Jonathan Hall, Author, Toto the Tornado Kitten, at Marlborough Library

Now Hall, who has been volunteering
with the Brimfield Ambulance Service for over 10 years, has written a
children's book about a kitten who was found after the tornado. "We were
in the emergency operations center the day after the storm when a tree worker
brought in a tiny two week old kitten he had found in a tree while clearing
debris" tells Hall. "It was a bright spot in what was a pretty tough

time". But what to do with such a small kitten who needed immediate care
in the middle of such chaos was a problem.

Luckily for the residents of Brimfield, responders from the Animal Rescue League of Boston rescue services team were on hand helping out other animals impacted by the June storm. The team had been deployed immediately after the tornado and was instrumental in helping animals of all sizes affected by the storm. "The League is the only animal welfare agency in Massachusetts that has an entire department dedicated to field animal rescue services" tells Ami Bowen, Director of Communications, "and we are proud of the work they do helping animals not only during major events like the Tornado, but everyday". The Animal Rescue League responders were able to assume care of and help foster the kitten, who needed bottle feeding and veterinary care, until he grew strong enough to be adopted.


Two months later, Jonathan was able to adopt the little kitten, now called Toto, and bring him back to Brimfield where the story began. "It was nice to be able to have something good come out of all the tough situations people had suffered during the Tornado, and I thought that little Toto's story mirrored what a lot of people in town had gone through - losing a home and that feeling of being safe - but also finding out that there were people out there willing to provide help."


Jonathan teamed up with Vermont artist Carol Rusicka to write an illustrated children's book titled Toto The Tornado Kitten, which follows the tiny kitten's journey from the forest until he finds his new adopted home. It was published April 1, in time for the first anniversary of the Tornado, thanks in large part to some generous underwriting from Country Bank and their community grant program. Hall had approached them because he was aware of how involved Country Bank was in the communities and the tornado relief in particular, and thought they were the obvious choice to partner with. 


All of  the proceeds from the book will go towards funding the animal rescue League of Boston rescue services team and other local shelters. Hall said he is grateful for the team helping out his community and looks forward to giving something back. "Without the help from the great people at the ARL, Toto's story wouldn't be possible" he notes. You can find out more about the book at Totothetornadokitten.com.