A squinty-eyed cat named Talker lived with John Perry and his wife, Mary, for 12 or 13 years. He was, as John fondly recalls, "a great guy to have around the house."
The story of this special cat lives on in the charming book "The Cat That Wouldn't Purr," co-written by John and his good friend, H. Page Stephens, and illustrated by Chuck Ayers, former longtime editorial cartoonist for The Akron Beacon Journal. (If you're a comics page reader, you might recognize Ayers as the artist on the nationally syndicated strip Crankshaft, which debuted in newspapers in 1987.)
"The Cat That Wouldn't Purr" is a softcover that was beautifully designed by Ben Small of Live Publishing, which published the book in 2014. From the start, all proceeds have gone to animal welfare organizations in Portage County, Ohio.
A limited number of copies are left from the first run, but there may be subsequent printings. You can support animal welfare and get one of the remaining books by donating to Talker's Fund on the Portage Foundation's website. When you get to the main page, click on Donors and then on Funding Priority Areas. Scroll down to Animal Welfare, and you'll find Talker's Fund.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to The Gale Hill Radio Hour!
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