Biloxian Michele Herman had memorable trip with bobcat in car

Michele Herman of Biloxi died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 55.

Her friends say she left behind a love for animals, especially those that needed some special attention at Wild at Heart Rescue in Vancleave.

"She battled cancer for so long, with the best attitude I've ever seen," friend Missy Dubuisson said. She loved animals so much. She lived on the Back Bay in Biloxi and she used to get fish from the DMR and feed them to the birds."

Dubuisson said Herman's presence will be missed at the animal rescue.

"She was so smart and witty," she said. "We're so upset she's gone."

Dubuisson said, Herman loved animals so much she once volunteered to take a bobcat cub from Saucier to an animal sanctuary to Caledonia, about four hours away.

"We had a bobcat cub that had a cleft palate," she said. "It had surgery to correct it and after it recovered, Cedarhill (Animal Sanctuary) in Caledonia said they would take it. So Michele convinced her best friend, Cheryl Sablich, to ride with her to take the bobcat to its new home."

Sablich said Herman could "talk her into anything."

"So, she kept saying, 'Come on. It's a baby bobcat'-- how bad could it be," Sablich said. "So we headed for Caledonia with a sedated baby bobcat in the backseat."

Sablich said the sedation wore off after a couple of hours, leaving them with a scared wild cub in the car.

"That thing woke up, and I thought Satan was in my car," she said. "It sounded like a Tasmanian devil back there. I thought it was going to chew through the cage."

After regaining their composure, Sablich said they stopped at a dollar store and bought bungee cords to secure the cage.

"We got the cage secure, but that thing didn't settle down the whole ride to Caledonia," she said. "That's the kind of things she could talk me into -- she loved her family and online auctions and the Saints. I'm really going to miss her."

A memorial service for Herman will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Marshall Funeral Home in Biloxi. Donations can be made to Wild at Heart Rescue in Herman's name at wildatheartrescue.org.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Biloxian Michele Herman had memorable trip with bobcat in car ."