3
DEC. 16, 2018, BROOKLYN WEEKLY
DO-GOODERS: From left, Fran Coyle joined Kathleen O’Malley from the Mayor’s Alliance to present Dr. Ninette Ibrahim
with an award for her work saving Babydoll. Coyle’s friend and hairdresser Jerry Wong, far right, also swung by
to celebrate the occasion. Photo by Kevin Duggan
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
It took a borough — or two —
to save this kitty!
Leaders of a local animalrescue
group cheered the efforts
of two Southern Brooklynites
and another city
dweller who saved a stray
kitty from life on the streets,
recently giving one of the dogooders
an award as part of
the organization’s ongoing
initiative to reduce the number
of feral felines citywide.
The Gravesend woman
who fi rst discovered the wayward
fur ball — and started
the chain of events that took
the kitty to Bay Ridge, Queens,
and ultimately its forever home
in Texas — said the whole ordeal
started back in 2015, when
Babydoll fi rst showed up on her
patio looking for a bite to eat.
“I’m an animal lover and I
love feeding these cats,” said
Fran Coyle.
Following her initial visit,
Babydoll regularly returned
to Coyle’s house — often with
friends — over the next two
years, knowing she could always
find a fresh meal, according
to the homeowner,
who said there were times no
less than eight strays swung
by looking for grub.
But in November 2017,
Coyle noticed that Babydoll
suddenly stopped eating, and
wouldn’t leave the makeshift
shelter the animal lover set up
for the cat in her yard.
Coyle then took Babydoll to
a vet in Bay Ridge, who kept
her for about a week for treatment
after she contracted a
serious cold, according to the
doctor, who said the kitty was
all skin and bones when her
care taker dropped her off.
“The cat was in a very poor
body condition and dehydrated
at the time, it had a 106-degree
fever and we had to keep her
here for a few days,” said Dr.
Ninette Ibrahim, who nursed
Babydoll back to health at the
Animal Clinic of Bay Ridge on
86th Street between Seventh
Avenue and Dahlgren Place.
Ibrahim on Dec. 4 received
the honor from the Mayor’s
Alliance for NYC’s Animals —
which has no affiliation with
the mayor’s office — for her
work to get Babydoll back on
her feet last year, but the cat’s
vet-assisted recovery was not
the end of her ordeal.
Coyle could not keep Babydoll
after her stint at the veterinarian,
due to what she
said are her severe allergies
to cats, so she called around to
city rescues until a Manhattan
shelter put her in touch
with a Queens woman, who
said she agreed to foster the
ball of fuzz and get her in better
shape.
“She was in a bad condition,
really frail,” said Clara
Collazo.
The foster mom said the
kitty arrived at her place with
dirty, matted fur — under
which, she found something
even more grisly.
“We took her to a grooming
place because we wanted
her to be clean. They gave her
a hair cut, and then we discovered
she was covered in
fleas,” said Collazo. “She was
infested.”
The groomers gave Babydoll
a three-hour cleanse that
included a flea bath to get rid
of the pests, which made her
anemic because they sucked
so much of her blood, according
to the Queens resident.
Babydoll remained in the
care of Collazo — the owner
of two other felines — for
months, and when the foster
mom moved to faraway Texas
this past January, she decided
to become the kitty’s real
mom, adopting her out of fear
the cat would not find another
home in New York City.
“We weren’t sure if she
would get adopted,” she said.
Babydoll still suffers from
an autoimmune disease, however,
which Collazo treats by
giving her medication and
steroids every other day — a
regimen she said has already
helped the cat develop a fuller,
healthier figure.
BY JULIANNE MCSHANE
It’s a beloved holiday tradition, borrowed
from the Dutch!
Brooklynites fl ocked to Canarsie’s
Wyckoff House Museum on
Dec. 1 for the historical home’s
annual Saint Nicholas Day bash,
which organizers said honors the
patron saint of children known as
“Sinterklaas” to the Dutch, and
celebrates the holiday traditions
of Kings County’s early Dutch settlers.
“It gives people a taste of wider
cultural infl uences,” said Melissa
Branfman, the museum’s executive
director.
Some 150 locals came out for
the festivities, which the hosts
based off of Christmas pastimes
enjoyed by 17th-century Dutch
immigrants to the borough, Branfman
said.
Activities included crooning
traditional old-timey holiday tunes
with colonial balladeer Linda Russell,
decorating traditional Dutch
clogs called klompen, and snacking
on Dutch donuts, known as oliebollen.
But the real fun began when
Sinterklaas rode in on horseback,
after which, youngsters got to feed
carrots and hay to his trusty horse
Schimmel.
HORSING AROUND: Sinterklaas rode in
on his steed, Schimmel.
Photo by Steve Solomonson
And after the man of the hour
stowed his steed, he read the kids
a book about himself called “The
Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas
Tale,” before posing for pictures
with them, and then letting the tots
sign their names on the naughty
and nice lists he keeps in his “red
book.” (Spoiler alert: all the youngsters
signed the “nice” list.)
Cause for appaws!
Sinterklaas rides again!
Southern Brooklynites honored for for saving stray cat
Dutch St. Nick visits Canarsie on horseback
NAUGHTY OR NICE?: A tyke signed her name in the jolly old elf’s red book.
Photo by Steve Solomonson