in hospital in Gatineau. He was 92.
“I’m not allowed to get sick. The cats would get angry if I missed a day,” Chartrand told the Citizen in a 2000 interview, when he was 79.
“I’ll be here Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. I still enjoy it, this is all I have to do.”
Chartrand, a retired blue-collar worker who grew up in Lowertown, took the bus daily to the Hill from his home in Sandy Hill, where he kept his own cats. He took over as the caregiver in 1987 when the cat colony’s previous tender, his neighbour Irène Desormeaux, grew too ill.
With support from Ralston Purina, who supplied the food, vets at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital who provided care, and a bevy of cat-loving volunteers, Chartrand made the sanctuary, on the edge of the escarpment just west of the Centre Block, a Hill tourist attraction.
“The tourists loved him,” said Brian Caines, a retired public servant who helped manage the sanctuary.
“He was so easy to talk to. He was fluent in both English and French. And he was so good with children.”
Tributes also poured in on the Cats of Parliament Hill Facebook page.
“He added a much needed touch of gentleness, whimsy and humanity to Parliament Hill,” wrote a Facebook fan who goes by Claire delalune. “His mission and the beautiful animals he cared for enthralled visitors from everywhere. So sorry to hear he’s gone.”
“My condolences to his family. When I was having a bad day, I would see him with the cats and it would always make me smile,” added Marne McPhee.
The cat sanctuary carried on for just a few more years after Chartrand retired. The cats were all spayed and neutered and the colony dwindled from its peak of 28 animals to just four when it closed in 2012. In fact, raccoons outnumbered the kitties by two-to-one at the end.
Public Works dismantled the wooden shelters and feeding platforms that year.
“He was one of a kind,” Caines said. “God bless him. He was the perfect example of human kindness.”
Chartrand is survived by his brother, Raymond, and five children: Marie-Chantal, Pierre, Louise, Bernard and Claude. A memorial service will be held Dec. 29 at the Coopérative funéraire de l’Outaouais at 95 Boul. de la Cité-des-Jeunes in Gatineau.
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
Related
查看原文...
