Assistant library cat makes her rounds
SUSAN LOESCH
CATS IN THE STACKS
The trees and decorations are down, the kitty gifts and stockings are packed to go home to be opened at Christmas. Alex has started his vacation and is probably sound asleep right now!
SnuggleBunny, on the other hand, has been working hard all morning. She helped take the ornaments off the tree, and she visited with friends all over the campus, spreading Christmas cheer! He gave happy head-butts to one of our preschoolers who could barely reach over the counter.
Alex left one very important job for her to do. She delivered a thank-you card to our Nutrition Dept.; they did such a great job providing refreshments for our Library Cat Christmas Party. SnuggleBunny and I took the card to Ms. Debbie, the department secretary. I handed her the card and SnuggleBunny personalized the thank-you by crawling into her arms and cuddling and purring. She told me later that that really made her day.
Some of my older kids came in the library. Among them was Ray, who is now a 9th grader. He has been my student since kindergarten and has always enjoyed our library cats, even from the time he could barely hold on to them. He called “Come here, SnuggleBunny. Come on.”
And then he stopped talking all of a sudden and looked at me and said, “That’s something I never would have thought I’d ever hear myself say!” That got a good laugh from everybody. My kids are growing up!
As Alex, Piper, SnuggleBunny and I begin our vacation we want to wish everyone a Very Meowy Holiday Season and a Purrrrfect New Year!
Susan Loesch has been the librarian at the Arkansas School for the Blind for 35 years and is on the board of Feline Rescue and Rehome. She started the library cat program about 10 years ago after much animal therapy research.