by Susan Finden
The rest, as they say, is history. A whole network of people was falling into place, all of whom would be instrumental in getting Cassie’s story out to the world. They would prove to be individuals with hearts of gold. If Edd hadn’t followed the story up, if First bus hadn’t been so helpful about telling everyone what was happening, if Rob had never written that first poster, the entire tale of Casper the commuting cat might never have come to light. That would have been terribly sad, as I know how much pleasure people have had in talking about him and what memories his presence conjured up.
Rob asked around in the depot to find out as much as he could about Casper’s trips, and discovered that out of the hundred drivers (who swap routes quite frequently) most had come into contact with him. Rob told me that he was pretty impressed by Casper’s antics, such as always seeming to know where to get off, but he’d heard some other funny animal tales in the past.
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.
The next day a photographer arrived to take a picture of Casper. I was horrified when they asked me to be in some photographs too – it was pouring with rain and I certainly didn’t feel camera-ready. Casper was getting fidgety and he was very wet. He desperately wanted down, and I realized it was because there was a bus coming. As it came closer, I shrieked that it was the wrong bus. In my mind, it had to be a First bus that was in the picture, as those were the ones that Cassie liked; however, the photographer said it didn’t matter, and started snapping away. Those pictures of Cassie with ‘the wrong bus’ went around the world, and are doing the rounds to this day – an inaccuracy that really bothers me.
The photographer finished up and left. Edd said that the story would be in the papers the next day but it turned out that something else happened, which meant it wasn’t there when I looked. ‘Never mind, Casper,’ I said to him ‘It was never meant to be.’ I knew that not all stories ended up in the paper, and I assumed that Casper’s tale wasn’t quite as important as other things. With all that was going on in the world, perhaps the editor had decided that the paper was better filled with rather more serious tales after all.
I didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or not. I suppose I’d got rather carried away with the excitement of it all, even though I’d never felt that comfortable to begin with. Now that it had ended as a bit of a damp squib, Casper and I were back where we’d started – which was fine. We were happy then, we’d be happy now At least I had information about what he got up to and many more new friends to talk to on the bus every day. I believed that the article had been passed over, and things would go on as before – how wrong I was.
CHAPTER 16
Five Minutes of Fame
When I opened the newspaper on Wednesday, 29 July 2009, I could hardly believe my eyes. Casper was in the Plymouth Herald after all, a few days later than we’d anticipated. Of course, I’d spoken with Edd; I’d known that he was going to write the story, but seeing it in black and white made everything real. There was my Cassie in the paper where all of Plymouth could read about his adventures. I later found out that because there had been an ongoing story about a different bus company that had taken over the headlines for a few days, they had thought it best to leave another bus story until there was more space. Now that time had come.
It felt surreal to see Cassie’s story plastered over the pages of the Plymouth Herald. Edd’s article read:
Carefree commuter Casper is a regular passenger
Meet Casper, the commuting cat who’s fast becoming a celebrity on Plymouth buses. Regular users of First’s number 3 service may recognize the fluffy feline, who has been driving his owner up the wall with his constant
trips to the city centre.
The adventurous cat politely queues behind other passengers at the bus stop outside his Barne Barton home, then quietly trots on board and curls up on a seat for the ride. But far from causing mischief he has proved a hit with drivers and customers alike, who always make sure he returns home safely.
Casper’s journey takes him from just outside his house in Poole Park Road to the final stop at Royal Parade and back, via St Budeaux Square, HMS Drake, Keyham, Devonport and Stonehouse.
His owner Susan Finden has only just found out about his antics – but First Group have been bussing Casper around for months.
Susan, who picked him out of a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit; she named him Casper after the cartoon ghost when he immediately started giving her and husband Christopher the runaround with regular ‘disappearing acts’.
The 65-year-old care worker said: ‘He’d always go off and have a wander Once I had to walk a mile and a half with a cat basket to bring him back from a car park.
‘He does love people, and I don’t know what the attraction is but he loves big vehicles like lorries and buses.
‘We think he must have come from a travellers’ site or a haulage yard because he’s not scared of loud vehicles at all – or dogs.
‘We think he’s about 12 years old but he has no road sense whatsoever; he just runs out across the road to the bus stop.’
Susan found out about Casper’s regular 11-mile round trips when he followed her to the bus stop one morning, avoiding passing vehicles by a whisker.
‘The driver told me he gets on all the time,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t believe it.
‘He queues up in line with people and just sits patiently in the queue good as gold – it’ll be “Person, person, person, cat, person, person.”
‘He seems to be picking First buses rather than the Citybus ones, but we don’t know why.
‘When the drivers do their turnaround they’ll all check the bus and if he’s on there they make sure he stays on for the return trip. Then local people will take him off when he gets to the right stop.
‘I’m really appreciative to all the drivers for making sure he gets home safely; I’d hate to lose him.’
First’s Karen Baxter said the firm had put a notice up in the drivers’ rest room asking them to look after the rogue passenger if they spotted him sneaking on.
One female driver even has a photo of Casper on the desktop of her computer.
Ms Baxter said the company had no plans to charge him for his trips.
In cat years he’s an OAP so he’d get a free bus pass anyway,’ she said, ‘and I’m not sure we’d feel comfortable selling a cat a Rover ticket.’
Driver Rob Stonehouse added: ‘He usually just curls up at the back of the bus. Sometimes he nips between people’s legs but he never causes any trouble.’
Casper would not tell The Herald the reason for his trips.
Edd’s article had certainly done Casper justice, and I was delighted to see that Karen from First had also spoken to him. Everyone was being so friendly and supportive in their comments. Casper had stayed in that morning – perhaps he sensed that something was afoot – and once I’d read the article myself, I read it again to him. He seemed totally disinterested, but I was very proud of him ‘You must be careful if you get the bus today, Cassie,’ I told him. ‘You might be mobbed by autograph hunters!’
I had a few friends call me up and we all joked about my celebrity cat. They asked whether I’d be getting him a minder when he made his trips to ensure that he always got the seat he wanted and wasn’t hassled by his public. It felt lovely to have such warmth directed at my cat, and later that day I thought that I would look at the article on the Internet just to see his little face there too. I logged onto the Plymouth Herald’s website and was absolutely amazed when, as I scrolled to the bottom of the screen, I saw all the comments that people had left. Edd later told me that most stories get about ten messages on the board from readers, but Casper had more than a dozen times that already.
Dee from Crawley said, ‘I loved the Casper story. Thank you for putting a smile on my face and in my heart.’
Another local lady commented; This is so cute ... I am allergic to cats and dogs but wouldn’t mind Casper sitting near me even if I did spend the rest of the day sneezing!’
One person was quick to see that, while it may have been odd, it was still a story that showed the good hearts of so many: ‘This article has put the biggest smile on my face! What a lovely story, and good on the bus company for keeping the little guy safe! He can happily have a seat next to me any day! Big smiles Plymouth, it’s nice to see we still have a big furry heart!’
In addition to the sheer number of messages, I was amazed by how many were from outside Plymouth. I’d thought this story would be a local one, but the way that people can access news from anywhere in the world these days had put paid to that.
One lady, Marjanna from Toronto in Canada, said, ‘I love this story, made my day! Go Casper, go!’
Sheila from Los Angeles joined in to comment, ‘I love this story – a very cool cat. Animals are the best!’
Maybe these people were ex-pats who always checked the local paper and that explained why there were so many comments from abroad, or maybe we really were part of a global community now. It got stranger the further I read down the page. There were people commenting from all over the globe, as well as so many locals who said that they knew Casper, that he had frequently been on the bus with them and that sometimes he had even sat on their laps. One lady made a video that looked like Casper was singing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ and put it on You Tube, where it received over ten thousand hits.
This little cat of mine had a whole other life. Now that he was quickly becoming a celebrity, I hoped that I would find out even more about his adventures. If people knew that they hadn’t imagined seeing a cat on the bus beside them as they went to work or into town, perhaps they would let me know how far he went, what he got up to or anything else that would help me complete the jigsaw.
Some people – although very few – made negative comments, usually about the health and hygiene issues of allowing a cat on public transport. That made me cross. Were they perfect? Did they think that all the people who got on a bus were shining examples of cleanliness? However, before I could get too annoyed, I noticed that others were making these arguments for me, and plenty of readers were sticking up for Casper’s right to travel.
Life is short stop moaning and groaning. All God’s creatures are precious and this is a lovely story about a cat who just wants some excitement, attention and a dry day out of the rain. Thanks, Casper, for putting a smile on millions of readers’ faces if only for a second before they turn the page and read what the moanies and groanies thrive on.
JJ of Devon
Another local commented: ‘I can’t believe you people moaning about a cat catching a bus. Is that all your sad lives revolve around? I can’t believe people are moaning about having to pay 50p for their dog – come on, are you that tight? Keep it up, Casper, enjoy yourself!’
The friendly comments were lovely, but there was also something really heart-warming about these complete strangers taking Casper’s side. People were saying how happy they felt to read a story like this, because it was a welcome break from what usually hits the headlines. When I spoke to Edd at a later date, he said that this was what he had felt from the outset too. It had been a normal day at work for him, and he needed something to balance the crime and horrible recession tales, so the notion of a cat who rode the bus seemed quirky. How was he to know what would happen next?
As Casper’s travels were being read about all over Plymouth and online across the globe, he was also grabbing the attention of Fleet Street. National newspapers were picking up on the story, and it had even been noticed by the Press Association, who sell articles to pretty much every media outlet. I, of course, knew nothing about this side of things – y
et. The day passed in a bit of a blur. I spent the day answering calls and emails from friends and family about Casper, and I read the story to him again. He showed very little interest the second time round too; I suppose he already knew it all first-hand. I gave him an extra cuddle that night for being such a good boy while all of this was going on around him. When I settled him in for the evening, I whispered, ‘There you go, Cassie, that’s all the excitement over. You can just go back to your normal little trips now you’ve had your five minutes of fame.’
Who would have known how naive my words were? You’d think I’d have learned by now, but as I went to bed that evening, I had no idea what we were both in for the next day.
CHAPTER 17
Casper Goes Global
‘Our Casper story goes worldwide!’ screamed the Plymouth Herald the next day – and it was true. The story had exploded.
Casper the commuting cat became a worldwide celebrity within hours of appearing in The Herald. We yesterday reported how the carefree feline regularly travels around town on First’s number 3 bus from his Barne Barton home. Having proved a hit with drivers and passengers, Casper’s story has captured the attention of media far and wide. The headlines came thick and fast as the Plymouth puss featured on websites from England’s tabloids to the USA’s mystate-line.com. The Sun declared that ‘Stowaway Cat gets busted’, while The Press Association went with ‘Joyrider Casper given a puss pass’. Teletext merely stated: ‘Cat enjoys free bus rides’. He also appeared on a diverse range of other websites including Yahoo, Virgin Media, The Sheffield Telegraph, Bury Free Press and thisislancashire.