Tiny remembered at celebration of life service

A stream of mourners flowed into a celebration of life service held Saturday for Tiny, the former fat cat that became known to many after he was left in a box at theFrederictonSPCAin December 2011.

He weighed 30 pounds and was placed on a year-long weight-loss program with a target weight of 17 pounds.

The memorial service for Tiny, who died last month of advanced age, was held at the the Pet Funeral Home in the Barker's Point neighbourhood of Fredericton.

KarenMcGeean, the marketing and development director for theFredericton SPCA, said Tiny had a wide reaching fanbase.

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"[He] reached a number of people worldwide as well as locally," said McGeean.

"We've had a huge outpouring of love for Tiny from everywhere, from San Francisco to San Diego to South Carolina and even some from overseas as well that just wanted to share in his life and his legacy.

Tiny's ties help other furry friends

Some of the ties Tiny wore were on display, along with props he used for his pictures during and after his weight loss and items made to raise money for Tiny's medical fund.

The fund initially supported Tiny's medical needs but was expanded to help many other animals at theFSPCA.

Kingsley, a king shepherdfostered and adopted by ShawnaLowenberg,was one of the abandoned animals given a second chance because of the fund.

Lowenberg said thatwhen the dog was found two years ago, it was in such bad shape a veterinarian recommended it bedestroyed. But theFSPCAdecided to treat the dog after it was determined it had anautoimmune disease.

"After trial and error and a whole lot of medication through Tiny's fund, they got him healthy and adoptable."

Kingsley'sowner said she couldn't imagine not having the dog as part of her family's life.

Remembering Tiny

McGeean said Tiny's weight loss journey not only caused pet owners to rethink what they feed their pets, but also inspired humans to lose weight.

"We found a number of people through social media and on [Tiny's] Facebook page saying 'You know what? Tiny can do it, I can do it," said McGeean.

One ofMcGeean's most treasured memories of Tiny took place at a photo shootwhere Tiny was playing.

"All of a sudden Tiny jumped," said McGeean.

"That was the first time Tiny jumped."