For Pet's Sake Column

IT’S OFFICIAL… Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter pounced onto the New York Times Best-Seller List, where it has remained curled up for the past three weeks. I first introduced you to Dewey Readmore Books—a tiny kitten who was abandoned one freezing night in the Spencer, Iowa’s library book drop—in a column way back in January, 2007 (my, how times flies!). From the moment Vicki Myron, director of the Spencer Public Library for more than two decades, found the nearly frozen feline, she sensed his extraordinary strength and uniqueness.

“How could you resist his charm? He was beautiful, loving, social—and still limping on his tiny frostbitten feet,” writes Myron, a single mother, who had survived the loss of her family farm, a breast cancer scare, and an alcoholic husband. “What I couldn’t believe was how much Dewey loved us. How comfortable he seemed around strangers…Dewey didn’t think of himself, I soon realized, as just another cat. He always thought of himself, correctly, as one of a kind.”

Dewey’s fame grew until people from other towns, states and countries (a film crew from Japan shot a documentary about Dewey) came to visit this cat with the charismatic purr-sonality. There was just something about this friendly feline that tugged at people’s heartstrings and buoyed their spirits during the heartland’s devastating farm crisis of the 1980s (remember Willie Nelson and Farm Aid?).

Myron described it best when she wrote this poignant passage: “Dewey didn’t put food on anyone’s table. He didn’t create jobs. He didn’t turn our economy around…At the very least, Dewey was a distraction. But he was so much more. Dewey’s story resonated with the people of Spencer. We identified with it. Hadn’t we all been shoved down the library drop box by the banks? By outside economic forces? By the rest of America, which ate our food but didn’t care about the people who grew it? Here was an alley cat, left for dead in a freezing drop box, terrified, alone, and clinging to life. He made it through that dark night, and that terrible event turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. He never lost his trust, no matter what the circumstances, or his appreciation for life. He was humble. Maybe humble isn’t the right word—he was a cat, after all—but he wasn’t arrogant. He was confident. Maybe it was the confidence of the near-death survivor, the serenity you find when you’ve been to the end, beyond hope, and made it back. All I knew was that, from the moment we found him, Dewey believed everything was going to be fine.”

In these times of economic uncertainty and upheaval, perhaps this sweet story of a courageous cat who persevered in spite of immense hardship is just the salve we all need to dab on our pummeled psyches and help us to learn about trust, forgiveness and, most of all, love. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Dewey (he died in 2006 at the age of 19), I know I would have loved him instantly. Pick up a copy of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World and you’ll no doubt fall in love with him too.

PAINFUL PARTINGS. After my column last week about the deaths of two darling dogs, Dr. Trish Lane, a local psychologist and co-owner of the California Animal Referral & Emergency Hospital (C.A.R.E.) in Santa Barbara, wrote to remind me that Shiva’s Center for the Human-Animal Bond offers monthly pet loss support groups to animal lovers in the Santa Barbara area. Shiva’s Center, named after Dr. Lane’s beloved Golden retriever who died in 2003, provides education, guidance and emotional support for pet-loving individuals and families as they cope with the loss (or anticipated loss) of their companion animal.

“Our ongoing commitment to Shiva, and indeed to you, is that you and your family members will receive the same kindness, compassion and love that Shiva had access to,” writes Dr. Lane on the Shiva’s Center Web site (www.shivascenter.org).... “In her memory, it is our privilege to bring medicine, technology, kindness and compassion to the animals and citizens of Santa Barbara County."

The Shiva’s Center Pet Loss Support Groups are held from 6:30-7:30 pm on the first and third Tuesday of each month (excluding major holidays) at Hospice of Santa Barbara , 2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Suite 100. All meetings are FREE. Call (805) 687-7001 or visit the Shiva's Center Web site for more information.

BENEFIT IS FOR THE BIRDS (um, literally). The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary’s Seaside Tropical Garden Party takes flight this Saturday, October 18 from 4:00 – 7:00 pm at Seaside Gardens (3700 Via Real in Carpinteria). This fabulous fundraiser for the flock includes live music by Unkle Monkey (Island Rock, Jimmy Buffett style) and tropical treats (exotic kabobs, decadent desserts from Jeannine’s Bakery, Parrot Punch, margaritas, and Starbucks coffee). After you’re sufficiently stuffed from the scrumptious samplers, head over to the silent auction table where you can bid on a truckload of trinkets, chat with celebrity guest, Maurice Benard aka “Sonny Corinthos” of General Hospital fame, or pose with a parrot while a photographer snaps your picture. Tickets are $50.00 per person. Call Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary at (805) 565-1807 or visit their Web site to make your reservation.

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When Karen’s not partying with the parrots, she’s busy writing her next column. Let her know what’s on your mind by sending an email message to her at karenleestevens@cox.net.