ST. MARTIN PARISH — A newly donated building at the St. Martin Animal Shelter is giving the parish’s cat population more space to roam while allowing visitors to interact with them more freely. The building honors Giselle Doucet, who was set to graduate from the LSU Veterinary School in May 2024, along with her brother Jean-Luc and their father Dr. Lucius “Tre” Doucet, all of whom loved cats.
Dr. Megan Simon, a veterinarian at Country Place Veterinary Clinic in St. Martinville, said, “Kinda the point of the building is place for people to come and interact with the cats, that way they have chance to actually meet them instead of just looking through a cage.”
The building was donated by Dr. Simon and her mother, Dr. Jackie Simon, also a veterinarian at Country Place Veterinary Clinic, who worked with volunteers to purchase and move the structure to the shelter. Dr. Jackie Simon said, “We along with volunteers purchased the building and moved it here and they just had to connect it to the electricity.”
The building was named the Solembumb House after the Doucets’ favorite book series, The Inheritance Cycle. “They loved cats, they loved reading and books and they would foster kittens,” Dr. Megan Simon said. “A book series, and so they named a lot of the animals after it so we figured keep with the theme.”
Before the new building, the shelter faced space challenges. “This was the amount of room that you could stand. You know the cages went up to here,” Dr. Megan Simon said, showing the cramped quarters of the previous facility. “This one had 7 cats in it, you know that’s a lot of cats in one cage.”
The Doucets were known for their warmth and friendliness. Dr. Jackie Simon said, “Gigi in and of herself and JL too, they were both very outgoing people. Never met an enemy.”
The expanded space not only improves conditions for the cats but also enhances adoption services. “When you adopt one of these guys they leave here spaded and or neutered, fully vaccinated and microchipped,” Dr. Jackie Simon said.
Dr. Megan Simon emphasized that the building serves both as a memorial and a resource for the community. “We wanted to yes remember them but also build from that and give people the opportunity to become familiar with their shelter in their hometown,” she said.
