Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog: MAGGIE The Dog Who Changed My Life, Review in NOVA Dog Magazine

Thursday, January 21, 2010

MAGGIE The Dog Who Changed My Life, Review in NOVA Dog Magazine

Author and writer Ingrid King wrote the following review of my book in the current issue of NOVA Dog Magazine. I want to share it with you.

IN REVIEW: Literature, Arts, and New Media
by Ingrid King

MAGGIE The Dog Who Changed My Life
By Dawn Kairns

“Once in every dog lover’s life, if you’re lucky, that special once-in-a-lifetime dog comes along. You know this relationship is golden, a gift from the spirit world. You have found a soul mate.”

So begins Maggie: The Dog Who Changed My Life. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to share such a special relationship with an animal will find ourselves going down memory lane
as we savor this book. Maggie enriched the author’s life in ways she never could have imagined when she took the little black Lab puppy home with her. Maggie’s joyful, exuberant spirit touches all who come into contact with her.

After several happy years together, Dawn Kairns discovers a small lump on Maggie’s chest. It turns out to be a mast cell tumor, a form of cancer. The tumor is removed. After getting over the
initial shock of this diagnosis, Kairns begins exploring the world of holistic pet care. The chapter titled “What’s Really Best for Our Pets” provides excellent information on how diet and environment can and do influence our pets’ health. Kairns makes changes in Maggie’s diet and lifestyle based on her research, and, for several years, Maggie thrives. Then Kairns discovers another mass on Maggie’s throat. This discovery is followed by a nightmare round of veterinary visits and misdiagnoses, until Maggie’s tumor is fi nally identified to be thyroid cancer. The author shares with great detail and emotional openness how she dealt with this devastating pronouncement and the subsequent treatment.

Maggie loses her battle with the disease, and Kairns is left to confront not only her profound grief, but also the realization that she intuitively knew long before Maggie was diagnosed that
something was wrong. She realizes that she did not trust her intuition while Maggie was still alive, which compounds her grief. Reading the author’s account of how she coped with her loss will no doubt serve as an inspiration and provide counsel and wisdom for others who are struggling with the loss of a beloved pet.

Ultimately, this book shows us how deep the connection between humans and animals runs, and how our animal friends are so much more than just pets. They are spiritual beings who are on
this planet to teach us about joy.

To learn more about MAGGIE the dog who changed my life, please visit my website at www.dawnkairns.com.

Thank you, Ingrid, for your lovely review. Ingrid King is the author of Buckley’s Story: Lessons From a Feline Master Teacher. To learn more about Ingrid or her book visit www.ingridking.com. To subscribe to NOVA Dog or request a copy of this issue go to http://www.novadogmagazine.com/subscribe.html

Posted By:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE the dog who changed my life A Story of Love