By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer
Her name was Jane.
A brown and black, mixed-breed bulldog, Jane died with her family when the tornado swept through Riegelwood.
Jane and an older dog named Duke were killed with Tim and Mary Mai and their son Mike Browne in the Nov. 16 tornado. Browne’s 4-year-old daughter Cheyenne is still hospitalized from her injuries.
Paula Lewis of the Columbus County Humane Society said she knew and loved both the dog and her family. Lewis kept Jane for six months, helping the dog learn how to be a “family dog.”
From the moment they met, Mary Mai and Jane had a bond, Lewis said.
“They saw something in each other,” Lewis said. “There was no hesitation.”
A year of trying
Lewis and some friends spotted Jane near the Bojangle’s in Whiteville in 2003. The dog would creep out of a nearby field to raid trash and accept handouts of food.
She and some friends fed the frightened, feral dog for six months before Lewis caught her and took her home. The dog was frightened, withdrawn and anti-social.
“She was just so wild,” Lewis said, “but I knew she would be sweet. I just didn’t think I’d ever catch her. I really never thought we could socialize her.”
On Dec. 11, 2004, Jane was adopted by the Mai family.
Mai and her husband Tim picked Jane up at an adoption fair at the Wilmington Pet Smart store. The Humane Society regularly holds adoption events at the business.
The Mais already knew Lewis, and the two women were close friends.
“I never thought Jane would be able to be a part of a family,” Lewis said.
An e-mail from Mary Mai to Lewis just days after the adoption describes a different dog.
The Mai family had a new digital camera, and like all proud parents and grandparents, they took photos of Cheyenne, Duke and Jane to share with their friends.
“Here are pictures of the babies,” the message reads. “Hope you like them. Guess where Jane slept last night... in the bed with Duke, Tim and myself… and she slept through the night!”
Duke, a 9-year-old Lab mix that was also a rescued dog, quickly took to the newcomer. Photos show the dogs sleeping on a doggy bed together, and taking naps in side-by-side recliners.
Special buddies
Jane, Duke and Cheyenne Browne were best friends from the beginning.
Photos show the child playing with the dogs and rolling on the floor. Other family photos show Jane and Duke dressed for Halloween, and enjoying Cheyenne’s birthday party.
“They (Tim and Mary) were never worried about having her around children,” Lewis said. “Some people thought Jane’s breed might be a problem, but she loved Cheyenne from the beginning. Dogs know.”
While both dogs loved Cheyenne, Jane and Mary had a special friendship, Lewis said.
“Mary Ann Mai loved Jane from the beginning,” Lewis said. “There was never a doubt. Animals know when people care about them, and respond to that.”
Another picture shows Duke and Jane in Christmas costumes, with Duke wearing reindeer antlers and Jane in a red Santa collar with white fur trim.
“They were a special family,” Lewis said. “Mike, Cheyenne, Mary and Tim loved their dogs, and the dogs loved them in return.”
Searching
On the day of the tornado, Lewis and her fellow members of the Columbus County Humane Society were frantic.
They knew the storm had struck the neighborhood where the Mais lived, and by noon they knew Mike, Tim and Mary Ann were dead.
But no one knew what had happened to the dogs.
“The only thing I knew we could do is take care of their pets,” Lewis said. “I knew Mary would want that.”
Krista Hanson sent a message to other members of the group. She wrote that Lewis was trying to find out if anyone had any information about the dogs.
“The couple who adopted Foster Jane from her were killed in the tornado this morning, along with their son. The granddaughter, Cheyenne, is in the hospital. Paula is extremely upset about them and knows they would want her to do what she can about Jane and Duke, their dog. Jane is a black-dark brown pit mix and Duke is a large, older yellow Lab - Great Dane mix…”
Rossie Hayes is director of Columbus County Animal Control. A short time after the storm hit, he was called to the trailer park off Old Lake Road. Several dogs belonging to the Wilson family – who also died in the storm – were reported loose.
“When I got there,” he said, “the victim’s brother said he would take care of the dogs.”
Hayes then began searching for other animals that might have been lost, killed or broken loose in the storm. The only living animal that animal control officers found was a large, disoriented chow that was later recovered by his owners.
Hayes found Duke near the remains of the Mai home.
“He was a nice big dog, from what I could see,” Hayes said. Since he didn’t know who owned the dog, Hayes buried Duke at the landfill in accordance with county rules for unclaimed animals.
But there was no sign of Jane.
“I was praying that we would find her alive,” Lewis said, “but I didn’t think that was likely. We had reports she was running around loose out there. Either way, I wanted to find her. Good or bad, we had to know what happened.”
Lewis managed to talk her way into the trailer park after explaining she was with the Humane Society, and was searching for a lost dog.
Inside, Lewis said, she was struck by the devastation.
“It was something you couldn’t imagine,” she said.
Lewis went straight to the site of the Mai home and began searching.
“It was hard to tell what was where,” Lewis said.
A short while later she found Jane’s body, near where searchers told her Mary Ann Mai’s body was discovered Thursday morning.
“They gave her a loving, wonderful home,” Lewis said. “Jane knew that. It showed in her eyes.”
Lewis had Jane cremated, and said she plans to place her ashes with Mary Ann’s.
“All I can think is that, at least for a while, Jane knew she was loved,” Lewis said. “Mary knew Jane was a special dog from the beginning, and Mary was a special person.”
“We communicated every week,” Lewis said, “and she never forgot to tell me the dogs said ‘hi’.”