By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Percy, the Joplin Museum Complex cat, is moving up in the world. First, he had a mural, now he has his own international holiday collectible.

Percy is featured in Linda Lindquist Baldwin’s newest Belsnickle collectible papier-mâché piece “Santa with Percy the Museum Cat and Linda’s Dog Snickles.” The design will be unveiled and for sale during Baldwin’s annual open house from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the museum.

And Percy’s likeness will be used to help other, less fortunate animals, as Baldwin will donate a portion of the proceeds of the $55 pieces to the museum and a portion to the Joplin Humane Society.

The 9-inch figurine features Percy and Snickles, a 7-year-old Shih Tzu, peeking out of Santa’s toy sack. Baldwin said she hopes it is only the first of a series of Belsnickles to feature the cat and dog pair. She is already working on a piece for next year’s open house with a Route 66 theme, and Percy and Snickles riding with Santa in a classic car.

Baldwin, a self-proclaimed animal lover and a lifelong Joplin-area resident, said she fell in love with Percy when she started holding her open houses at the museum about seven years ago.

“He always gets in all the boxes and the bubble wrap and is intrigued by what we’re doing there,” Baldwin said of Percy. “He’s just a part of the fixture.”

Baldwin said her collectors have also grown quite fond of the feline mascot over the years. As many as 300 Belsnickles collectors from all over the world come to Joplin for Baldwin’s annual open house and mingle with Percy as they shop.

“(Percy) is really big in Joplin, but we have collectors from all over the world,” Baldwin said. “When he was sick, my collectors were inquiring on how they could make donations to help pay for his treatment.”

Brad Belk, executive director of the Joplin museum, finds Percy’s celebrity status “insanely funny.” The cat that was once homeless is now the face of the Joplin museum. He has the only portrait hanging in the museum’s lobby, drew the attention of actor Brad Pitt’s mother — who wanted one of his kittens, and his birthdays make the local news. Percy has survived several bouts with cancer and was the focus of a citywide search when he went missing for 47 hours in 2006.

“When you think that he went from his meager beginnings to superstardom, I don’t think there’s a word to describe it,” Belk said. “I just hope people understand that (Percy) is just one fortunate four-legged animal, and his story is a success story, but there are lots of other animals in great need.”

Baldwin can relate to Percy’s story. She was a down-and-out single mother back in 1986 when she bought an old Christmas book at a garage sale for a nickel. The book featured antique papier-mâché Santas called Belsnickles and the rest is history.

Baldwin has been featured on CNN, the NBC Nightly News, and several national publications. She said she has created more than 500 original Belsnickles designs. But she has never forgotten her humble beginnings and includes a nickel in the base of each collectible as a symbol of her start.

“Isn’t it just wonderful to live in a community like this?” Baldwin said. “I love living in a community that loves Percy. I want to give back.”