{"id":97208,"date":"2025-08-26T01:34:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T01:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/97208\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T01:34:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T01:34:20","slug":"just-call-me-dinger-teachers-book-raises-funds-for-weyburn-humane-society-discoverweyburn-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/97208\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Just Call Me Dinger’: teacher’s book raises funds for Weyburn Humane Society – DiscoverWeyburn.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renee Krafchuk, a Grade 4 teacher at St. Michael School<\/a> in Weyburn, published her book, ‘Just Call Me Dinger’, in April of 2024. It features artwork from St. Michael School’s students, with all proceeds going to the Weyburn Humane Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having always loved cats but thinking she was allergic, then finding out she was actually only allergic to long-haired cats, Krafchuk said she chose to fulfill a lifelong dream of having her own cat by adopting one from the WHS shelter.<\/p>\n

She and her husband found Dinger, who was a cuddler, even riding on shoulders and figuring out how to get outside through the dog door.<\/p>\n

“He was a short-haired tuxedo cat, and he had to get used to our dog, but he was just the love,” she shared. “He was such a cuddler. He was never aggressive. He was like a dog. He went to the bathroom outside. We didn’t even have a kitty litter.”<\/p>\n

She said Dinger was a ‘famously wonderful cat’, but unfortunately, he became ill in 2023.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“It was so sad because when I was writing the book, of course, it was about him, and then when we finally finished the book, he was gone. So it’s kind of a tribute to him as well.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kraftchuk said each cat is unique, each finding a special place in the heart of its humans.<\/p>\n

“He was a birder, though, and now my garden isn’t quite as well protected as it used to be. He’s missed, and I’m glad I was able to write a story about him. He had a purpose.”<\/p>\n

The story, for readers Grade 3 and up, follows Dinger’s rescue from the streets and his adoption from the shelter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“It is just a good read, and it’s kind of a true story, just a little bit of fiction and fantasy in there as well, but it’s a heartwarming story and a cat gets a home.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She said the story demonstrates how the adopted cats get just as much from their humans as the humans get from them.<\/p>\n

As a teacher, Krafchuk said she ‘thinks in stories’. However, since she is not an artist, she recruited Grade 5 and Grade 6 students from her school to help create the artwork for her book, which had been written pre-Covid and therefore the process had been delayed due to the relevant limitations.<\/p>\n

“I had a whole bunch of kids who were interested, and we’d set up time after school, and they could pick any medium that they wanted, and pick a page that they wanted to design for, and it worked out quite well. It took us a few years to get finished, but we got it printed here in Weyburn, and now, if you purchase them, they’re available at the Humane Society, all the proceeds go there.”<\/p>\n

The artwork for the book is photographs of the kids holding art they had created, some set in front of a faux brick background they had made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"call<\/p>\n

“They just were so creative with it, and I think they were really proud to be involved in something where they could contribute as well,” she shared. “I just really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed working with them. We worked after school all the time, so it was something extra to do, and it just turned out to be a really fun project.”<\/p>\n

She shared what inspired her to help out the shelter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“I just knew that they were building a new building, and I know that there’s not a lot of funding for those things, and I just thought, ‘I can’t go there and do it for them, but what can I contribute?’ and the kids were so fun. They had so much fun. I had fun working with them.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

She said there is a sequel written, which would require another after-school art project.<\/p>\n

“It’s after he meets the dog. I don’t want to give anything away, but Dinger gets lost and found in the neighborhood.”<\/p>\n

Krafchuk added that she and her husband are not quite yet ready to adopt another cat, and they are happy with their dog for now.<\/p>\n

Find a copy of ‘Just Call Me Dinger’ for $15 at the Weyburn Humane Society’s animal shelter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renee Krafchuk, a Grade 4 teacher at St. Michael School in Weyburn, published her book, ‘Just Call Me…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,75],"class_list":["post-97208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}