All the dogs in my life have been shelter rescue dogs. Two actually inspired me to write books about them. :-) October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month so for this one post I will be promoting these books.

Two things happened on October 1, 1999. My sweet dog, Molly, died, and a young Husky (or Malamute) mix was released to the shelter because he chased chickens. Seven weeks later a friend and I went to the shelter just to see who was there .... it was busy, and noisy, and all the dogs were barking and jumping. All but one. "Schultzie" was bigger than I thought I'd like, and a male (I'd always had female dogs), but he was nice on our walk, and captured my heart when he rolled over (in a very busy lobby) asking for a tummy rub. I learned that while he was a favorite of the shelter staff, in the seven weeks he'd been there, no one else had shown any interest in him. The friend who was with me really liked him and now, in retrospect, I think "Schultzie" had picked me out as well ... at any rate, I came home with a rather large, male dog that day.

To start his new life I wanted him to have a new name (he wasn't paying much attention to Schultzie anyway) so when my Egyptologist friend suggest "Shemsu", I took that for his name. (The shemsu were companions to the ancient Egyptian gods, helped them do good and wondrous things). He became "Shem" for short.

Now, while all my dogs have been wonderful, there was something different with Shem and we had connection that I'd never had before (or since). One evening, when I was rubbing his tummy, the phrase came to me "I have a friend, his name his Shem, he and I are best of friends" .... soon I was making up rhymes about shedding and walking, and the poem grew to epic length. I titled it Shemsu: a Story Told in Comic Verse. Scott Montgomery (who did the Ski-to-Sea graphics for years) lived across the alley and agreed to illustrate it. Check out the result! It's pretty amazing.

 The Shemsu Alphabet actually started with G. "G is for our German Shepherd pals, we walk every Friday, Shem and the gals." On Friday afternoons we walked with a group of other dogs, all German Shepherds, and, at that time, all female. The five big dogs all walking together made quite an impression on people we passed. Coming up for something about Shem for every letter was an exciting challenge! (Thank goodness for a dog named Xavi). ;-)

Designed with children in mind, adults are enjoying them as well (even those without pets). An added bonus for The Shemsu Alphabet I've been told, is that people with dementia or Alzheimer's are able to enjoy it because they 'don't have to remember A to enjoy N'.

Shem died April 4, 2012 and there are still times I miss him so much I can hardly breath. It would take 14 weeks, and 14 dogs before I found my next canine companion. On the morning of July 14th I was checking a few doggy websites and spotted a dog with a heart shaped mask and beautiful brown eyes. My neighbor was willing to drop everything and go look at her. 'Sasha' (on our very first walk I knew I'd call her 'Sage') seemed like she'd be a good fit, the adoption process was started, and a few days later I was able to bring her home. She had been brought into the shelter as a stray, and while she was micro-chipped, the information was outdated, and from Georgia! How did she get all the way out here? That sparked the story of a 'whimsical westward journey' about a cross country trip. It was a most enjoyable process and I learned a lot about the states I had Sage cross. (Are you aware that several states have a designated state tartan)? (And yes, I do consider 14 to be our lucky number). ;-)

Many of my friends have shelter rescue dogs with wonderful adoption stories and were willing to share them with me. I decided to combine these with my story about Sage. The result was A Barker's Dozen (thanks again to my Egyptologist friend for the perfect name).

The books are available at www.lulu.com (which I also highly recommend. It's a great place to publish your own book whether to sell, or just to share with family members, design a calendar or cook book ... there are lots of possibilities).

If you are looking for a dog, consider a rescue dog. My mixed breed dogs have been healthy and healthy and have brought much joy to my life. I prefer to start with a dog that is past the puppy phase, too, so the dogs I've adopted have been house trained, and used to a work day sort of schedule. Of course, if you want a puppy, those are available, too. If you want a pure-bred, check out the various breed rescue groups. If you want a dog, there's one out there waiting for you!

If you already have a dog, go for a walk, give them a hug, tell them you are happy they are in your life!

Reading Hermit With Dog