After Bobbi and Bob Cat were left behind by their owners in New Orleans 5 years ago when Hurricane Katrina struck, they stayed together to survive. “Two Bobbies, A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival” (Walker Publishing Company) tells the tale about the powerful friendship between a dog and cat.
Like thousands of pets, they wandered the streets for four months before someone befriended them and took them to a Best Friends animal shelter. At first, they stayed in separate parts of the shelter but neither one would have any part of that. They fussed until they were reunited — and that’s when volunteers discovered Bob Cat was blind.
Authors Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery write “All that time on their own, Bobbi had been Bob Cat’s seeing eye dog.” Their story became popular nationwide when CNN’s Anderson Cooper reported about them. Best Friends Animal Society tried to find their family but to no avail. They end up being able to stay together because of the kindness and determination of the Best Friend volunteers and a woman who adopts them both.
This is a great story for young children. It teaches them about the value of friendship and helping others. Larson is the author of many books for children, including the 2007 Newberry Honor Book “Hattie Big Sky”. It’s a story my grandkids will say “Again,” as in read again. We will many times. They’ll love the illustrations done by Jean Cassels.
Another reason to buy? A portion of the proceeds goes to Best Friends. The cat and dog are called Bobbis because neither had a tail.
READERS: Interested in other pet rescue and adoption tales? We’re holding a contest that involves a shelter pets loving life photo album. It’s one of the most popular albums in this community. Find out why. For other Katrina followups, check out USA TODAY’s 5 years later, Hurricane Katrina. That first video (prologue) will remind you what everyone in the path of Katrina, including these two Bobbis, had to endure.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/pawprintpost/post/2010/08/katrina-pets-two-bobbies-is-true-heartwarming-tale/1?loc=interstitialskip
