New book honors Enterprise Middle School crossing guard cat

Enterprise Middle School’s former fluffy four-legged crossing guard is back in the spotlight again, this time in a book honoring working cats.

Cats On The Job by Lisa Rogak, will hit bookstore shelves Oct. 6. Sable the cat, who would dutifully sit and watch students use a crosswalk near the West Richland school before and after classes each day, is the first story in the collection.

“Once I handed in my manuscript, my editor said that we had to put Sable’s story first in the book because it was so incredible,” Rogak said.

Sable, a black shorthair, made local and national news in 2012 when word of his diligence watching over Enterprise’s students got out.

The cat, then 15, would arrive at the crosswalk about five minutes before the students, often wearing a crossing guard outfit purchased for him by his owner, Tamara Morrison.

He seemed to have an internal clock, Morrison said — he wouldn’t bother going out on the weekends.

However, Sable went missing in June 2013. Morrison moved to Colorado and gave him to a teacher at Enterprise who lived in Richland near Chief Joseph Middle School.

Sable was reportedly unhappy in his new surroundings and bolted when let outside, never to be seen again. Staff at Enterprise confirmed to the Herald that the cat hasn’t been seen outside the school in years.

Rogak first heard about Sable as she began to research her book, a tribute to working cats in an age when working dogs seem to get all the credit. A couple of articles, including one from the Herald, popped up about the cat and she reached out to Monti Franckowiak, Enterprise’s safety patrol coordinator.

“She gave me some wonderful anecdotes, including the story about the time the boy slipped in the crosswalk and Sable ran over to help him and told the adult crossing guards, ‘it’s okay, Sable’s got this,’ ” Rogak said.

There will be plenty of other cats featured in the book as well, including a security guard cat, a nurse cat and dog trainer cat, all accompanied by color photographs.

The book, published by St. Martin’s Griffin, it will be available at most major bookstores, said Staci Burt, Rogak’s publicist.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 2:12 PM with the headline "New book honors Enterprise Middle School crossing guard cat."