Badz Maru Olivia Benson Grace Jones McAleese (aka Batz) is a lucky little dog who was found abandoned in a box along with her mother and litter mates at the side of the I-405 in Los Angeles. Her rescuers somehow missed the Beverly Hills exit on the way to the shelter, so Batz now lives in the lap of something considerably less than luxury, along with her beloved human roommate, in a tiny apartment in a considerably less fancy neighborhood. Since she’s the canine reincarnation of Jack Kerouac, she doesn’t really mind.
Although Batz looks like she was assembled by Tim Burton from spare dog parts, she has the confidence and attitude of a pedigreed purebred. She took on the job as editorial consultant to the Dog Island Project while her roommate was on strike with the Writers Guild for five months, so she could keep them both supplied with the kind of organic, farm-raised, free-range, gourmet snacks they prefer.
When she’s not sniffing out typos and running down run-on sentences, Batz keeps herself busy barking at passersby who are walking dogs that strike her as just a little bit sketchy.
Photography: Michael Hilliard, Writing: Kathleen Cain, Project Management: Karin Mellskog
Kathleen Cain
Kathleen Cain began her career in Seattle, writing and producing documentaries and talk shows for television and radio. She hosted a two-hour interview program on the notorious KRAB FM, worked as a freelance journalist, and was contributing editor for Seattle Weekly. She also worked at Heckler Associates, a legendary Seattle design and marketing firm, writing and producing memorable radio and television ads for clients such as Rainier Beer and Ivar’s Restaurants.
She left Heckler Associates to start her own company, Cain Creative, and has been collaborating with Michael Hilliard since then on a great number of amazing projects, including this one.