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Updated March 15th, 2007
Letters to the Editor
Pooch Finds Hurricane Hero
Uplifting stories are hard to
come by in today’s world. However,
the AM Kiwanians enjoyed a real
heart warmer at their recent meeting,
with the hero of the story right there.
When Hurricane Katrina hit New
Orleans in all its fury, victims stranded
in their homes watched the rapidly
rising flood waters. A weakened
man seeking help stepped off his
porch, not realizing the depth of the
water. He could not swim and was
near drowning, when a Labrador
retriever appeared seemingly out of
nowhere, swam over to him, grabbed
him by his clothing and hauled him
to shallow water, saving his life.
What makes this story truly remarkable
is that this dog did not belong to
the man. In fact, he had never seen
the dog before.
During this time, La Cañada
Flintridge resident Jeff Mailes, chief
TV cameraman for channels 2 and 9
here in L.A., and his crew were in
New Orleans to capture key events
during the disaster. They heard about
the rescue, found the man and filmed
his whole story at the scene.
The news station was bombarded
with calls and emails wondering
what had happened to the dog, since
the rescued man was not allowed to
take her with him. Mr. Mailes
returned to the rescue site and after
some time was able to locate the dog
and did not have the heart to leave
her behind. In spite of all Mr.
Mailes’ efforts, checking around and
in the media, he was unable to locate
the dog’s owner, even to this day. So
Mr. Mailes drove the undernourished
and badly diseased dog with him in
his news van back to his home in
LCF.
After nearly a year of many vet
visits and much medication and lots
of love and attention, the dog is now
back to full strength and could not be
happier than with the Mailes family.
The dog’s name? Katrina, what else?
You might have noticed Mr. Mailes
and Katrina in the Memorial Day
parade last May. By the way, Katrina
received the U.S. Humane Society’s
Genesis Award for the rescue. As Mr.
Mailes said, “I was used to being behind the camera and it was a new experience
to walk the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with Katrina to receive her
honor.”
Erik Fiske
La Cañada Flintridge
Local resident Jeff Mailes adopted
his dog, Katrina, after she rescued
a man during the hurricane
that was her namesake.
Customer Impressed By Kindness
I wanted to pass along a little
story about Beverly and Frank de
Lucia and FastFrame La Cañada,
because it was so touching.
Tucked away, throwing distance
from El Pollo Loco, is a little
shop of dreams, the local Fast
Frame.
I first met Beverly when I was
doing a photo exhibit about country
rock legend Gram Parsons at
Harmony Gallery in 2006.
Beverly and Frank did such a
great job mounting and framing
my show that I decided to come
back this February when I was
asked to take part in a group show
at the Higgin Gallery to benefit
Best Friend’s Animal Sanctuary.
You can read about their organization
at www.bestfriends.org if you
choose to.
I went into Fast Frame to do
some mattes, knowing that since I
was donating five photos I would
use some of my existing frames.
I explained to Beverly how
Best Friends had been early
responders in New Orleans just
after Katrina — and how Best
Friends has a sanctuary in southern
Utah where no dog or cat is
turned away.
Beverly said “I’m all about the
animals, Andee,” or some such
lovely thing — probably a lot
more eloquently put. Then she
said, “If you don’t mind working
with leftovers, we’ll donate the
mattes.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. My
husband and I have helped so
many people, but we are always
amazed — especially when we’re
not expecting it — when someone
exhibits such immediate compassion.
I looked at Beverly in a new
light. This foothill community has
some pretty extraordinary people
in it. (We’ve lived here for 24
years) but never had I seen it
played out with such immediacy
— with no strings attached. She
was just “there” for the dogs and
cats — 100%.
When I returned, the photos
were extraordinary — mattes
gleaming in magical colors.
Beverly created something beautiful,
pulling colors out of my photos
I’d never seen before.
She even donated a frame for
the photo of the lady and her dog.
When I arrived at the opening
(there must have been about 200
people at the Higgins Gallery), the
photo Beverly framed and matted
had sold even before I arrived.
Amazing!
Even more amazing than her
great taste in terms of bringing
images alive was her kindness.
Andee Nathanson
La Crescenta
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