Alamo Students' and Local Author's Underdog Story Has Raised Almost $10,000

A class of last year's second graders in Alamo, a local author and a shelter dog, are working to save people's lives.

Students from are just 130 books away from reaching their goal of selling 1,000 books, and raising $10,000 for the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.

Connie Forslind retired from 38 years teaching at Rancho Romero last school year. But before she did, her second grade class and local author, Allyn Lee, of Alamo created an original children's book. They have been selling the book Lee wrote and the children illustrated, A New Job For Pearl.

The book tells the true story of a search and rescue dog named Pearl, who was rescued from the Plumas County Animal Shelter and trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. She was donated to Los Angeles County Fire Captain Ron Horetski.

Captain Horetski and Pearl were deployed with the California Task Force 2 search and rescue team with USAID to Haiti to help search for survivors of the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake in January 2010.

The book came about as the result of a class project.

Lee, a former Oakland Zoo docent, has volunteered in Forslind's class for sixteen years, since her daughter was in her first grade class. She shares her love and knowledge of animals in weekly lessons and activities she prepares for the class.

Lee says Pearl's story inspired her when she found it while doing research for a lesson on wolves and dogs.

Lee says she was especially inspired by Pearl's story because she was a shelter dog who was at risk of being euthanized.

She says Pearl's disposition would not have made her suitable to be adopted as a pet.

"Not every dog makes a great pet," Lee said. "But Pearl possessed the exact qualities looked for in search work."

As Lee learned more about the work of search and rescue canine teams, she says she felt, "The story of these amazing dogs needed to be told."

Lee has written two other books about animals serving in extraordinary circumstances. A New Job for Lalana is about an Asian elephant working in the aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami. A New Job for Mitts, is about a dog who saved his owner from his flooded home during Hurricane Katrina.

Lee approached Forslind with the idea of involving her students in the telling Pearl's story.

Forslind then asked her class if they wanted "to help others with their very best artwork."

The final book has been a community effort.

Christine Reder, a class mom, did the layout for the story and illustrations.

Two local realtors, Mark Attarha and his wife and partner, Nahid Nassiri, of People & Properties Sotheby's International Realty, donated printing costs. This allowed Lee to donate 100 percent of book sales.

Lydia Leveriza of Diablo Printing and Copying produced the book. Recently, Lee's sister-in-law created a website to make it easier to follow the project's progress and buy the book.

The book caught the attention of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who ultimately named Pearl their 2010 Dog of the Year. The organization has ordered another print run of the book to send to its supporters, said Lee.

Over the summer the children met Captain Horetski and Pearl, who flew from Los Angeles.

The event helped the children realize all they had accomplished.

Lee said: "The children learned that they have the power to make something happen to help other people."

"A New Job For Pearl" is available for order online, or by emailing anewjobforpearl@aol.com. Cost is $10