Minnesota teen writes book to raise awareness about plight of homeless animals

When you first meet him, Justin Anderson, 14, of Minnetonka seems like your typical American teenager. He enjoys drawing, playing computer games and texting with his friends. But last summer he took on a cause not too many teenagers delve into. He became an advocate for the plight of homeless animals.

You could say it’s an interest he stumbled upon. “I was out for a walk at my neighborhood park with my mom when I spotted a mother cat and three kittens relaxing at the edge of the woods,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘hey they don’t belong there.'”

Anderson and his mother enlisted the help of some neighbors to catch all four cats. The next day he helped deliver them to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. The three kittens were quickly rehabilitated and put up for adoption. The mother cat, however, was deemed unadoptable.

With her life on the line, Anderson’s mother, Rachel, contacted The Adopt-A-Pet Shop in Plymouth, Minn. Co-founder Stephanie Timberlake encouraged her to go back to the Animal Humane Society and recover the mother cat, who Timberlake later took to a veterinarian. Turns out the mother cat was very sick and in need of lifesaving medicine.

Justin Anderson signing copies of “Saving Stripes: A Kitty’s Story”

As events unfolded, Justin Anderson envisioned what would eventually turn into the self-published book, “Saving Stripes: A Kitty’s Story.”

The book launched with a small party at The Adopt-A-Pet Shop in June, in honor of National Adopt-A-Shelter Cat Month. To date, more than 60 books have been sold with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting S.O.S. Rescue Relief, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit relief organization dedicated to providing support to animal rescue groups, shelters and sanctuaries. One of the organization’s main goals is to help rescued animals and their organizations find homes and reduce the unnecessary euthanasia of healthy, adoptable pets. At their flagship retail adoption center, The Adopt-A-Pet Shop in Plymouth, Minn., rescue groups are invited to display companion animals in a friendly and inviting public adoption venue.

For more information about the nonprofit, visit www.facebook.com/adoptapetshop.

Copies of “Saving Stripes: A Kitty’s Story” are available for purchase at The Adopt-A-Pet Shop, and online at https://www.createspace.com/4931704.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information, visit www.facebook.com/savingstripesbook. To arrange an interview with author Justin M. Anderson, contact his mother/publicist, Rachel M. Anderson at 952-240-2513 or .