Animal Lover’s ‘Tails’ Promote Literacy, Pet Rescue

It happened because of a trip, a friend from Washington University, two dogs, a rescue shelter and Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, all of these things converged and Ilene Fine, AB ’82, unexpectedly found a successful new career as a children’s book author.

Here’s the full tail, er, tale: In 2006, Fine and her husband, Jay Pomerance, AB ’82, adopted the second of two dogs they found at a Chicago-area rescue shelter. Valenti (Val) was one of thousands of pets abandoned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The couple’s first dog, Brandy, seemed immediately to welcome Val into their family.

In 2007, Fine and Pomerance made plans to take a trip to Colorado to visit fellow university alumna Robin Fleischmann, BSBA ’82. Fleischmann’s young son, Zachary, thought Brandy and Val would be visiting along with their owners.

“Zach, who experiences attention and learning difficulties due to a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome, has an incredible memory for certain details,” Fine says. “When I told Robin that we weren’t bringing the dogs, she knew Zachary would be disappointed.”

Fine came up with a solution to help ease his disappointment. Using materials from a scrapbooking store, she created Brandy and Val, a small book that she could take to Zachary in their stead. He loved the book’s fun story and photos, the sturdy tabbed pages that were easy to flip, and the spiral-binding that made it easy to carry.

Although delighted that he enjoyed the book, Fine didn’t consider making another until months later when Zachary underwent surgery. As a get-well gift, she wrote a second book about the dogs called Brandy and Val’s Favorite Things, which proved to be a hit with the boy.

Seeing her son’s positive reaction to the stories, Fleischmann realized the books might find an audience with other children. She urged Fine to publish them.

“Once I considered the idea, I began to see how the books could work on many levels,” Fine says. “They would encourage kids to read, teach them about owning pets, and show the important work of animal rescue shelters — all in a ‘board book’ format that would be easier for children with fine motor challenges.”

She wrote a third book, Brandy and Val’s Special Story, and commissioned someone to create plush toys resembling the dogs. In 2009, Colorcraft Limited published the books, which are sold, along with the toys, on Fine’s website, www.BrandyandVal.com and on Amazon.

Fine’s business mission, “To do good where good is needed,” goes beyond mere words. She donates all profits from Brandy and Val’s Special Story to Fortunate Pooches and Lab Rescue, Inc., the shelter from which she adopted her dogs. Portions of her earnings also go to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association and to Best Friends, the nation’s largest shelter for abused and abandoned animals.

In addition, she and her husband focus their personal volunteer work around the dogs. Because of their gentle natures, Brandy and Val serve in pet therapy programs at schools for special-needs children and are able to participate in “Reading to Rover” literacy -programs at public libraries.

Fine’s interest in literacy and advocacy developed during her childhood. “Growing up on Long Island, N.Y., I used to visit my -godmother, a special education teacher, at her school in Manhattan,” Fine says. “I worked as an unofficial reading aide for non-English-speaking children in her classes.”

For more than 20 years, Fine taught English as a Second Language and tutored a wide range of people in need, from recovering drug addicts to students living in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project.

Her more recent turn as an author could be considered a worthy capstone on her path as a literacy advocate, but Fine’s not ready to sit back and rest on her laurels. There are too many more stories — in books and in her real life — still to come.

Lisa Cary is a freelance writer based in St. Louis.