Casper The Commuting Cat: The True Story Of The Cat Who Rode The Bus And Stole Our Hearts

When Rob worked in Hertford, there had been a Jack Russell whose owner couldn’t walk him because of illness, so the dog used to get on the bus every day for a little trip. Rob found out that there were times when Casper used to do more than one circuit, going back into town again even though the bus had returned to Poole Park Road. It wasn’t that he was asleep, it was just that he fancied a longer trip out.

As long as Casper was happy, the drivers were perfectly content to let him stay there. There was, by now, a running commentary on Casper going on in the depot, and some drivers were a little jealous if he hadn’t been on their bus or they hadn’t been allocated the number 3 since we’d moved there.

It wasn’t a surprise to me that Rob, like so many other people who became part of this story, was an animal lover. He had cats of his own, as well as rescue dogs, and couldn’t remember a time in his life when there had been no pets. One of his most vivid emotional memories was of the time when, at the age of twenty-three and just married, his beloved Bearded Collie of fourteen years had to be put down. ‘I was destroyed, absolutely heartbroken,’ he recalls, ‘and I think that anyone who has ever loved a pet knows exactly how they become part of your life, leaving a huge gap when they go. Winston had been there all through my teenage years and I’d told him all my problems. Your pets never judge, they just give comfort, and I don’t think it matters what age you are when they go; the sense of loss is just overwhelming.’

It was this recognition of how close many of us are to our pets that I feel made Rob so open to Casper’s tale. He’d previously sent notes around to the drivers to tell them that, should they hurt an animal by accident, they must leave a note, find the owner or take the animal to the vet. I hadn’t realized until then that there is no law in this country to oblige someone who has a road accident with a cat to report it to anyone. If you run over a dog, you must tell the police or the owner, but cats are deemed somehow less important than dogs and there is no such obligation when they are involved. The official line on this anomaly is that the law considers that cats cannot be trained as dogs can, so their owners are not responsible for any injury or damage done by them It was a point that would, sadly, come back to haunt me and one that I fully intend to do something about.

After I had agreed that Rob could pass on my number, I got two calls – the first was from a lady called Karen Baxter, who was in charge of publicity and public relations at First Group. Karen told me how much she loved what she had heard about Casper and was very keen to help out with any story. I was delighted by this. I had no idea what was going on or why anyone would be interested in my little cat, so I was more than happy for a professional to give me some advice. The next call was from Edd, the journalist, asking if he could come and meet Casper and me with a view to writing something in the Plymouth Herald. Again, I was willing for him to do so, but what, I wondered, could possibly interest all of Plymouth in my cat?

I didn’t want any attention for myself. All I’d wanted was to say ‘thank you’ to people in a very low-profile way. I thought that Edd would probably come along and see that this was no story at all. How could he possibly make a headline out of it? I never dreamed it would go further. I only gave in to get some peace and quiet.

Chris was away during most of this. He knew that Casper was riding the buses, but he had no idea that the story was getting bigger. We laughed about a few things when he was home. We’d found out that Cassie only ever went on First buses, never the ones from the company that had been so rude to me when I asked for their help, and we joked that he had good taste. I did mention to him that Edd was coming, but, like me, he almost brushed it aside. Neither of us had ever had any dealings with the media, and we were rather naive about such things.

When Edd turned up, I was relieved that he was so friendly and straightforward. He fussed over Casper and chatted as we had a cup of tea. He told me that this was a lovely story that he was sure would appeal to the readers who were looking for a bit of light and happiness in the middle of quite depressing times. ‘It gets people down when they just read miserable things day after day’ he said, ‘and what Casper gets up to will really put a smile on their faces. We have to cover crime and burglaries and unemployment – it’s just part of the job – but every so often it’s lovely to have something to take the doom and gloom away.’ Edd thought that Casper would manage to do just that.