By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
"Grumpy Cat" may reign as the feline Internet sensation of the moment, but Sable, a black cat owned by Tamara Morrison in the town of West Richland, Wash., is getting a lot of attention of his own. In the past few weeks, his story has been featured on local news channels and in local news print, as well as on The Huffington Post, ABC News, and The New York Daily News.
Why? Because Sable has appointed himself school crossing guard at Enterprise Middle School.
So while most children across the country are surely happy to be on their winter breaks, there may be one feline in Washington state that is a little sad about it.
According to this story on Huffington Post, Morrison was quite afraid for Sable the first day he sauntered out to the site where kids cross the road when going to and from school. She was afraid her feline would try to cross the road himself and be hurt.
However, Sable had no intention of crossing the road. He just sat down in the grass and watched the children come and go. He continued to do that every school day, much to the delight of the children, some of whom stop to give him some attention.
"He just brightens up the kids' days," says Morrison.
The family adopted the approximately 15-year-old cat about six years ago when the feline wandered up to their home. The family fed him and he never left. Morrison says they lived near a school prior to moving, and a school bus even stopped in front of the home, but Sable never paid much attention there.
The Morrison family moved to the area of Enterprise Middle School about a year ago. Something about the move and the new neighborhood children caught Sable’s attention and now, no matter if it is snowing, raining, or sunny, the cat goes out twice a day on weekdays and watches the kids cross the road.
Somehow, Morrison says, Sable knows when it is the weekend and he doesn’t attend to his crossing guard duties on those days. It’s unknown if he knows about winter and summer breaks, though.
The school’s principle and safety patrol advisor recently named Sable an Honorary Safety Patrol Member and gave him an orange vest in recognition of his service to the kids and the school.
This is one story that shows that the myth surrounding black cats is truly unfounded. Sable has been nothing but good fortune for the Morrison family and the students of Enterprise Middle School who cross his path.
Image: (Not Sable) Catherine Roy / via Flickr