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In this story, you cannot get away from the importance that animals as pets play in this
story, so they earn their own page. As they did not have 'voices' in the book, I am writing this from my own
viewpoints. -Frances
Samie the cat: While Samie is the 'family cat,' he often gets more sympathy and attention
from Billy's mothers and sisters. He often gets himself hurt being too curious about what Billy is doing.
For a time, he refuses to let Billy come close to him because he blames Billy for getting himself hurt.
My own experience with cats led me to find this both amusing and accurate.
Old Dan and Little Ann: Despite not having a speaking role as such, these dogs are the driving force and the
largest characters in the story. It is not merely important that Billy needed them for coon hounds. He raised them
and trained them. He also had great love for them as someone who cares about their pets does. Their deaths are written
as the great tragedy in the book and the main critical point. They were almost mythical hunting dogs, taking 'straight to it'
even as young pups.
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