Where do I begin?
To tell the story of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The simple truth about the love he brings to me
Where do I start?
Henry and his sister Reese are both ‘Puppy Mill Rescues.’ For anyone not familiar with Puppy Mills, the are large breeding facilities for the manufacturing of puppies to sell for profit. Most Mills do not provide adequate care for their dogs: hence the fight to have these inhumane farms shutdown.
Henry was surrendered by a Miller at an early age due to a medical condition. The Miller did not want to have to pay medical expenses for Henry’s treatment. Shortly after we adopted Henry a female puppy was also surrendered. Sadly, it was too late for her eye infection to be treated, and her eye was removed – situations like this are not uncommon with Puppy Mill dogs.
At the time of ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ Henry’s adoption, Miss Reese was spending her days at a Mill in a suspended wire cage with a ‘drop-pan’ below to catch her business. She was being used for the sole purpose of breeding: her puppies taken from her most likely at too young an age, and sold. When Reese stopped producing (puppies and therefore money), she too was surrendered. Unlike Henry, Reese was a shell of a dog – we knew she was in there somewhere: it took us more than two years to find the real Reese. She has come such a long way since we adopted her, however; she’s still very nervous around new people and dogs other than Henry. Reese is what is referred to as a ‘Yellow Ribbon Dog’ as she needs extra space.
Wherever we would go with Henry and Reese on our walks, kids would run over to meet the dogs. Some would ask: most would not! Kids are very energetic, and I found myself explaining over, and again how Henry and Reese would prefer to be greeted in a calm manner. I decided I needed to write this book. I truly hope it catches on and that children will share this lesson with their friends and so on, and so forth.
When my husband and I adopted Henry, I had no idea how much Henry would come to mean to me and how he would change my life – and me; for the better. He inspires me and brightens my every day. Now Henry is a ‘storybook’ character. Clever, charming, oh-so funny and very friendly; Henry is the perfect guide for children throughout the story.
Finding the right words was not an easy task. Creating the images was even more challenging.
In the next few posts, I would like to share with you some insights into the creation of this story and it’s illustrations.
Bookshelf
This illustration was a way for me to include our beloved Charlie, Maggie and Oliver: family felines that are no longer with us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Where_Do_I_Begin%3F)_Love_Story
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