Madigan and Menina Find Their "Furever" Family

Puppy is all alone in an alley, until one day, she meets a friend! In an effort to care for her new friend, Kitten, Puppy goes looking for food. A young boy offers his help. The boy and his grandmother open their home to both "furry friends" and name them: Madigan and Menina. Readers learn how empathy and love help to make friends and a family.

Readers age 7 and up!

What happens to the Puppy, who is all alone in an alley? Readers experience an unexpected friendship between two unlikely characters, without a home. Feelings drive behavior and in an effort to care for her new friend, Kitten, Puppy goes looking for food. This quest shows the human connection between pets and animals, and introduces opportunity for the reader to learn about empathy and see it in action!

What bonds us together? Love. 

Readers will learn how empathy and love help to make friends and a family.

Learn more about the author's work at

SanFranciscoFamilyTherapy.com or MessyParenting.com,

Copyright© Maryellen P. Mullin, LMFT 2022 ©.

Maryellen holds a Masters of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology, a Bachelor of Arts in Human Communication, and is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in California. In addition to being a psychotherapist, she is an advocate for strengthening Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills for all. With her project Messy Parenting: Progress Not Perfection®, Maryellen writes, speaks and provides training regularly to parents, couples, families, school and parent groups, and community-based non-profits, on parenting and child development topics. In her podcast and family work, her quest is to bring those who bravely parent, strategies and methods to make family life less muddled and more joy-filled! Originally from Gloucester, Massachusetts, Maryellen lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, with her family and four-legged Yorkie.