Burbank resident, Ilysha Adelstein Buss, has just published her first children’s book, “Dagwood Make a New Friend,” based on a true story of their family’s beloved dog, and their kind and compassionate neighborhood mail carrier, Andre.
The book follows Dagwood, the Buss family pup as he lives a happy life with his mommy and daddy on Manning St. in Burbank. He learns that a baby brother is on the way and when Dagwood is left at a friend’s house in North Hollywood, he makes an escape to get back home. On his adventure he must face Andre the mailman for help, which is the human he fears the most. Their unlikely friendship unravels in an endearing story of family, friendship, and trust, while also paying homage to Burbank’s people and places.
On February 28, 2012, the real life Dagwood got out of the Buss’ friend’s house in North Hollywood while they were at the hospital delivering their son, Demetri. Miraculously, Dagwood made his way across Cahuega and other busy intersections, somehow finding his way back to their Manning street home where Ilysha’s mother-in-law found him covered in dirt and sticks.
“Even though he got home safely, I was so emotional after hearing the story. I cried and cried and couldn’t stop thinking of how he made his way home all by himself and how he could have been hurt,” said Ilysha. While on maternity leave, Ilysha and her husband Eric were talking about Dagwood’s journey and how it would make a great story. Ilysha who had majored in journalism took on the challenge and the first draft was created.
While Ilysha would edit the story from time to time, going back to work and raising Demetri took the forefront, and Dagwood’s story was tucked away for another day. In 2015, Dagwood sadly passed away from stomach cancer when their son Demetri was just three years old. “Dagwood was very sweet and gentle, but a bit of an old soul. He was very curious about Demetri at first, and then really grew to love him.” In 2016 the Buss family rescued Chapman, a Ihasa shitzu mix, who was prone to breaking out of the house, until he was properly trained.
“One day when I had to leave early for work, Chapman got out and Andre rescued him,” said Ilysha. Andre, who retired from the United States Postal Service in 2020, was a beloved mail carrier in his area, and it was then that Ilysha decided to combine Dagwood and Chapman’s stories to make the children’s book she had started 12 years prior.
Ilysha was adamant about publishing the book herself and wanted to find an illustrator who could convey Dagwood just as she remembered him. After trying multiple artists, Ilysha turned to her local facebook group, “The Neighbors of N Evergreen,” for help. It was there that she found neighbor and illustrator Brittany McCarthy, who was able to capture Dagwood’s likeness perfectly.
Ilysha also used the Facebook group to track down Andre so she could get his permission for the story. “He and his wife were thrilled, and it’s been lovely to be back in touch with him,” said Ilysha. “He’s the first person I gave a copy of the book to and he couldn’t wait to read it to his grandson.” Not only are the people and the pup in the story real, like the Buss family, Andre, and their friend Joel, but familiar places like a local diner and dog park also make appearances in the book.
You can purchase “Dagwood Makes a New Friend,” directly online here or you can pre-order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for it’s official release date on December 18th. A percentage of sales will be donated back to Wags and Walks Dog Rescue where the Buss family was matched with Chapman.
