Ladybird Animal Sanctuary

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Ladybird Animal Sanctuary

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Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is a Canadian animal rescue charity dedicated to saving the lives of cats, dogs and small animals from high-volume shelters.

Registered Canadian Charity: 815911318RR0001 We are the Ladybirds - Melissa McClelland, Lisa Winn and Janine Stoll; best friends and musicians who have spent over a decade sharing in each other’s music. Through recording as the Ladybird Sideshow Project, touring Canada or simply singing three part harmonies in each other’s living rooms over a bottle of wine, our collective passion for music has always been the glue to our friendship. As our music careers veered in different directions over the years, our friendship held strong and our shared passion for animal welfare eventually helped us conceive of Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, bonding the three of us even closer. It all started with a cat named Oliver who had been abandoned at a local shelter where Ladybird Lisa was working at the time. After spending a year in a cage, and some time not being able to shake what seemed like a cold, he was diagnosed with feline leukemia. In some shelters, this is a death sentence, even though FeLV cats can live long, healthy lives, despite the diagnosis. Oliver was snuggly, affectionate, full of life and certainly not deserving of death just because of his diagnoses. Lisa brought him home and spent months trying to find him a suitable home, as she already had her share of rescue animals. It was sweet Oliver who sparked our idea for Ladybird Animal Sanctuary. With one foster home, one rescue cat, a website design from our extraordinary web genius Janine and some serious word of mouth, we watched Ladybird grow from one simple idea to a registered Canadian charity with a system of 30 plus volunteer foster homes, and hundreds of domestic animals rescued from high-kill shelters. Each animal eventually adopted out to a loving forever home, or becoming “Permanent Resident” when they are not suitable for adoption. We are working hard towards our dream of opening a physical sanctuary in the Southern Ontario region. This will be a safe haven for animals, where we can continue to rescue dogs, cats, small animals and birds, and where we can also take in farm animals. This will also be a place for our Ladybird community to gather and grow. We will welcome anyone who is willing to help, learn, engage and celebrate the lives of these wonderful creatures. There are steep learning curves at every turn, but we are up for the challenge because there is an important task at hand. With every success story, every rescue mission, every grateful furry little face, we know we are doing our jobs as animal defenders. We could not, and cannot possibly do this alone, so please join us on our Ladybird journey!

11/01/2026

A happy and sad guinea pig rescue.

Flowers (and several other guinea pigs) were surrendered to a Quebec shelter because their owner had too many animals. Male and female guinea pigs were housed together in the home, so all the female guinea pigs who didn’t already have babies were suspected to be pregnant.

We had a foster home available, so we were able to take in Flowers and provide her a safe place to give birth and raise her family if she did happen to be pregnant. Flowers made her way to Ontario by way of One Last Chance rescue and Freedom Drivers: Animal Rescue Transports volunteers and we’re very thankful for all the wonderful people who donate their time to transport rescued animals all across the country.

Flowers arrived late in the evening, and the next morning, foster mom woke up to discover Flowers had given birth to two babies overnight. Petals and Blossoms were very cute, but by early afternoon it was obvious there was something very wrong. Neither baby could stand properly, and their body movement showed that they were in distress. Their foster mom rushed the babies and Flowers to the vet. During the exams, it was discovered that both babies had clubbed feet, were likely blind, and both had severe misalignment of their jaws, which would have prevented them from being able to eat. There were likely internal deformities as well.
The vet advised that the combination of these issues were classic symptoms of inbreeding. There is no treatment, and it was clear Petals and Blossoms were suffering. We had to make the heartbreaking decision to euthanize Blossoms and Petals before they were even one day old. What should have been a joyous day to celebrate their birth turned into a very sad day indeed, but we were not going to allow them to suffer.
Rest in peace, sweet Petals and Blossoms.

Thankfully, Flowers seems to be doing well. She’s slightly underweight and has some muscle wasting, likely due to malnutrition. She’s now receiving proper food and an added supplement of Critical Care to help bring her weight up. Once she’s feeling better, Flowers will be made available for adoption to a home where she can have a piggy friend or two.

Welcome to Ladybird, Flowers! We’re so sorry about your babies, but we are happy you’re here.
❤️
Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is a rescue based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Visit our website to see all the ways you can help the animals in our care, and help us rescue more animals in need:
ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com

10/31/2026

Big bunny rescue!

Bumble was found on the streets of the north end of Hamilton and brought to Hamilton Animal Services. He was covered in fleas and mites, he had a cyst on his chin, and he was extremely dirty. Someone had neglected this poor bunny for quite some time. Bumble has a tattoo in his ear, but it is not one that can be traced back to an owner.
When a foster home stepped up, we were happy to get this big guy out of the shelter and he went straight from the shelter to the vet. Bumble had surgery to be neutered and to remove the chin cyst. His ears were also cleaned out from all the mites and infection in them. Bumble did very well for surgery and he’s now recovering in his foster home. He’ll have a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks to be sure he is all healed, and then he’ll be made available for adoption.

Welcome to Ladybird, Bumble! We’re so happy you’re here!
❤️
Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is a rescue based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Visit our website to see all the ways you can help the animals in our care:
ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com

10/29/2026

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for all the comments and inquiries about Clementine! Her photo and video went a bit viral, and we've been receiving messages from all over the world about her! The attention from lovely people everywhere is exciting, but a lot for us to keep up with!
For that reason, we've written this note in hopes that it answers the many questions we have received about her.

1. Where are you located?
Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is a rescue based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We don't yet have a physical location, but we are closer than ever to that goal! We have foster homes in Hamilton and surrounding areas. In Clementine's case, her foster home is in Oakville, which is approximately a half hour drive from Toronto.

2. Is Clementine available for adoption?
Not yet. Clementine just came into our care on Monday. She saw the vet and was then moved to her foster home. She needs a dental surgery (with possible extractions) and she'll need time to recover in her foster home before being made available for adoption. We are still nailing down a date for the surgery with the vet clinic.

3. When will Clementine be available for adoption?
We don't know. We give our animals at least two weeks to recover after major surgeries, but if any issues arise with their health or behaviour, then we wait until the issues are resolved as much as they can be, then make the animal available. Putting undue stress on them during recovery could cause setbacks, and we certainly don't want that.

4. Can I be put on a list for when Clementine is available?
We do not reserve animals, or keep a list of potential adopters for specific animals.
We don't accept applications for animals until they are officially adoptable. Only animals listed as “Adoptable” in the “Available Animals” section of our website are open for applications. You'll find the link button to the application at the top of the animal's profile page when they are available.
We recommend checking back regularly and submitting your application once the animal has been listed as adoptable. This ensures that you have the opportunity to be considered when the animal becomes eligible for adoption.
You can read our adoption process in full at this page of our website:
https://www.ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com/adopt-an-animal/

5. Can Clementine be shipped?
No. We do not ship our animals.

6. Do you adopt to the U.S.A.?
Yes, but only within a certain driving distance. We have done cross border adoptions in the past, but they were all within an hour to 3 hours drive from Hamilton. We do not want our animals to endure the stress of extremely long, extended drives. Especially in a vehicle with people who are strangers to them.

7. Have you looked for her owner? Did you put up posters saying she was found?
Many folks are in disbelief that Clementine was found as a stray. She was brought to the shelter we rescued her from as a "found" animal. Was she really found running the streets? We will never know. People tend to lie to shelter workers when they want to get out of paying a surrender fee. In this particular shelter's case, they have staff who review all lost reports, and check the many lost pet groups on social media. There were no reports for a dog fitting Clementine's description.
In reality, pet abandonment is at an all time high right now and animals are being dumped/surrendered/abandoned at an alarming rate. Finding a lovely, well groomed, seemingly purebred Pomeranian in a shelter is nothing new to anyone in the sheltering or rescue world.

8. Does Clementine get along with other dogs?
So far, Clementine has been indifferent to the other small dogs in her foster home. She's only been there a few days though, so we know her full personality hasn't emerged as of yet. She'll need time to decompress from everything happening to her before we see her true self.

Thank you again for contacting us about this special little girl. It's nice to know there are so many people interested in adopting her. For those outside our area (and anyone else looking to adopt), we suggest checking out adoptable dogs in your area by visiting your local shelter, or by checking these websites:
https://www.petfinder.com/
https://www.adoptapet.com/
https://www.petplace.com/pet-adoption/

Lots of love,

~ Lisa, Janine and Melissa
Ladybird Animal Sanctuary founders

10/28/2026

Senior yorkie rescue!

Muriel was brought to Hamilton Animal Services as a stray. This poor dog was in very rough shape. Her fur was filthy and severely matted. She has mammary tumors, and her teeth are absolutely rotten. Someone neglected this sweet girl for a long time. While she waited to be claimed, shelter staff did their best to shave her down to relieve her of the painful mats. No owner came forward for Muriel, and the shelter reached out to us for help.

We were happy to get Muriel out of the shelter and she went straight to the vet for a check up. Muriel’s blood work and x-rays were mostly normal, so she is scheduled to have surgery next week to extract the rotten teeth and remove the mammary tumors, which will be sent out for testing.
She’s now settling in at her foster home and is doing very well so far. She’s melting all the hearts with her adorable face.
Muriel will be available for adoption when she’s healed from surgery.
We promised her that she will never be neglected ever again. Only love and kindness from here, sweet girl!

Welcome to Ladybird, Muriel! We’re so happy you’re here!
❤️
Visit our website to see all the ways you can help the animals in our care:
ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com

Ladybird Animal Sanctuary is a registered Canadian charity based in Hamilton, Ontario.

10/27/2026

Super cute dog rescue!

Clementine ended up at Hamilton Animal Services as stray. No one came forward to claim her.
She was initially quite shy when she arrived at the shelter, but warmed up after a few days of kindness from shelter staff.
We were happy to get Clementine out of the shelter and she went to the vet for a health check. She needs a dental, but seems otherwise healthy. We hope to get her in for the dental surgery very soon.

We’ll have an update on this sweet, poofy pup once her foster family get to know her a little better.

Welcome to Ladybird, Clementine! We’re so happy you’re here!
❤️
Visit our website to see all the ways you can help the animals in our care:
ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com

Address

Hamilton, ON
L0R, L8E TO L8W, L9A TO L9C, L9G TO L9H, L9K

Website

https://www.ladybirdanimalsanctuary.com/

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