In January of 2023, two years after the passing of our senior dog Paulie, I decided to write a children’s book. It was going to be based off one of the blogs I wrote of his adoption. He was eight years old and was found wandering around his home for days. The officials found his owner deceased inside the house. They brought him to the local shelter in early October of 2014. We saw him on their website at the end of that month.
Paulie adopted us on November 3, 2014. We had him until July of 2021. He was experiencing seizures than on July 12th, he suffered a stroke. I was with him, however, couldn’t do anything. He passed the next day. For two years I mourned his passing. Then I was ready to write his story. Exactly, how I remembered it and in detail. The book was going to be a “In Memory” book. It turned out to be so much more.
I explained my book project to a publisher that someone referred me to. She was excited to publish the book because it was a heartwarming story. I had a vision on how I wanted this book to be. A 6"x9" book in watercolor. I was putting the blog that I wrote into this book. The book depicts the inside of the shelter environment and is detailed down to the pet scale. I volunteered in shelters and rescues so I knew what went on and what was in these facilities. The book journey started in February until is was published in late May of this year. It went through many edits as it had to be perfect. When I received my first copy, I cried.
During this whole process I realized that the shelters and rescues were being inundated with strays. It was so bad that many were euthanizing them to make space for more. I had a realization that this problem needed to be addressed. After the story, I added two pages of suggestions that I learned as a volunteer on how to prevent pets becoming a stray. I never saw this before in a children’s book so it set my book apart. The suggestions are addressed to the young readers guardians. The story is catered to both young reader and guardian to give them insight on the shelter environment and a basic overview on what goes on inside. As a pet advocate for over five decades, I wanted to educate the new generation on the importance of helping animals. I believe I have done this based book reviews.
If I can help or save one dog with my book then I’ve done my job.
