Introducing Maxx and Mrs. Queen, a wonderful new book written by Janet Williams and illustrated by Kim Jacobs. It is a heartwarming and imaginative story of the great rescue of homeless cats and dogs from St. James’s Park in London and getting them adopted into safe and loving homes.
About the Author
Janet Williams rescued her first animal at the age of three, a teddy bear abandoned in the gutter. As she picked it up her nanny told her to put it down; it was dirty, threadbare and missing one eye. She started to cry and refused to move until nanny allowed her to keep the bear. She took it home and gave it a bath. The bath removed the dirt but did nothing to restore the eye or fur. Somehow, that made the bear very special.
During the years of growing up she made several attempts to persuade her parents to let her have a dog and occasionally she was successful, particularly when the dog needed a home.
After moving to the U.S. and getting married a few years later, one of the first things she and her husband did was to go to the local shelter and adopt a kitten. A couple of years later they moved into a house and adopted a dog that was unwanted when a baby arrived. A couple of years later her husband brought home another dog in need of a home. By that time they had also adopted three cats and had two small children.
Over the years many cats and dogs found their way to her door. A friend ran a local rescue group and needed foster homes for the animals taken in. Another friend ran a program to foster the animals of women escaping domestic violence; it was never safe to leave animals behind.
When retirement was on the horizon she realized she could not take in any more animals because she would not be able to get them all in her car to move to Maine. By the time she moved she was down to one dog and four cats – a full load.
About the Illustrator
Kim Jacobs is best known for over 30 years of The Cobblestone Way Calendar, featuring her paintings of homey cottages and gardens always populated by numerous cats, and yes, the occasional dog as well! Her paintings are also found on cards, puzzles, prints, and many other products and have an international following.
Accompanying Kim and husband, Bob, cross-country to Maine in 1994 from their native California were their two cat companions of 18 years, who were happy to share the new solar-powered homestead and supervise the planting of extensive gardens on 140 acres in Brooks.
As Kim had also written and illustrated a number of inspirational and children’s books, including Cottage Cats: My Companions on the Path to Joy, she welcomed the challenge of portraying Maxx, his human companions, and so many other animals. Her favorite question from her fans is always, “How many animals are in the upcoming calendar paintings?” Maxx’s rescue mission in the park takes the cake by far! Curious? Count them for yourself ! More of Kim’s work can be found on Kim’s website.
Janet Tells the Story Behind the Book
Ginger was a good friend of mine in Cleveland who dedicated her life to caring for feral cat colonies that lived on the shore of Lake Erie. In addition to feeding and providing shelter Ginger would trap the cats, get them neutered and vaccinated, and return them to their colonies. Cats and kittens were born and abandoned there; in some cases the cats were adoptable – and some ended up in Ginger’s house.
About 20 years ago when Ginger had five cats – Maxx, Harry, Greta, Tootsie, and ZaZa – she asked if she could name me their guardian in her will. Of course, I welcomed the request. She mentioned that she would leave money for their care and I started musing about what the cats could do with that money. Travel!
The story started to write itself. Uncle Oscar is a relative and truly is a retired British Royal Naval Officer. Winky and Maggie were part of my family. Intermittently, the story sat on the shelf for a few years and had many twists, turns and drastic edits. I hope what I ended up with is appealing to all ages, and Kim’s illustrations grab your heart. The rescue of so many cats and dogs is my dream for all homeless animals, so I am donating all proceeds from this book towards making that dream come true.
The Lost Animals of Hurricane Katrina
Janet goes to Louisiana
Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage in New Orleans, Louisiana in August 2005.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, so many of us in the North felt helpless. We all saw the news footage, the devastation and the overwhelming situation. Better late than never, help arrived for the people of New Orleans. I felt better knowing the massive rescue and recovery effort was underway and progressing well. Then gradually we became aware that the “help” for the people meant forcing families to leave their beloved pets behind. More media attention was finally given to these poor creatures left to fend for themselves in the floodwaters and destroyed homes. Many of the military men and women did what they could – but by all reports they were mandated to help only the humans, and somewhat forbidden to assist with animal rescue. We all saw the reports of people being forced at gunpoint to evacuate without their animals.
Crying wasn’t going to help so I went to work with a group of friends to raise money and collect supplies that could be used in the animal rescue efforts. A wonderful local vet offered her mobile vet clinic for a trip to New Orleans to bring back rescued animals needing new homes. Unable to go on that trip I decided to go down myself and work at one of the rescue facilities. My daughter, Lara, and my friend, Ginger (mother of Maxx, Harry, Greta, Tootsie, and ZaZa), also wanted to come. One gorgeous Saturday in October the three of us packed the car and started the 18 hour drive to work for a week at the Best Friends rescue center in Tylertown, Mississippi, two hours north of New Orleans.
Best Friends is an incredible organization with a huge sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Within 48 hours after Katrina hit, Best Friends mobilized, drove a convoy of trucks to Mississippi and set up temporary headquarters on the property of St. Francis Animal Sanctuary. From there they were running daily rescue missions into New Orleans to save animals. They moved house to house to evacuate terrified, starving and injured animals. They also collected animals from the streets, under houses, and hiding or trapped in the debris. Late each night the air conditioned trucks rolled into camp at Tylertown and work began unloading, doing intake, examining and giving emergency medical care to the exhausted, dehydrated and starving animals.
We woke up in our tents before dawn each morning to the beautiful music of hundreds of dogs saying “good morning” to each other (between St. Francis and Best Friends there were more than 400 dogs on the property). Ginger worked in Kitty City and the Cat Barn while Lara and I worked in the dog Vet Clinic (referred to as MASH 4077). We were on a perpetual emotional roller coaster. Many times a day I was crying either in sadness at what these animals had endured, or in joy at the progress being made. It amazed me that a dog could be so starved and yet still unable to eat. I spent a lot of time sitting with dogs in their crates hand feeding them and giving them energy healing.
We were in the clinic by 7:00 a.m. and rarely finished before 10:00 p.m. We worked with Carey who was in charge of the Clinic; we had 24 dogs in our care. The days were a constant round of walking, feeding, watering, crate cleaning, and the never ending mountain of laundry of dog bedding. In between we would stock supplies, solve problems, try to create more order and establish better methods. The Clinic vet came every morning and evening and Lara, who is a nurse practitioner, was soon put in charge of giving the meds.
Best Friends staff from Utah ran the operation, and volunteers from all over the U.S. and Canada provided the manpower for the work to go forward. Everyone got together for lunch and dinner. We ate at picnic tables in the open and the cooking was done on a gas fired barbecue grill. Fortunately, it didn’t rain.
We fell asleep every night listening to the dogs “talking” to each other. The most reassuring thing was to see the high level of care and respect provided for each and every one of these dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and any other animal that passed through the camp. At various times there were pocket pets, reptiles, and even tarantulas being cared for by the staff and volunteers. At the time we were there, there were roughly 200 dogs and almost as many cats. The trips into the city were no longer continuing, for reasons including lack of cooperation from the state of Louisiana. But at the sanctuary the work continued. More animals arrived daily from area rescue groups and shelters close to the flood area. Best Friends provided assistance to local groups and shelters so that their work could continue to save as many animals as possible. Volunteer vets and vet techs provided excellent medical care for the animals. I have never experienced such a gathering of so many kind-hearted and selfless people.
Leaving Tylertown and the animals was terrible and worse yet was returning to work. The first morning I sat at my desk and cried – what was I doing in an office in Cleveland when I could be making a difference in Tylertown?
Lara and I returned to Tylertown just before Christmas for another week in the dog Clinic. Carey greeted us with open arms and we picked up where we left off in October. By this time the whole operation had become more organized and winterized. The Clinic had moved into a big yurt, which provided a lot more space. Another big yurt had been erected and one half was used for veterinary work and cages for animals recovering from surgery. The other half was covered with air mattresses which was where many of the volunteers slept. Lara took turns to tend to the needs of animals recovering from surgery or needing meds during the night. It was amazing anyone got any sleep. There was now a dining tent and even three outdoor showers with tarps draped around them.
We flew home two days before Christmas, again wishing we could stay longer, but we left knowing the work was going well and the main focus now was on trying to reunite people with their precious pets. It was an agonizing hunt for many because animals had been moved around and sent all over the country to available foster homes or shelters. Many volunteers took animals home with them. One of the dogs we took back to Cleveland in October was reunited with his family in New Orleans – a very tearful reunion at a motel half way between Cleveland and New Orleans. One story with a happy ending.
Morty was brought back to Cleveland on the mobile vet clinic.
Another happy ending.