Toby the Tenacious Foster Pup

Over the weekend I received a phone call from Valley Dogs about a little dog named Toby. Apparently Toby had been thrown out of a car on the freeway.  Amazingly, someone from the Arizona Pug Adoption and Rescue Network (APARN) saw him and immediately gathered him up.

She brought him to a vet, where they checked him out and gave him his immunizations. With a clean bill of health, he came to my house -- my house which is currently home to five other dogs.

Everyone has adjusted very quickly (as I type this, he and Danny are rabble-rousing). Toby is a cute, friendly, outgoing little guy.  I'm still trying to figure out what kind of mix he is. I definitely see some sort of terrier, but can't pinpoint anything...what do you think?
 

A Tale of Two Pups - Be the Change for Animals

You would think that writing a novel, living with three Miniature Schnauzers, one 70lb. boxer/pitbull mix who thinks she’s a Miniature Schnauzer, two Siamese cats, another Miniature Schnauzer I’m currently fostering, and taking care of an elderly person 24 hours a day would be more than enough to keep me busy.  Believe me, it is.  But my busy schedule didn’t even enter my mind when the phone call from a man named Chuck came in on Wednesday, March 30.

Chuck is a truck driver who also works with rescue organizations to catch feral and homeless dogs and get them into no kill shelters and foster homes.  He got my name from Valley Dogs, and told me he had been contacted by a business in the Phoenix area about seven black lab mix puppies that were roaming around.  He asked me if I would be able to hold them for 24-48 hours.  Knowing I had the space and crates to house all seven if needed, I agreed.

The next day, Thursday, he brought in a terribly frightened and aggressive Rocky.  He was so handsome, and even at just 3 months of age, his paws were gigantic.  I placed his crate into the quiet guest bedroom where he proceeded to howl like a coyote all night long.  I knew he was scared and lonely, and I wanted to pet him and hold him, but he was still far too aggressive for me to get anywhere near him.   

On Friday his sister Lindsey came, and I was amazed at her behavior compared to Rocky’s.  She was nervous, for sure, but she wasn’t the least bit aggressive.  Once we got her transferred from the crate Chuck had her in to the crate I had ready for her, I put her in the same room with Rocky.  Rocky perked up when he saw his sister, but he didn’t like all the hub-bub going on just outside the bedroom door, and continued to growl.

Lindsey was picked up by Eddie Nichols from the Foothills Animal Rescue (FAR) in Scottsdale, Arizona on Saturday.  Rocky was going to have to wait, as they wanted to bring in another person who had the skills needed to make the transition from foster care back into a moving vehicle easier on little Rocky.  

Lindsey all settled in at FAR

Rocky had settled down quite a bit and was no longer growling at me when I came near or when I reached into his cage to give him fresh food and water.  He even ate some canned food off of my fingers.  I still couldn’t pat or touch him, but he was definitely improving.  I moved his crate into the family room, hoping to socialize him a little more and ease his loneliness.  All of my dogs greeted him politely, sniffing at him as they normally do when a new foster is brought in.  

He seemed most intrigued by Smoker, my black Miniature Schnauzer.   Sally, the boxer/pitbull mix was nice to him, but Rocky seemed to be intimidated by her size.  I had the television on for a few moments until Rocky made it very clear that did not like the TV at all.

Eddie Nichols came back on Sunday, this time with another FAR helper, Jeff Tye.  He gave Rocky what I call the “dog whisperer” treatment.  He sat with his back against Rocky’s crate, allowing Rocky to come up to him and sniff without feeling threatened.  Soon Jeff had him ready for transport, and off they went to the rescue.  I swear he grew 2 inches in the time he was at my home.

The very next day, I received an email from Jeff with an update on how the 2 pups were doing, including pictures.  They said that even Rocky had been given a bath, and in one photo, someone had their hand on his tummy.  He was looking straight at the camera, obviously unfazed by the fact that someone was touching him!  It did my heart good to see that.

Rocky, freshly bathed and letting someone touch him!

Even though Rocky and Lindsey only visited us briefly, I missed them when they left.  Whenever new fosters come in, I have a hard time watching them leave. I was so glad to see them being so well taken care of by the people at FAR.  I really appreciated the care and love that everyone involved in the rescue of Rocky and Lindsey gave them – Chuck, Eddie Nichols, Jeff Tye and everyone at Foothills Animal Rescue.  Thank you so much for all the work you do!

Both Rocky and Lindsey are available for adoption that the Foothills Animal Rescue! Click below to see their pages on the FAR website:

Rocky

Lindsey

When 3 weeks turns into 6

I posted at the beginning of March that I was just a little over 3 weeks out from releasing Holly's Story. Here we are, more than 4 weeks after that post, and it's still not available for sale. The opportunities to get frustrated have been abundant, but I refused to allow myself to worry about it.

After a couple weeks of dealing with some issues CreateSpace had with the PDFs the cover (thank you for all of your help and patience, Jen!) and interior, I am beyond excited to say -- I just ordered the proof! I should have it within 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see it the way my readers will see it. Just the thought of opening up the package and holding it in my hands makes me all giddy inside.

It's possible that the Kindle edition will be available before the print edition.  I'll keep you updated on the various release dates.

For now, if you would share the news about Holly's Story by passing along these links to your friends and family, I would truly appreciate it.

Blog post:  Just what is "Holly's Story"?

The Forever Home Series Facebook page

As a way of saying thank you, I leave you with this photo of Little Bear, Danny, and Smoker!

Just what is "Holly's Story"?

In case you were wondering what exactly Holly's Story is about, read below:

Holly’s Story is a heartwarming tale of love and survival based on the true adventures of a “mutt” abandoned by the family she trusted. If that’s not enough to get a dog down, she finds herself in a shelter hospital after being hit by a car. While she enjoys meeting several interesting and inspiring new friends, Holly questions where her life is headed – all the while dreading the possibility of becoming the next victim of the “big brown door.”

Just as fear threatens to overtake her, she is whisked away to a foster home. With the help of a service dog and a kind nurse, she learns about true companionship on the quest to find her forever home.

But, forever can be a long time in dog years…

If you want to stay updated on the release date of Holly's Story, click here to "like" The Forever Home Series.

The Forever Home Series Facebook Page

I just wanted to take a moment to quickly announce that the Facebook page for The Forever Home Series is up and running.  Come on over and "like" us!

A little over 3 weeks out

After all of the edits, proofreading, more edits, cover designing, edits to the cover design, still more edits to the book itself, and going back and forth over how exactly to get this baby of mine into print, I’m finding it hard to believe that it will only be a little over 3 weeks until I can have a copy of it in my hands.  To say I’m excited would be an understatement.  I’m also looking forward to getting other books out of my head and onto the page.

I have learned a great deal about the publishing world since I began this journey, and I want to share some of those things with all of you.

·         Writing is not always fun.  The initial rush I experienced from getting Holly’s Story onto the written page was thrilling.  I think that took me through the first round of editing, but it definitely took determination and patience on my part to continue on past the frustrations of reading, rereading and still finding errors, etc.  Which brings me to #2.

·         You really need to have a professional editor look at your work.  I did, and I’m glad I didn’t get in a rush and avoid this step.  Working with a professional editor not only helped to point out flaws in grammar and plot, but helped me to look at my book with fresh eyes. 

·         At some point you have to stop making changes.  When I first began writing Holly’s Story I read an article that warned me of this common author’s issue before I even experienced it.  I can’t find it now, but it basically said that you will always be able to find something in your work that you can change.  We have to force ourselves to let go at some point.  If the plot is tight and you’ve worked through all of the grammar and spelling errors—get on with it!

·         Writing helped me grow as a person.  My grammar wasn’t where it used to be when I was fresh out of school, but boy did that change quickly.  I’m certainly not perfect at it, but I re-learned very quickly and learned some new stuff along the way.  I also discovered that I was being too hard on myself and I had a hard time accepting myself as an author.  I know that I am an author now, and I never want to stop learning and growing—both as a person and an author.

·         Traditional publishing isn’t always the way to go.  I spent months querying agents because I was sure that traditional publishing was the only way to get my books and my name out there.  Every rejection letter seemed to weaken my hope of finding an agent who would love my book and get behind it with everything they could muster.  In my research on the wide and varied world of publishing, I encountered many blog posts and articles that started to shake up my view that I just had to be traditionally published.  Instead of trying to go over all of the details here, I will just direct you to these posts:  You Should Self-Publish, and Time is Money by J.A. Konrath. 

·         There are good people out there.  I’ve had some past projects go very sour in the past.  Because of those experiences, I was very nervous about finding both an editor and a graphic designer that I could trust.  Thankfully, I was introduced to two great people who helped me put the final touches on Holly’s Story.  I couldn’t have asked for better people to help me along this road to my first published book.  I’m very thankful for their help, wisdom, expertise and patience!

Why I wrote Holly's Story

With the launch of my first novel so close (within the month), I thought now would be a good time to share what inspired me to write Holly's Story and give everyone a little bit of a "behind the scenes" look into my life as a canine foster mom.

Why I wrote Holly's Story

Most of us have had a four-legged friend in our lives at one time or another. Whether they were a dog, cat or some other type of critter, they brought joy, along with companionship, and unconditional love to us—the humans.

Throughout my life I have had mostly dogs or cats, and at the present time I have both.  My life with my pets is ninety-five percent of the time very harmonious.  The other five percent of discord time is usually due to human error—mine.  Two of my three Miniature Schnauzers are trained service dogs who have been invaluable in helping me take care of my ninety-three year old mother for the last ten years.  I frequently wonder how I managed before they came into my life.

I am abundantly blessed by my dogs’ devotion to my mother and me, and their jobs.  They bring peaceful, simplistic balance to my life.  It is such a joy to come home to find their adoring eyes and happy, wagging tails greeting me (that is if I didn’t take them with me as service dogs).  They are secure in knowing there will be good food, exercise, regular vet visits, grooming, plenty of love, pats, kind words, toys, and treats.  Therefore what I receive in return are happy, healthy dogs that bring me great pleasure.

I just naturally assumed that most pets lived the same way.  It wasn’t until I started fostering Miniature Schnauzers for the Arizona Schnauzer Rescue and other rescue organizations a few years ago that I discovered that this was not the case for far too many dogs and cats.  It quickly became apparent to me that my rescue dogs had experienced unbearable, heartbreaking traumas that resulted in emotional scarring no different than if they were human.

It was a rude awakening to discover the darker side of many dogs’ lives.  From my very first foster dog to the little foster dog that I have today, they have all come with varying degrees of heart-wrenching stories, ranging from sad to horrific.  Behind their sad eyes are looks of help.  Their tails wag—even if only just a little bit— in hope.  They have no other choice but to live in the moment and trust.  Day by day, little by little, their behaviors demonstrate the very traumas they were delivered from with emotions of fear, sadness, pain, shame, frustration, depression, anxiety and much more.

By my continuously speaking gentle words and showing loving kindness, the shy, cowering behaviors of abuse and neglect slowly decrease and the soft moans and sighs fade.   Dogs, like humans, are emotional creatures.  They feel deeply and are often put into (by no fault of their own) situations whereby they “feel” the same overwhelming sadness, grief and despair that we do.

These aren’t just mere words that we use to describe our own emotions, and the emotions we see in other humans.  They are the words we rarely associate with our pets and how they feel throughout their life’s journey.  These words are a reality for pets.  As a foster mother to rescued dogs, I have observed that each and every dog knew they had been thrown away.  I soon realized that I wasn’t just giving them shelter while they waited for their “forever” home, but that I was helping them through a very emotional time of healing from the trauma and the rejection in their lives.

Holly’s Story is based on a real dog that I had the pleasure of being Mommy to for over six months.  She came to me as a rescue in the spring of 2010.  Seeing the physical and emotional anguish she went through to heal, be loved and become a part of the pack so deeply touched my heart that it compelled me to share her story.  Even though this book is known fact mixed with fiction, it could only truly be told through Holly’s eyes and voice for the reader to fully understand the humanistic emotions we share with our four-legged friends with fur.