Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog Virtual Book Tour - June 2009

On June 9 Barbara Techel will be a guest blogger on my blog, Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog. Barb is the author of the wonderful children's book, Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog, winner of several awards, including the DWAA Merial Human-Animal Bond Award. Please read the press release below to learn more about this inspiring story of how Barb and Frankie overcame adversity and about Barbara Techel's upcoming blog tour. I am very excited to have her share her story on my blog. Be sure to read Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog on June 9. Better yet, subscribe now and Barbara's post will come to you!

Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog, an Inspiring Story About Overcoming Adversity, Tours Cyberspace
by
Stephanie Marshall Ward
Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours – Tour Coordinator

In June 2009 - Barbara Techel will tour cyberspace to promote her multi-award winning picture book, Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog. This book tells the true story of her dachshund, Frankie, who was paralyzed by an injury. Frankie recovers, thrives, and keeps on rolling with the help of a custom-fitted wheelchair. Children love this book, and it resonates with dog lovers, families of kids with disabilities, and book lovers of all ages.

About Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog

Frankie is a dachshund, and this story is told from her point of view. She survives the normal challenges of puppyhood, including a struggle with house training, after Barbara and John adopt her. After a spinal injury, her human family nurtures her through a long period of rehabilitation and buys her a custom-fitted wheelchair. It takes a while to adapt to her new wheels, but soon she is joyfully rolling and playing.

Barbara wrote this book to offer hope and inspiration to people who face challenges. A lifelong animal lover, she realized Frankie's paralysis was an opportunity to spread a positive message.

Topics and Themes in Frankie the Walk and Roll Dog

• Teaching children and adults about compassion

• Helping readers learn to overcome adversity
  

• Providing encouragement to children with disabilities and their families
  

• Helping people see challenges as a way to learn and grow.
  

• Showing animals with disabilities in a positive light
  

• Helping dachshund owners (and many vets) understand this disease in doxies and know that a wheelchair is a viable option

About Barbara Techel

Barbara is a writer and animal lover. Her column, "For the Love of Animals" has appeared in the Depot Dispatch. Frankie the Walk 'n Roll dog, her first children's book, was awarded the 2008 National Best Book Award (children’s picture book soft cover) by USA Book News, the Merial Human-Animal Bond Award by Dog Writer’s Association of America, and the Editor’s Choice Award by Allbooks Review. It was also a finalist in the 2008 Indie Excellence Awards. Frankie herself was inducted into the 2009 Wisconsin Pet Hall of Fame.


To see the tour schedule visit: http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/05/frankie-walk-n-roll-dog-virtual-book.html

For more information see Barbara's site: http://www.joyfulpaws.com/

And her blog: http://www.joyfulpaws.com/


Posted By

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
www.dawnkairns.com
www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

Morris Animal Foundation Works to Beat Canine Cancer

Maggie, my exuberant black lab, (in MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life) had her joyous life end much sooner than I ever dreamed she would. She was not quite 11, and was still full of energy and life when thyroid cancer cut our precious time together and her life way too short. According to the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in dogs over the age of 2. One in four dogs will die of cancer. How sad! Today I decided to feature MAF on my blog because they have "launched an unprecedented $30 million effort to cure canine cancer within a dog's lifetime – the next 10 to 20 years." I'd like to invite readers to please support them in this incredible effort.

From Morris Animal Foundation Website
(Canine Cancer Campaign Fact Sheet)

" ... Morris Animal Foundation has World–renowned veterinary scientists and cancer specialists agree that this MAF–led effort will not only save countless dogs from suffering and premature death, but should also help produce breakthroughs in the prevention, treatment, and cures of human cancers – in particular childhood cancers."
http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/special-campaigns/ccc/

"Morris Animal Foundation launched the Canine Cancer Campaign with the goal of preventing and curing canine cancer, while also finding treatments for dogs suffering from the disease now. At the heart of the campaign is a commitment to the highest research standards, so we can launch a focused and strategic effort to end the great suffering that cancer creates for dogs and the families who love them.

MAF Campaign Goals:

•Provide new treatments for dogs currently suffering from cancer
•Establish a high-quality tumor sample bank that can be used by cancer researchers
•Develop prevention strategies so this disease might one day be eliminated or, at the very least, drastically reduced in incidence and severity
•Train new researchers who will work to find preventions, treatments and the ultimate cures

Highlights:

New Treatments: Numerous veterinary institutions are collaborating and conducting clinical trials with the purpose of developing improved cancer therapies for dogs. The first clinical trial has entered phase two and is looking at a promising drug to fight bone cancer (osteosarcoma). This clinical trial is coordinated by the National Cancer Institute’s Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium. We are poised to fund other multidisciplinary clinical trials if scientists identify treatments that look promising for helping dogs.

Tumor Sample Bank: Tumor tissue samples that originate from animals with thorough histories involving the age, breed, response to therapy and length of remission will help scientists determine why one dog with a specific cancer responds to therapy and another does not. The Pfizer-CCOGC Biospecimen Repository was established in 2007 with initial funding from MAF, Pfizer Animal Health and the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. This project is overseen by the Canine Comparative Oncology and Genomics Consortium. The three-year goal is to populate the bank with at least 3,000 samples of the most common canine cancers.

Prevention: A panel of canine cancer experts helped us prioritize research into prevention strategies using genomic and epidemiologic approaches. Only through such critical long-term studies can scientists define all the genetic, nutritional and environmental risk factors for canine cancer. The first prevention study, at Colorado State University, is under way and will analyze cancer susceptibility in golden retrievers, of which an estimated 60 percent die of cancer. MAF recently received a financial pledge for funding a large-scale, longitudinal prevention study with multiple breeds and is working on the project plan. The Golden Retriever Foundation has also graciously pledged to fund innovative strategies to prevent cancer in that breed.

Training: Training new cancer researchers is critical to curing cancer. The Animal Cancer Center Cancer Biology Program, established at Colorado State University through MAF funding, is now in its fourth year of training students who plan to become scientists. With the support of MAF funding, the University of Minnesota will soon launch a similar program."

Please donate to the Morris Animal Foundation to help cure canine cancer: https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/donate/cure-canine-cancer/

To learn more visit www.CureCanineCancer.org.

Posted by:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
website: www.dawnkairns.com
blog: www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist: MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

I know my blog usually goes to the dogs, but today's post is for all of you self-published authors out there. I encourage you to submit your books to the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. I am so honored and excited to share that my book, MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life, is a finalist in this year's 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

Now is the time to think about entering your book for the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The Finalists and Winners of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards will be given awards including $1,000 in cash for both the best Fiction and Non-Fiction Books, $500 in cash awarded to the second best Fiction and Non-Fiction Books, and $250 in cash for the third best Fiction and Non-Fiction Books. The Best Cover Design Book entry is also awarded $250. A Gold Medal is awarded to the winner of each of the 60 categories, and Finalist Certificates will be awarded to up to 10 finalists in each of the 60 categories.

A wonderful advantage of being a winner or finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards is placement in their catalog which is distributed to book buyers and media, which gives great exposure to winners and finalists in each category. The list of 2009 winners and finalists will be available at www.IndieBookAwards.com in early June. Please also visit www.IndieBookAwards.com for full details and advantages of entering your book for 2010.

I think the biggest bonus is that the top 60 books will be reviewed by a New York literary agent for possible representation in "areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights."

Submit your books for 2010 by March 10, 2010 and good luck!

Posted by:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
Website: www.dawnkairns.com
Blog: www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

She Couldn't Imagine Life Without Her Dog

We've all heard or read stories about spouses or brothers and sisters who die just days apart because their bond is so close. I remember the incredible, late Buckminster Fuller dying as soon as he was told his wife had passed.

I speak often of the close human-canine bond, both in my blog and in my book. Here is part of an article that demonstrates the deep bond between Natt Nevins and her beloved 15 year old dachshund, Nikkie.

Written by Amy Sacks
NY DAILY NEWS, Saturday, May 9th

Dog lover Natt Nevins dies a day before beloved dachsund passes away

After her 15-year-old dachshund was diagnosed with cancer last month, Natt Nevins told friends she couldn't imagine life without her beloved dog, Nikkie.

"He was her baby. You couldn't think of Natt without Nikkie," said Nevins' longtime friend Betty Brown, whose dachshund, Chester, spent time with the colorful duo on long drives to upstate Woodstock.

Brown was among the dozens of friends - including an army of dachshunds, Shih Tzu's, Chihuahuas and other small dogs - that gathered at Nevins' West Village apartment Thursday night to memorialize the well-loved duo.

Nevins, 74, a community activist, dog lover and fixture in the Greenwich Village dog community, died this week, just a few days after suffering a massive stroke. Her darling Nikkie - described by many as a Casanova with "Betty Davis eyes" - survived Nevins by only one day.

The longtime Manhattan resident rescued the long-haired dachshund when he was just a 1-year-old pup, surrendered by a family with kids that burned him and tied cans to his legs...

To read full article by Amy Sacks in the Daily News visit:

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/05/09/2009-05-09_dog_run_goes_quiet.html

Thank you, Natt Nevins, for rescuing and giving a forever home to this formerly abused dog, and for giving him your love and safety for 15 years. He obviously didn't want to live without you, either. And thank you for your years of commitment to the dog community. They needed your activism, and may we follow in your footsteps to speak out and care for dogs/animals.

Posted by:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

Website: www.dawnkairns.com
Blog: www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com