The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford's Siamese Cat

Most people have heard of the The Incredible Journey, a Disney film about two dogs and a Siamese cat that travel hundreds of miles to find their human family.

Based on Sheila Burnford's book but with many differences, the 1963 black and white and the more recent color remake,Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey film trace the adventures across the Canadian province of Ontario of three pets who think they've been abandoned by their owners.
The Hunter family leaves their pets with their daughter's godfather but when he goes away and leaves them with the housekeeper, their worst fears are realized: they've been abandoned. So they decide to go off and find their family, and the incredible journey is the result.

The leader of the pack is the kindly Shadow, a wise retriever; Chance, the bulldog, is the pesky one; and Sassy (called Tao in the book) is a feisty Himalayan, a type of long-haired Siamese.

At one stage Sassy gets split off from the dogs by a river and has to fend for herself - very capably, too.

"I don't have to swim. I have a note!" she declared, when the dogs jumped into the river.

Sassy is a bit haughty and won't settle for anything less than the best.

"Oh, I hate fast food!" she was heard to mutter as a rabbit ran by.

As you know there were two versions of the film. In the original, the animals didn't talk but in the 1993 remake, they had star quality: Sassy was voiced over by Sally Field, Shadow by Don Ameche, and Chance by Michael J. Fox.

In the book, Sassy's name was Tao and a 'he', being described as a slim wheat-colored Siamese with chocolate paws. Tao/Sassy hates cats – Tao is a dog-lover! So when cats happen by, he gangs up with the two dogs to chase them away. He even behaves like a dog – wearing a collar and leash like many Siamese cats. And when he gets separated from his friends, he does everything he can to find them again.

Author Sheila Burnford was born in England and moved to Canada as an adult, although she returned to England before she died in 1984. A bit of an adventuress herself, she spent two summers on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, and was an ambulance driver during World War II.

The Incredible Journey was the first of several children's books Sheila Burnford wrote and only really gained fame once Disney recognized a great story. She dedicated the book to her 3 children and apparently based it on her own three family pets. A mint condition first edition first printing can be bought for around 160 Dollars. What better way to celebrate a moving story teller and a Siamese cat lovers life to boot.

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