Why is the boat named Toto?
It all started when…
I have a second (not so) secret life. I am a Paramedic in my regular job. The story starts back in 2011 when a Tornado struck western and central Massachusetts, leaving a 37 mile path of destruction from Westfield to Charlton. One of the towns especially hit hard was Brimfield, with over 140 homes either destroyed or made uninhabitable. There was one fatality and a number of serious injuries sustained by residents throughout the town, including at a local campground. The Town of Brimfield remained scarred by the summer storm as residents continued to make plans and rebuild.
On June 2nd, 2011, about 24 hours into the tornado recovery efforts, an unknown tree worker brought little Toto to the Brimfield Fire Station, where I was on duty with Brimfield Ambulance. After a brief conversation with the tree worker, it was obvious that Toto was found alone in an area of storm damaged trees in Brimfield.
Toto, who was obviously very young and only weighed six ounces, was cold and hungry. Myself and other EMS personnel cared for Toto throughout the day. It was determined that Toto was in need of veterinary care and the workers from the Animal Rescue League of Boston, who were in town helping out with a number of large animals who had been trapped or injured, stepped in. Toto was taken to their facility where, despite being critically ill from his tornado ordeal, was passionately cared for and nursed back to health. Veterinarians who evaluated Toto felt that he was only 2-3 weeks old at the time he was found.
In August, once he was better, I adopted Toto from the ARL. It was a joyous reunion. Toto had returned to Brimfield, where he belonged. Toto continues to live “comfortably” with me and, through his friendly nature, shows how grateful he is to have been saved. Toto has been an example of a positive outcome within such a tragic time.
Wanting to give back to the community and the animal shelters that helped save Toto, I wrote the Toto the Tornado Kitten book as a fun project to help heal the wounds caused by the storm. To date over 12,000 copies of the book have been sold bringing happiness to lots of kids and adults alike. I have raised over $67,000 for local shelters with the Toto book project! The boat is named after Toto to honor his fighting spirit and joy in life….
