Dewey's Nine Lives

Acknowledgments

My utmost thanks to the people who opened their lives so that their stories could be told in this book, and to all the people who helped fill out those stories with additional information, such as Adrienna (Sweetie) Case, Dr. Niki Kimling, and Harris Riggs. And, of course, a special thank you to all the wonderful cats who are the heart and soul of these stories; without them, none of this would have been written. This book is, truly, for all the cats around the world that brighten and enhance our lives.

To Peter McGuigan, my agent and friend, how can I thank you enough? Thank you to all the wonderful people at Foundry Literary + Media, especially Hannah Brown-Gordon, Stephanie Abou, and Dan McGillivray.

To Carrie Thornton, my editor, for always believing in this idea, and to Brian Tart, who seems to run the whole show from behind a mysterious curtain, for his support of her enthusiastic support. Lily Kosner—you are cool. Thank you Christine Ball (Publicity), Carrie Swetonic (Marketing), Monica Benalcazar (Art), and Susan Schwartz and Rachael Hicks (Managing Editorial): there would be no Magic without you.

Thank you, as always, to my friend and cowriter, Bret Witter, to his family—Beth, Lydia, and Isaac—and to his cats—Blackie and Ally. I know Bret wants to say thank you as well to Kayla Voskuhl, whom he met during an appearance at the Kentucky School for the Blind and whose laughter, optimism, and love of her cat, Ralph, inspired him. I am so sorry we didn’t have room to include that story in this book.

To my own new little family, Glenn Albertson and Page Turner—I couldn’t do all this without your love and constant support.

To all the Dewey fans who have written or e-mailed but didn’t make this book. Your stories have touched my heart and proved to me that Dewey’s Magic continues to touch lives around the world. Thank you for your kind words.

And last but certainly not least, to Dewey Readmore Books. His legacy of love and acceptance still teaches me important life lessons. I miss you, my friend.