Dewey by Vicki Myron 636.8

The sub-title to this book is "The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World". It takes place in Spencer Iowa. One frigid January morning, Vicki Myron thought she heard something as she was about to empty the drop-box. In there she found a small kitten who had been stuffed into the box and managed to survive the arctic temperatures and the falling books. She took him, with his frost-bitten paws, into the library where he stayed for the next nineteen years.
I loved this book. Of course I too work in a library. I too love animals. And I too would love to have a living creature here at work (besides the things the pest man kills). When I first heard that Spencer had a cat in their library, I immediately suggested to Joyce that we should have one also. To say that she wasn't keen on the idea....well, she wasn't at all. I thought we would never have a pet. Then a few summers back it happened. During the summer reading program (the theme was paws, claws, scales and tails), Sally, who was then the children's librarian, brought a cute little beta fish to the library. (It wasn't as dramatic as being stuffed in the drop-box.) We named him Gill. He swam round and round and looked at us with those fish eyes, waiting for his food. (It wasn't as cute as a kitten playing in boxes and chasing balls of paper.) He didn't live to enjoy a birthday party for him at the library (like the big one they threw for Dewey). When he passed we didn't receive any e-mails, cards or visits from people who had fond memories of him and he certainly didn't get his obituary in the paper (Dewey's ran in more than 270). But he was our Beta and we (I use this word very loosely!) still talk about him all these years later. So Gill will never have a book written about him, but at least he has a blog.
Oh yeah, the book I'm supposed to be telling you about. It is heart-warming, sad, funny and will remind people (although I hope they don't need reminding!) how the love and devotion of an animal can touch the hearts of many, many people.
This is also the story of Vicki. So don't think that it is all cute cat stories! She has led her life with courage and determination.
If you read the book, maybe you might want to drop a suggestion on Joyce's desk. hmmm - anyone know where we could get a pot-bellied pig?