by Lucy Moore |
15 December 2012
The Divinity of Dogs
Tell us about your new book The Divinity of Dogs.
The Divinity of Dogs: True Stories of Miracles Inspired by Man’s Best Friend is about people’s moments of enlightenment with dogs. It encompasses stories where love, tolerance, comfort, compassion, loyalty, joyfulness, and even death have provided inspirational lessons about life from experiences with dogs. It is also a memoir.
What made you want to collect the stories of peoples’ encounters with dogs?
â¨It wasn’t until I edited my first book, God Stories, that I realized my personal experience with dogs was shared with countless others. People wrote and told me about the private moments with dogs that changed their life. Their stories were profound and amazing – the type that warm your heart and make you cry out loud. They catapulted me into other people’s trials, leaving me with a sense of appreciation for all I have. I decided these were stories that needed to be told, to document the divinity of dogs and to give us a library of inspiring life lessons.
When did your passion for dogs begin?
My passion for dogs started at birth with a Boxer named Clara, whom I called Bookie. I am the eldest of six children, and for the first two years of my life, I was an only child. But I wasn’t alone. Many of my baby pictures show the head of a chubby infant attached to the cheek of a tan-colored Boxer with pointed ears and a black snout. I can’t tell you much about my life with Bookie other than that we were inseparable, and when I was seven, she died. What I can tell you with certainty is that I’ve always missed her.
You are a trustee of the Dog’s Refuge Home in Australia, so tell us what this involves.
The Dogs’ Refuge Home is one of the largest no-kill dog shelters in Australia. I have been a volunteer with the organization for 15+ years, starting as a dog walker and then serving on the committee, taking on the role as President, and now Trustee. While my official role as Trustee is to oversee the organization’s financial viability, I spend about three days a week walking and grooming dogs, giving heaps of cuddles, and picking up lots of poo! Thanks to the many good people who have compassion in their hearts for the abandoned souls in West Australia, we are a strong organization.
You are also the Director of Pilots and Paws in the US so please expand on this for us.
Pilots N Paws is an Internet based national rescue/transport organization in the United States. It works to serve two needs: the need for pilots to log flight hours to fulfill license requirements, and the need for transport for animals in high kill shelters to no kill shelters. The website, pilotsnpaws.org was launched to provide a location where private pilots willing to provide free transport, and people and organizations who rescue, shelter or foster animals, could connect to save lives. Today the organization has 2466 pilot volunteers and 8281 volunteers.
Each year, the volunteers of Pilots N Paws save thousands of lives. Those lives come in the form of any animal that can be transported using a plane. Dogs, cats, pigs, reptiles and rabbits are just a few who have taken one of our flights. It’s a fabulous charity.
You are also the Vice President of an SPCA shelter in the United States?
Yes! The SPCA of Hancock County, in Maine provides temporary shelter for abandoned animals in the area where I grew up. My job, along with the other good people who volunteer with the organization, is to recruit volunteers while working to raise the money necessary to rescue, sneuter, medicate, and give love and comfort to the thousand animals that come into our care each year.
Which story touched you the most of them all?
One story took me weeks to write. Every time I sat down to work on it, I began to sob and I mean sob. It was so profound. It was the story of a deaf mother who had 12 year-old Autistic twin sons, and who had just lost her oldest son in a tragic accident. A Labrador retriever, rescued from death row by a charity and trained by a prison-inmate program comes into their lives and changes everything!
Tell us about your process of gathering all the stories together from the beginning.
I collect stories for my books at my website, JenniferSkiff.com. With The Divinity of Dogs, I set up a series of questions and posted them on the site. I then went on a media tour and asked people to tell me about the moment they learned something spiritually profound from an experience with a dog. The stories poured into my website. Each one was unique and inspiring. The difficulty came in choosing which stories would go into the book.
What is your experience of having a dog?
My dogs have gently guided me through life. As a child, when I was fearful and sad, my Golden Retriever, Sally, was my strength and savior. Later in life, when I was recovering from a tumor in my bone marrow, Philophal, a mix of Terrier and Poodle, and Nicky, a Basenji-Lab cross, would jump on me until I got out of bed each day. Nicky’s separation anxiety, and the destructive behavior that came with it, gave me a lesson in patience, while Mary the Spitz calmed my storms and taught me how to love. Clara the Boxer was my first friend, and Clemmie the Cockapoo my first rescue. ChickPea, my one-eyed Shih Tzu, was the child I never had, while CousCous the Maltese/Pomeranian licked me awake with love and questionable breath every morning. My dogs have been the reason I have woken up every single day of my life with a smile on my face.
What is next for you?
The most exciting news in my world is that I promised myself that when I finished my book tour, I could get another dog! A special soul will be coming into my life soon, from the Dogs’ Home. I’m looking forward to having two dogs constantly demanding that I enjoy life by taking them to the beach! On a professional note, I have accepted an untitled book deal with an Australian publisher and also a position as a magazine columnist (writing inspirational stories about pets). I have promised myself I will take time to enjoy my favorite Australian, my dogs, and the positive reviews for The Divinity of Dogs before deciding on the next book’s direction.
Tell us a little bit about your previous novel ‘God Stories’.
Author’s Note: God Stories is non-fiction and is not a novel. God Stories: Inspiring Encounters with the Divine, is a book of epiphanies, where people of all faiths describe the moment they received personal proof that God exists. It is published in seven languages.
The Divinity of Dogs is enjoying an incredible amount of early success. The reviews are all similar. Which one is your favorite?
My favorite review is from the woman who wrote and said: “I’m reading The Divinity of Dogs and am laughing and crying at the same time and because I’m 60, I’m also peeing my pants.” I also got a kick out of the review: This is my desert island book!” Life is good, as long as there’s a dog by my side.
Female First Lucy Walton
I had no resaon to live by Scott Thornsley
It was Christmas morning, 1995. My wife had left me in August, and two weeks later, I lost my job of nineteen years. I was alone, without anyone to turn to. Worst of all, no one needed me anymore—my workplace or the wife I loved.
I’d just gotten my PhD and was looking forward to enjoying the success that would come with it. Instead, the hunt for a new job was futile. Because of my new degree, I couldn’t get the most menial of jobs. Most people said I was overeducated. I felt like a total failure.
I thought long and hard and came to the conclusion that my life was not worth living. I decided to commit suicide.
The moment came. I’d decided on a method and was committed to carrying it out. At that very moment, my four-year-old Rottweiler, Emma, bounded into the study. Her leash was in her mouth, which was not unusual. What was unusual was what she did next. She grabbed my hand with her mouth and ferociously pulled me toward the front door, tugging and yanking me out of my chair. She had never done this before.
There was a hard-falling snow, which would make even the shortest of walks difficult. Her tugging continued. I decided to grant her one more walk.
Once we were outside, she wouldn’t let me go home. She continued, just ahead, leading me through neighborhoods and school athletic fields. Emma wandered without direction, refusing to let me turn around. A couple of hours passed, and during that time, my mind cleared, and I realized my life was not over. I had much to be thankful for, and someone really did need me—even if it was a female Rottweiler named Emma. There is no doubt in my mind that Emma saved my life that day.
In the darkest of moments, a dog can make your life worth living.
