SAINT MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY)–The St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter is expanding thanks to a generous donation from Country Place Veterinary Clinic in memory of Giselle Doucet, her brother Jean-Luc, and her father, Dr. Lucius Doucet, who all tragically died in a plane crash in May of 2024.

In May of 2024, Giselle, Jean-Luc, and Dr. Lucius Doucet took off on their plane from Gonzales on their way to Louisville, Kentucky, but the plane went down outside of Nashville.

The expansion includes a new building named Solembum’s Sanctuary, which will provide much-needed space for the shelter’s animals.

Dr. Megan Simon, a veterinarian with Country Place Veterinary Clinic in St. Martinville, said the building was needed to provide extra space for cats at the shelter.

“The building that they had previously for these guys was about one fourth the size of this building and still had the same number of cages,” said Dr. Megan Simon.

Dr. Megan Simon and her mother, Dr. Jackie Simon, who also works at Country Place Veterinary Clinic in St. Martinville, visit the St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter frequently, and after seeing the overcrowding, they decided to help.

The clinic would then work with volunteers to move the new structure to the shelter. The building was dedicated as Solembum’s Sanctuary in honor of the Doucet family.

“The building was something that was needed and there was a way for us to contribute in their honor and we know that they would like it, they would probably come spend some time here if they could, just drinking coffee and playing with the cats or reading a book and playing with the cats,” said Dr. Megan Simon.

Simon says the new addition to the St. Martin Parish Animal Shelter not only honors the memory of the Doucet family but also significantly improves the living conditions for the animals.

“The point of the building is a place for cats that are highly adoptable to get a chance to be socialized with the public, the goal is that if somebody is looking for a cat, or they’re thinking about adopting, or if they want to interact with the cats, they can come here,” said Dr. Megan Simon.

The shelter encourages anyone out there to adopt. Adoption fees are $50 for dogs and cats are $25.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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