When Tobias Paul adopted Donald from the SPCA in June, he noticed that he was much friendlier than most cats.
Paul started taking him for walks around the neighborhood, as Donald liked to follow him and his partner like a dog would.
“Donald doesn’t just follow us, Donald will follow whoever he meets, and he’ll follow them home and try to break into their home.
“So in a community like this, that behavior started to make itself felt.”
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Paul lives in downtown Sackville, close to downtown and the university. This means that Donald is close to all kinds of people that he can accompany him with.
Sackville residents began posting about him online, worried he was a stray cat.
Jean-Paul Lavoie, noting the frequency of the messages, decided to create a Facebook group dedicated to Donald’s sightings.
“It became kind of a sensation after a few weeks,” he said. “In 24 hours we had 250 members, and now we have almost 800 members.”
A New Brunswick brewery made a new beer in honor of Donald.
Suzanne Lapointe / Global News
Lavoie said that with pandemic fatigue and other issues dividing the online community, she felt that the fixation on a furry feline was a great way to bring the community together.
The group description includes a quote from member Molly Tomlik.
“Donald is a real cat, yes. But doesn’t it represent more? A sense of freedom; of community; a frankness and audacity; the assumption that everyone is a friend and that there is a home everywhere. “
Increasing popularity online
Lavoie is a regular at Bagtown Brewing Company, a microbrewery owned by Anthony Maddalena.
The idea of launching a beer dedicated to Donald started as a joke, and Lavoie noticed that the membership was increasing rapidly.
“We said, what’s better than getting this little brewery we have downtown, and if we can get 500 members, maybe we can get them to make a beer honoring Donald?” Lavoie laughed.
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That took no time at all, and Maddalena accepted the challenge and made a stout with Donald’s name on it.
He released the beer on Thursday and anticipates it will be sold out by the end of the weekend.
“They really went out and got their share of the beer and so far it’s been pretty good.”
Paul’s (and Donald’s) home is just steps from the brewery, and Donald often walks in to spend time with customers.
Paul is a bit taken aback by all the attention, but thinks it’s a good thing.
“I would prefer that no one knew anything about my cat, but I am much happier that it is known that it has a home and they take care of it.”
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