Almost 100 people attend Susie the Cat book launch

The book launch for Not Lost - Susie the Cat, was well attended at the Dorford Centre on Bridport Road in Dorchester.

Friendly feline Susie made her name going into Dorchester town centre shops as she pleases, becoming a firm favourite among shoppers who regularly enjoy spotting the curious cat.

William Parmiter, Emily Burr, Catherine Owen, Jenny Graves and Kerry Martin at the Susie the cat book launch (Image: Steve Pallant) The picture book was written by members of learning disability charity People First Dorset - Kerry Martin, William Parmiter and Emily Burr - all from Dorchester, with profits going to the charity. 

Such was the high number of attendants, organisers had to switch to the main hall of the Dorford Centre at the last minute to accommodate everybody.

Susie the Cat with the new book about her adventures (Image: Jenny Graves) Whilst the real Susie was not in attendance, a felted version ready for school visits was used.

Members of People First Dorset write a weekly column for the Dorset Echo about their activities and, becoming enamoured with Susie's antics, decided to write a book about her 

The charity's Laura Kerr, who supported the writers, said: "The authors loved it and they all did really well. 

Laura Kerr of People First Dorset, with the model of Susie the Cat (Image: Steve Pallant) "It was wonderful to see, that within a year, we’ve gone from having a conversation at an Echo column meeting, to producing a book- it is extraordinary.

"It can take two or three years but we did it in less than a year. They have been involved in every aspect of publication."

Catherine Owen and writers signing books at the Susie the Cat launch night (Image: Steve Pallant) Catherine Owen, who illustrated the book, said she got a ‘real shock’ because of the turn-out.

She said: “We were blown away that we had to move rooms. There was a real excited buzz.

“We got a stamp made up of Susie’s paw, and everyone really enjoyed the personal touch of having Susie 'sign' it, as well as the authors.”

Susie’s owner, Jenny Graves, said: “It was a fantastic evening, there were almost 100 people there. It gave a real sense of community.”

Sophie Davis (right) giving a talk on Susie at the launch with fellow admins (Image: Steve Pallant) Sophie Davis, who runs a Facebook group with more than 8,500 members called Susie’s Travels in Dorchester,  gave a talk at the launch.

She said: “All of my team were so excited before the event, it was like Christmas.

“I was shocked, as I didn’t expect that many people to come - we lost count after 80 odd people. We were asked to say something and we’re all in this together, but I don’t want to take anything away from the authors because they were absolutely amazing, worked really hard, and deserve every bit of credit.”