Fire cat stars in new book
Like most cats, Dozer looked completely unimpressed to be centre stage in front of a few hundred people at Wakefield School.
The star of a book he helped to inspire, Dozer was joined by local author Robyn Prokop and renowned illustrator Jenny Cooper this week for the launch of Dozer the Fire Cat, which publisher Scholastic describes as being ‘‘inspired by a true story of survival and friendship in the face of New Zealand’s largest wildfire in more than 60 years’’.
A year earlier, Prokop was on the phone with her Aucklandbased editor while working on her first novel at her lifestyle block in Redwood Valley, when she looked out the window to see smoke ‘‘billowing over the hill’’ from the Pigeon Valley wildfire, near Wakefield.
Over the next two weeks, her family prepared to evacuate their chickens and sheep a number of times – and Prokop’s editor suggested that she write a children’s story about their experience.
She just needed a star for her story. ‘‘I had been following posts on Facebook about this missing cat, Dozer. I thought if he was found, it would make a wonderful story.’’
Dozer belongs to the family of Wakefield Volunteer Fire Brigade member Lee Wiren, and several brigade members were also at the book launch with fire chief Fritz Buckendahl, saying the nowfamous Dozer was their new station mascot.
Dozer was missing for almost a month after he escaped when the Wirens had to evacuate their home in Wakefield. He was eventually trapped near the Spooner Range, and reunited with his family.
Ruby Wiren, 7, was excited about her pet being the star of a story, and told the crowd at the launch how happy the family were to have him home safe. ‘‘We love Dozer so so much.’’
Prokop said it was great to give something positive back to the Wakefield community after everything it had been through.
‘‘The community efforts and spirit were very much in my mind when I wrote this.’’
Each junior pupil at Wakefield School was gifted a copy of the book, which is now on sale at bookstores across New Zealand.