8 State Hurricane Kate

I’m finally getting a few moments to write about the MVHS Mardi Gras Party for the Animals and the Twin Cities Pet Expo that took place last weekend. On Saturday evening I spoke and signed books at the MVHS Mardi Gras Party. My talk was entitled, “True Colors: Celebrate and BE the Purple, Green, and Gold with MVHS”. I had learned that the Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) colors have meanings behind them. Purple stands for Justice, Green means Faith, and Gold represents Power. So when we say BE the purple, green and gold with MVHS, we mean, be the justice, faith and power for the animals in your community. Based on information in the appendix of my book and MVHS needs, Jennifer of MVHS and I came up with a list of ways that people can get involved with helping the animals at MVHS and in their communities. This information was included at each table for people to take home with them. I spoke about my trip to Louisiana to care for rescued animals after Hurricane Katrina, how I became connected with a wider community of animal lovers, and how we all learned of new ways to help. I also told about 8 State Hurricane Kate and the stories of some of the people and animals that I met along the way. I hope to have audio and/or video clips from the event available here soon.

Here’s a photo of Jennifer Hanson (Development Director) and Lynae Gieseke (Executive Director) of MVHS with me at the Mardi Gras event (photo by Skylar Hanson):

Jennifer, Lynae, and Jenny at the MVHS Mardi Gras Party for the Animals

On Saturday and Sunday, the MVHS had a booth at the Twin Cities Pet Expo in Minneapolis. They were gracious enough to provide a book table for me. $5 per book sold at the weekend events is being donated to the MVHS. My friends Ann and Faith, Josie, and Pepper’s Mom stopped by to see me, plus I met a lot of new people. I finally signed Josie’s Kate book and got to meet Pepper’s Mom, aka Nancy, of the AuCaDo Forum, for the first time. Turns out she lives in Minneapolis. I also got to see Ann Olson from St. Paul who was at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Louisiana caring for rescued animals the same week that I was there. She had the Animal Folks of Minnesota booth, educating people about the pending puppy/kitten mill legislation in Minnesota. She is doing some very important work. Check out her website at www.animalfolksmn.org. If you live in Minnesota, please support S.F.7 and H.F. 253.

Beth Sullivan, an MVHS volunteer, took this photo of the MVHS TC Pet Expo booth on Saturday morning, with me surrounded by books!