Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2013 10:23:44 GMT
Owner surprised to find cat regularly catches bus
The ginger moggy, who was named after the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, has taken to hopping on and off the public transport at the bus station near his home.
The 15-year-old Tom even sits on bemused passengers' laps as the bus makes up to 10 mile round trips from Bridport to Charmouth in Dorset.
Dodger is such a regular customer that some of the drivers take tins of cat food to work with them to give to him. They even know what stop to let him off at.
At the end of his journeys the roving moggy returns to his home and owner Fee Jeanes.
Mrs Jeanes, 44, believes Dodger first took a liking to the buses as they are warm like greenhouses when the sun is on them.
He said: "The drivers have been asked not to feed it because we recognise that cat has an owner and we do not want to discourage it from returning home for food and shelter, but in principle we do not have a problem with it being around the bus station.
"Given this cat is elderly we suspect it would be eligible for free travel, perhaps a bus puss, if such a thing existed."
The ginger moggy, who was named after the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, has taken to hopping on and off the public transport at the bus station near his home.
The 15-year-old Tom even sits on bemused passengers' laps as the bus makes up to 10 mile round trips from Bridport to Charmouth in Dorset.
Dodger is such a regular customer that some of the drivers take tins of cat food to work with them to give to him. They even know what stop to let him off at.
At the end of his journeys the roving moggy returns to his home and owner Fee Jeanes.
Mrs Jeanes, 44, believes Dodger first took a liking to the buses as they are warm like greenhouses when the sun is on them.
He said: "The drivers have been asked not to feed it because we recognise that cat has an owner and we do not want to discourage it from returning home for food and shelter, but in principle we do not have a problem with it being around the bus station.
"Given this cat is elderly we suspect it would be eligible for free travel, perhaps a bus puss, if such a thing existed."
www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/pets/8958012/Owner-surprised-to-find-cat-regularly-catches-bus.html
A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon bus service that its drivers know where to let him off.
Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said.
It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride.
Casper's owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit.
Mrs Finden said she named her pet after Casper the Friendly Ghost, as he has a habit of wandering off.
A spokesman for First said that drivers had been bussing Casper around for months, but Mrs Finden said she had only just found out about his use of public transport.
The 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."
Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said.
It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride.
Casper's owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit.
Mrs Finden said she named her pet after Casper the Friendly Ghost, as he has a habit of wandering off.
A spokesman for First said that drivers had been bussing Casper around for months, but Mrs Finden said she had only just found out about his use of public transport.
The 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."
I have to say seeing a big slobbering dog sitting on a seat on a bus is very off putting and I personally think that dogs on leads should have a ticket as they are taking up space on the bus and sometimes seats.
