Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival by Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery

Illustrated by Jean Cassels.32 p., Walker, 2008. In times of disaster, friendship can mean survival. Bobbi the dog Bob Cat are best friends who live in New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina strikes, they are left behind, Bobbi chained to the porch. Bob Cat says with Bobbi, first at their house, and then in the streets, when Bobbi breaks free. After four months, they wander onto a construction site, and a worker who has a dog at the site begins to feed them. Whenever he tries to touch Bob Cat, Bobbi growls protectively. After a week, his supervisor will no longer allow the Two Bobbies on the site, and so the worker takes them to a shelter. At first, they are housed separately their, but Bobbi howls and barks until they're placed in the same room. The shelter volunteers make a startling discovery - Bob Cat is blind. He probably would not have survived without Bobbi's protection, and his friendship may have strengthened Bobbi's determination. Unable to find the Bobbies' family in spite of their best efforts, the shelter staff finds a loving adoptive family where Bobbi and Bob Cat live happily together with a human and another dog. With its gentle, earth-toned, gouache illustrations, this story is full of hope. Ages 4-8