Book synopsis

This Young Adult book is based on a real dog named India, a beautiful but shy German Shepherd mix that lived in an animal shelter for over nine years. Because she did not show well, and later was a senior dog, no one ever noticed her.

I noticed her and walked her for nine years. Because I was not able to adopt her, I wanted to write a story about an abandoned dog that went to a shelter to spend her life living in a cage. I wanted to make people aware of these senior and unnoticed amazing animals, dogs who live in cages twenty-three hours a day. I also walked many other dogs over the years, but India was special and made a difference.

She helped make a huge change in how dogs were treated and how bad living in a cage was.

India was instrumental in getting her shelter shut down and a new state-of-the-arts city animal shelter built. Runs were built for the dogs, and there were no cages. This new shelter devotes much time to fostering and transporting dogs to places where they will get adopted, usually within 24 hours. Two friends and I worked for several years with the city and police to get this new shelter built, and we also helped on some of the airplane transports.

This fiction story tells of a dog that is abandoned and goes to an animal shelter where she is named India. She is telling her story. The characters in the book—Eddie, Piper, Connery, Pam, and Moonstar—were real dogs also at the shelter, so I made them India’s friends. These dogs lived a long time wishing for someone to take them home. One day, India’s wish comes true when she and her friends are picked to go on an airplane transport flight to another city to all find loving homes. This is India’s journey from being an abandoned dog to one that finds a happy home.

These dogs, along with dogs like Farley, used in medical experiments, Mama Dog who lived in a puppy mill, pit bulls like Rocky that are used to fight, neglected outside chained dogs like Butch, and Binky and Rodney (blind) whose owner died and no one wanted them, all make wonderful and loving pets.

I wanted to let the readers know about rescue organizations, car, truck, and airplane transports that take dogs (and cats) to new homes where they are immediately adopted. There are organizations that help blind dogs and disabled dogs, people who devote their time and money to help save animals.

These dogs and cats need a voice. You can help in many ways by volunteering to work a day each week walking shelter dogs, helping at a rescue, donating money, fostering a dog, spaying and neutering pets, and adopting from an animal shelter. These dogs and cats make wonderful and loving pets.

This book won 3rd place award in the Royal Dragonfly International Book contest and also was awarded as one of the top ten Young Adults books for the year by the Critters Choice of editors.

I have not taken any money from the sale of this book and donate whatever I can.