A real life galley cat has passed away. Homer, the cat who starred in Gwen Cooper‘s Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat memoir, has died.
Cooper donates 10 percent of the royalties from Homer’s Odyssey to “organizations that serve abused, abandoned, and disabled animals.” In honor of the late cat, she has also created “Homer’s Heroes Fund”–a yearly donation to “a shelter or rescue group that does outstanding work with ‘special needs’ animals.” She wrote an online tribute to her beloved cat:
He was just one cat. One tiny, big-hearted, irrepressible, brave and loyal little cat. Who could possibly have foreseen that he would come to mean so much to so many? Those of us who work in animal rescue believe that every animal matters. We believe that every life—no matter how small, or how steep the odds are against it—can make a difference. Every animal who’s given the chance to love and be loved can make someone else’s life better, can fill up empty places in our hearts we didn’t even know were there until they were full. And, once in a great while, one tiny creature can have a spirit so big that it spills over and makes the whole world just a little bit better, and happier, and more inspired, than it was before. Even in the darkest places are small lights that can grow and grow until they warm us all.