Loved ones raise money for animal shelter to honor Kansas Citian who died of cancer

A local no kill shelter has raised more than $100,000 in memory of a Kansas Citian who recently died of cancer.

Patrick Tobin, 32, died Oct. 10 after three years of treatment for metastatic melanoma. He and his husband parented two rescue cats and a Labrador Retriever, according to a fundraising page in Tobin’s memory.

“To know Patrick was to know he was a lover of all cats, and after meeting his husband Michael, eventually dogs, too,” reads the fundraising page on the shelter’s website, which details Tobin’s love for animals.

His loved ones are now helping raise money for Wayside Waifs, on Martha Truman Road, to honor him. Wayside Waifs shelters about 6,000 animals each year.

“One time when asked what super power he would want, Patrick stated he would want the ability to summon all the cats in the world to come to him at once. He acknowledged how in reality this would be overwhelming and horrifying, but he still wanted the power anyway,” the fundraiser reads.

Tobin’s loved ones aimed to raise $100,000 for Wayside Waifs. As of Thursday morning, they had exceeded that goal by about $8,000.

The shelter on its website says it plans to use the money to make upgrades around the shelter, including to their cat sunroom, where interested adopters get to meet the animals. The room will soon be named after Tobin.