Authors Raise More Than $400 for Oregon Humane Society at Multimedia Book Reading Sept. 25
By Lisa Cohn
Touched by a dog’s love.
That was the theme that permeated a multimedia book reading, “Books+Bark+Beer,” in Portland Sept. 25 that raised $406 for the Oregon Humane Society.
Many of the authors shared stories, photos and videos about how a dog’s love altered the course of their lives. Those authors included me and my son, Michael.
Ryan Chin, the organizer of the event and author of “Without Rain There Can Be No Rainbows,” related how the death of his dog, Toughy, launched a journey to New Zealand where Chin taught elementary school. His beautifully written book (which brought me to tears many times), follows his experiences as he begins the process of healing from the deaths of his dog and his brother, who died of leukemia at age 20. Chin brings his journey to life with videos (which accompany the book) posted on his website, WithoutRain.com
Chin added videos, photos and illustrations to the authors’ presentations at the event, a feature that drove home the power of the emotional connection between the authors and their dogs.
Another author, Rick Woodford, author of “Feed Your Best Friend Better,” shared a surprising tale about how his dog changed his life. Woodford began cooking his dog homemade food after a vet gave his ailing best friend only a few months to live. The homemade food extended his dog’s life by four years, inspiring Woodford to launch a homemade dog food company that earned him the title “the dog food dude.”
His mission of helping others feed their dogs better consumed 80 hours a week of his time. But Woodford didn’t have the time to buy his own meat or cook his own meals! Eventually Woodford stopped making dog food and instead shared his knowledge and love of dogs in his book. Learn more about Woodford here: The Dog Food Dude
At the event, Michael, age 6, and I shared how we were moved by a dog’s love in ways that changed our lives.
To help us overcome grief over the sudden death of our Golden Retriever, Lucy, we created the “Bash and Lucy” series of books. Our aim was to keep her alive in our hearts. We’ve shared our story with school children from all over the world via Skype in the classroom and school visits. At the benefit event, our presentation began with Michael’s voice–a clip from our new audiobook–dedicating “Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence” to the memory of Lucy, “our wise, fetcher, friend and comedian. You can listen to his dedication here:
“Bash and Lucy” Audiobook Preview
Other authors included Jo Ann Houck, author of “Palmer’s Broken Eyes, about her dog going blind, Mary Mandeville, author of “Carrying Molly: Lessons From a Three-Legged Dog,” award-winning writer Samantha Ducloux Waltz, and Christy Caballero, who has won four Dog Writer’s Association of America “Maxwell” awards.
Like the stories shared at “Books+Bark+Beer,” tales of dogs changing lives abound in literature and real life. For example, we just read “Tuesday Tucks Me In,” a true story about how a service dog helps and comforts an injured soldier. We’ve written blogs about service dogs that alter the lives of autistic and diabetic kids. And, in one of our favorite dog books, “Because of Winn Dixie,” a lonely girl, Opal, takes in a stray dog, Winn Dixie; the dog brings her hope and new friends.
Not only do dogs help kids make friends. They improve kids’ health, comfort them, come to the rescue when young diabetics’ blood sugar drops, and prevent autistic kids from running into streets. And sometimes they even alter the course of a life with a heroic rescue:
As dog lovers, we’re proud to support the Oregon Humane Society, which finds homes for dogs from all over the country. We’re already looking forward to our next benefit for Oregon Humane, which we’ll announce soon. Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BashAndLucy