In support of a good cause - Dogs

EQ member, Author Victoria Adams, is participating in another author's blog tour this week. Portions of the proceeds from this event are to be donated to the protection and welfare of dogs. We firmly believe our measures of author celebrity, however large or small, can do great things for causes of all kinds. Please share this news.

Thank you.
The Exquisite Quills Authors

A blog post in support of a good cause - Dogs.

My best friend
This is Cosmo. He died a few years ago and I still miss him. My daughter and I rescued him as a puppy. He'd wandered away from his home and was lost on a tree line on a hot summer day. When he was little we taught him the basics, sit, stay, get off the couch and sleep. We didn't call his bed bed because that sounds too much like bad – so we called his bed sleep. But we also taught him trade. When he had something in his mouth – like my hubby's slipper, I'd find a toy or a bone and offer it to him and say – trade. He'd drop the slipper and take the toy. 

One day I was sitting on the couch eating a piece of cheese. Cheese was his chocolate. He left the room, came back with his favourite toy, hit my knee with it, dropped it at my feet and looked at the piece of cheese. Yes, I took the toy and gave him the cheese. He couldn't say the word trade but he got his meaning across. When he got older, he got sick. I had to give him insulin shots twice a day. He got sicker and I had to pill him twice a day. Then he lost his hearing and his eye sight and I became his seeing-eye human. He and I formed an incredibly tight bond. He was very protective of me, as I was of him. One horrible day, my husband came home, Cosmo and I were sitting on the living room floor – I'd spent the entire day sitting next to him, scratching and patting him. When my husband walked in, I looked up with tear-filled eyes and said, "We have to go to the vet, but Cosmo's not coming home." I still get teary remembering that day. But I know he knew he was loved.

GA Whitmore has written a book - A Place to Call Home. (I get teary-eyed just thinking about the title – this whole subject just grabs me by the heart). Part of the proceeds from the sale of A Place to Call Home is being donated to the protection and welfare of dogs. With this wonderful cause in mind, here is A Place to Call Home. 

Every rescue dog has a tale to tell, a story uniquely their own. A Place to Call Home is Toby’s tale. 

Born on a small farm in northern California, Toby’s carefree days as a puppy are cut short when he narrowly escapes the death sentence imposed upon him by his breeder. Through a series of events driven by good intentions, he finds himself in a Connecticut suburb, where life with his new family soon collapses on him, and his newfound happiness is brutally destroyed. On his quest to find a place to call home, Toby encounters and endures the best and worst of humanity, as he comes face to face with sorrow and joy, fear and courage, and ultimately, with the power of love. Part of the proceeds of from the sale of each book will be donated to an organization of the author’s choice that promotes and advocates for the protection and welfare of dogs.

Amazon UK
Amazon US
Goodreads

Excerpt
    Was this another dream? Who would visit him in this dream?
    As if in answer to his question, a large pack of wolves and dogs slowly materialized out of the enshrouding gray and one-by-one encircled him.
    The snow stopped falling. All was still and quiet.
    A long, wailing howl pierced the silence.
    Followed by another.
    Then another.
    After a few moments, a chorus of howls erupted from the group that now surrounded Toby. A primordial urge rose within him. He stood up and shook off the light layer of snow that had accumulated on his fur. The urge grew stronger, more compelling, until he realized his own voice had joined the others. The multitude of voices became one as they howled on and on, until the cry reached its crescendo and abruptly ended, leaving an echoing silence around them once again.
    A large, white figure approached Toby.
   “Welcome to our pack, Toby.” The figure turned, and with a nod of his head, indicated the others. He turned back to Toby. “How did you come to be here?”
     Toby tried to find his voice, but the howl still reverberated in his throat. When he finally spoke, his reply was weak and raspy. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where here is.” He hesitated, and then asked, “How do you know my name?”
    “My name is Strider, Toby. I am your grandfather.”
     Strider! The memory of lying with Tara next to his mother as she told them the story of Sadie and Strider came flooding back to him and he felt a warmth of emotion flow through his body.
    “Where is this place? How did I get here?” Toby asked.
     Strider paused in thought for a moment, and then replied, “This land is a different place for different creatures, yet it is the same place for all creatures. For us,” Strider swept his large head around him, “this is the place we call home.”

About the Author
Ms. Whitmore’s passion for writing and her love of dogs come together in her series The Rescue Dog Tales. The first book in the series, A Place to Call Home, was inspired by Toby, an abused dog she adopted from the Connecticut Humane Society. Ms. Whitmore currently lives in Connecticut with her two rescue dogs, Kadee and Zeus.

Website http://www.gawhitmore.com

Author/community Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/authorgawhitmore

Tell us about your favourite pet. It doesn’t have to be about a dog. Cats, fish, guinea pigs, horses, snakes – they are all animals which we love.