The Adventures of Sammy the Cat and Dribs the Dog

By Kevin Carroll

The Crowley family had two pets, a cat and a dog, named Sammy and Dribs. They had a happy life until one day Mr. Crowley lost his job and the family was in danger of losing their home. They were devastated.
Sammy and Dribs were determined to do something to help. They sought ideas from animal friends. Different suggestions led them to having amazing adventures, and making lots of new friends.
The story has an Irish flavor with fairy forts, boreens, crocks of gold and familiar Irish place names and Gaelic expressions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781728376431

Kevin Carroll

KEVIN CARROLL is a native of San Francisco. He is a graduate of both Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco. He has lived in the Santa Clara Valley for more than fifty years. Carroll is the author of A Moment’s Pause for Gratitude (Balboa Press, 2017)

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© 2022 Kevin Carroll. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

AuthorHouse™ UK

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Interior illustrations are by the author, Kevin Carroll.

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7642-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-7643-1 (e)

Published by AuthorHouse 11/11/2022

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 Sammy the Cat

Chapter 2 Dribs the dog

Chapter 3 Sammy and Dribs together

Chapter 4 Things Go Wrong

Chapter 5 Sparkle the Horse

Chapter 6 Sooty

Chapter 7 Kim the Golden Retriever

Chapter 8 Terence the Tortoise

Chapter 9 Sammy and Dribs Hold Important Talks

Chapter 10 Action at Last

Chapter 11 The Kerry Eagle

Chapter 12 The Eagle and the Gold Chestnut Tree

Chapter 13 An Unexpected Friend

Chapter 14 Sparkle gets involved

Chapter 15 The Great Lorego

Chapter 16 Another Busy Week for Sammy and Dribs

Chapter 17 Trip to Strawberry Beds

Chapter 18 Doggie Derby Day

Chapter 19 The Great Lorego Makes Plans

Chapter 20 The Doggie Derby Final

Chapter 21 The Final Week

Chapter 22 Visits and Plans

Chapter 23 Meeting with Paddy

Chapter 24 Sammy’s Visit to Sooty and Terence

Chapter 25 Dribs Visit to Kim

Chapter 26 Rainbows and Danger

Chapter 27 The Airport Show

Chapter 28 The people arrive

Chapter 29 A Magnificent Show

Chapter 30 Airport Emergency

Chapter 31 A happy ending

Chapter 32 The Weeks Following

This book is

dedicated to my late brother

John

who encouraged me to write

stories for children.

Before his death John edited

The text of the book

And encouraged his granddaughter Eva

To make these drawings of

The eagle and horse characters

In the story.

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Prologue

This is a story is about a cat named Sammy and a dog called Dribs. They were the pets of the Crowley family who lived in a semi detached house in County Dublin.

There was the Mam, the Dad, their eldest son Francis, and three daughters, Maria, Elizabeth, Bridget, and of course the cat and the dog.

At that time in Ireland, things were not good. Lots of people had no work, and it was a struggle for them to feed their families and keep their homes. But it wasn’t all bad, and good things were happening too.

For the remainder of the story, you, the reader, will need to know about a wonderful secret that not everyone knows. It is about how some animals are able to understand and talk to one another. Even more wonderful, is the rare gift that some people have, in been able to understand and talk to animals and birds. You will meet a few of them.

There is something else to watch out for, about cats and dogs. Anyone who has, or had one, will know how much you come to love them. But, have you ever wondered about the kind of feelings they have for us? In reading this story you might find some of the answers.

Chapter 1

Sammy the Cat

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Elizabeth was eleven years old. She loved animals and longed to have a pet cat of her own. Elizabeth was the kind who wanted to bring home and keep any cat or dog she thought was lost or abandoned. Her Mam and Dad were not as keen on animals as Elizabeth. She knew this and realised that the idea of ever having a pet of her own was, at best, only a dream.

Gerry, a friend of the family, lived in a beautiful little cottage called Black Briar. Gerry had an easy way about him. He was kind and generous to animals, and they liked him, too. There was a cat that liked to spend time in Gerry’s back garden. He grew to like the cat and began feeding and caring for him. Gerry realised the cat was what they call a stray, which meant he had no home. He took the cat into his bungalow and adopted him as his own. The fortunate stray had no name, so Gerry called him Sooty because of his jet black coat.

Gerry knew how much Elizabeth wanted a pet cat, and he persuaded her parents to change their minds. Gerry was delighted. So, one day and without telling anyone, he went off to find a kitten for Elizabeth. His search took him to the midlands.

There he went to the animal rescue centre. Gerry had great difficulty deciding which kitten to pick. He would gladly have chosen them all. After some time, he became more aware of one, a tiny black kitten. This one looked sad and stared up at him through eyes that seemed to cry out, Please take me, I want to go to a good home, Rescue me, please!

Gerry could not ignore the look in the kitten’s eyes, so he made up his mind there and then! Having satisfied the rescue centre that the kitten was going to a good home where he would be loved and cared for, he put the tiny creature in a small cardboard box and headed for Elizabeth’s home. Although terrified of what was to become of him the little kitten was also excited. Gerry swore the worried look in the kitten’s eyes had changed to a look of relief and thanks.

It was near bedtime when Gerry got back. Elizabeth and her brother and sisters were in their pyjamas ready for bed. The children, especially Elizabeth, were so surprised and delighted when Gerry called with the little kitten! The excitement reached fever pitch when he told them the kitten was to be their very own but was especially for Elizabeth. The others didn’t mind and were happy for Elizabeth. They knew that Elizabeth, more than any of them, wanted to have a pet.

The kitten was confused and frightened. Gerry took him out of the cardboard box and lowered him gently onto the floor. He was slow to move at first but then started to make his way around the floor. Next, he began running from one room to the next. It seemed he was nervously looking for somewhere to hide. After a while Gerry picked him up in his hands, held him close to his chest, and stroked his back to comfort him. He was not long doing this when suddenly the kitten weed down the front of Gerry’s jumper and trousers. The children howled with laughter. Gerry was less amused.

Before Gerry left that night, he asked if the children were ready to name their new pet. Lots of different names were mentioned. Elizabeth suggested the name Sammy for the frisky little addition to the household. Everyone agreed that Sammy was a name that suited him best, and so he was called Sammy. Gerry went home happy. He had done a good day’s work and made Elizabeth and her sisters and brother very happy.

The weeks to follow were spent watching Sammy get up to every kind of mischief. He climbed up the net curtains on the windows, tearing them in places. Seeing this, Mam was far from being happy. He explored every corner of the house. Next began his adventures outdoors. He went everywhere, all around the neighbourhood and into gardens and houses. He climbed everything that could be climbed, including garden walls and trees.

The Crowley family have many happy memories of Sammy as a kitten and the things he did. Here are a few examples:

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At the end of their back garden was a small glass house with a sloping apex roof. At the highest point a narrow ledge ran along from one end to the other. One day, Sammy managed to climb right to the top and onto this perilous ledge. As he moved from end to end, Sammy soon realised he now had to figure out how to get back down again. To everyone’s amazement he decided to step onto the sloping glass panes that made up the roof. Then brave Sammy commenced a near perfect, though somewhat nervous, descent. He slid down the glass in a manner not unlike a downhill skier on the snow-covered Alps. Picking up speed as he went, he was unable to stop on reaching the edge and had to take his first big jump down onto the grass below.

Sammy’s adventurous spirit knew no bounds. Neighbours began to report on funny things he did which amused them. Like the day he entered a nearby house through the bathroom window. The lady of the house, on her way up the stairs met Sammy on his way down. Had it not been that the lady liked cats she would most certainly have got the most awful fright.

Another memory concerned a dainty little Pomeranian dog called Bobby that lived next door. Sammy discovered that whenever he climbed the garden wall and meowed down at Bobby on the lawn below, it would make Bobby very excited. Sammy found this amusing. Poor Bobby for all his tiny size would bark endlessly and jump up and down trying to get at Sammy.