Ellie’s journey: Overcoming barriers to find her loving home

Every day animals come into the care of the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society looking for their second chance. When we first met Ellie, she needed medical attention and was sadly being overlooked by adopters. It took her a little bit longer to find a loving home, but Ellie never gave up, and neither did we! 

Discovering Ellie’s tumour 

Ellie arrived at the Ontario SPCA Barrie Animal Centre with an abnormal lump on her forehead.  

“Other than the growth, Ellie was a friendly, sociable, really cute, cuddly cat,” says Ed Michel, Manager of the Barrie Animal Centre. “When we are dealing with medical conditions, unfortunately some potential adopters see them as barriers and overlook an animal who deserves to have a loving home.” 

The animal care team examined Ellie, noting the growth felt hard and was about the size of a walnut. They took Ellie for a veterinary assessment where it was determined the lump was a benign tumour. 

Ellie’s recovery 

“The tumour was removed without any issue and had healthy tissue around it,” says Ed. “The veterinary team felt confident the growth wouldn’t spread or regrow.” 

Because of the location of the growth, the recovery process was smooth, and Ellie was soon ready to be adopted. He says Ellie quickly became a staff favourite during her time at the centre.  

Ellie finds a loving home 

“When you have an animal like that, who’s super friendly but is getting passed over because of something that she can’t prevent or cause, you tend to bond with those animals and make it a mission to get this girl a good home,” says Ed. 

The team was very excited when the news was shared that Ellie had found a loving home after 40 days in our care. At the Ontario SPCA, we make it our mission to help animals find their loving homes as soon as possible, and we stick by them no matter how long it takes. Ellie’s team was committed to returning her to health so that she could get her second chance at a happy and healthy life.  

Breaking down barriers 

As a registered charity that does not receive annual government funding, generous donors make this life-changing work possible for animals like Ellie.  

“There are costs that are associated with this,” says Ed. “All of this is done through charity, through donation, which means all of this is really community-driven and community-based. We really do rely on the community to do this kind of work.” 

Please consider donating to support this life-changing work. If you’re interested in adopting, check out our animals available for adoption and give an animal the gift of a second chance!