So Which Came First: the chicken or the egg? No, it was a cat!!😆

The very first rescue who helped spark what would one day become Moose Lodge. The CAT that started it all.

Before Moose Lodge had a name, before there was a sanctuary, and before we ever imagined how many abandoned DOGS would one day pass through our care, well there was a CAT. One frightened orange cat in a stairwell.

And his name became Rotundus. And in so many ways, he was the beginning of everything.

A Cat in the Stairwell by Deborah White

We did not know his name when we found him. We did not know where he came from.We did not know how long he had been there. We did not know who had left him behind.

What we did know was that he was sitting on our floor, huddled tightly in the corner of the stairwell, scared and completely alone.

So I did what felt natural. I started knocking on doors.

I went to the neighbors one by one asking if anyone was missing a cat. There was even a cat lady on the floor, and we were sure he must be hers and had somehow gotten out. But no. She did not know him either.

We put up a notice downstairs in the lobby.

Still nothing.

No one claimed him. No one recognized him. No one came looking.

By then, it was becoming painfully clear that this sweet boy had likely been dumped there.

And by then, of course, we had already brought him inside.

Making Room

Because he was frightened by the dogs, we set him up in the bathroom where he could feel safe and tucked away. I went out and got litter, cat food, and everything he needed to settle in. Moose, Squirrel, and Dickens were all right with him. Rotundus, however, was overwhelmed. And who could blame him?

Moose & Squirrel

He had lost everything familiar. He had no way of knowing whether he was safe, whether anyone was going to help him, or whether he was just passing through another frightening place.

But for that moment, he was safe. And that mattered.

The Ones Who Come to You

Dave with the dogs they already had (Moose, Squirrel, & Dickens) when they started rescueing pets in need.

That is how this really started. Not with a business plan. Not with a property. Not with a grand announcement. It started with the animals who came to us because they had nowhere else to go.

At different times, we had ownerless cats or dogs in our apartment, and sometimes even in neighbors’ apartments too, all cared for until we could locate an owner, confirm no one was coming back, or find a safe new home for them.

That was the beginning of the heart behind Moose Lodge. One animal at a time. One emergency at a time. One life at a time.

Rotundus was the spark.

Dear Rotundus

He was one of the sweetest cats I have ever met. Gentle. Quiet. Soft. So clearly shaken at first, and then so clearly grateful to be cared for. We only had him a few weeks, but I never stopped missing him. Eventually, my sister, who is very much a cat person, helped take him on. From there, we were able to find a cat rescue in Riverdale, New York, and somehow, wonderfully, Rotundus found his happy ending.

Rotundus with his then new best friend! At his family home, where he lived a happy life for the rest of his days.

He was adopted into a loving home. There is a beautiful photo of him with the small child from the family who took him in, both of them looking out the window together. It is one of those images that says everything without needing words. Safety. Curiosity. Peace. Belonging.

His photo still hangs in our pet gallery in the kitchen.

And every time I see it, I think the same thing:

Thank God that day I decided to walk down to the lobby instead of taking the elevator, as usual! (I’m lazy; but after all, it was Covid.)

the First OF MANY

When people see Moose Lodge now, they see the sanctuary, the mission, the senior pets, the advocacy, the daily care, the heartbreak, and the love.

But every mission has a first moment.

Every sanctuary has a beginning before it becomes official. Ours began with a frightened orange cat crouched in a stairwell, waiting for someone to notice him.

Rotundus was not “just” a cat we helped.

He was the first chapter. He was the reminder that rescue work does not always begin with a plan. Sometimes it begins with a feeling you cannot ignore. A quiet knowing that you cannot just walk past. A moment where an animal needs help and you say yes before you even know what that yes will grow into.

That yes became Moose Lodge.

From One Rescue to a Bigger Calling

Later, when we were able to move around the city more freely, we began searching for a property where abandoned animals could have a real place to land and be safe. It was not easy. We kept looking farther and farther upstate, trying to find somewhere we could create something lasting for the animals nobody else wanted, the ones too old, too fragile, too overlooked, or too easily forgotten.

It took time. It took faith. It took persistence. But the seed had already been planted. It was planted the day Rotundus was found in that stairwell.

Lost. Frightened. Unclaimed.

But not forgotten.

The Answer

So if anyone ever asks what came first at Moose Lodge, the chicken or the egg, we know the real answer.

It was a cat. 😆

And his name was Rotundus.