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

Website: www.dawnkairns.com

Blog: Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

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2009 Indie Book Awards Finalist
DWAA 2008 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award Finalist

Gone But Not Forgotten: Book Excerpt from MAGGIE the dog who changed my life

Gone But Not Forgotten ...

Some of you may not know that "Maggie the Dog" in my blog name was my precious black labrador, my canine soul mate who inspired me to write my book in her honor, MAGGIE the dog who changed my life. It was Maggie who taught me who dogs are, about animal telepathy, and how to trust my own intuition/inner guidance system. My journey with Maggie led me into the appalling discovery of what is contained in commercial pet food and how that may be contributing to disease in our pets; it also raised many questions about how often to vaccinate our pets. It was Maggie who inspired me to share this with the world by writing about these often ignored, hushed subjects; and to also reach out to those of you who are deeply grieving the loss of your own beloved pets, to let you know that you are not alone; and to offer hope in your darkest hour that you will heal in time ...

EXCERPT

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. Animal and human spirits are inextricably intertwined, and you know there will never be another dog that comes close to the presence of this one and the bond that you share. For me, Maggie is that dog.

You know it when it happens. You think a thought and your dog responds. She knows what you’re asking of her, even though you never trained her to do it. You recognize that your communication is beyond words, beyond training. How do you explain it? You peer into her eyes and know you are looking into the depths of a loving, advanced soul. You may wonder, as I did, who are you in there?

When Maggie and I are out hiking, running errands, or just hanging out being “girlfriends,” I meet several people who have loved and lost such powerful relationships with their canine companions. They recognize that magic between Maggie and me, for once you experience it with your dog, you can’t miss it when it appears before you. I see the longing in their eyes, the painful missing, and the ache of irreplaceable loss.

“You just made my day,” one man wistfully tells Maggie when she greets him at the coffee shop.

Sometimes I see this man keep his distance, and he just nods at me—as though it’s too unbearable for him to touch the pain of his loss at this moment. I imagine his own precious memories with his dog dancing before his eyes.

“Enjoy every moment you have with her,” the gentleman at the coffee shop tells me.

I do enjoy her every moment. I know the day will come when I will walk in his shoes with that mournful longing, when I’ll be forced to learn to live with her absence. But to know it intellectually and to live it, I would later find, have nothing in common. That day, as far as I am concerned, is so far in the distant future it doesn’t even exist in my awareness.

As a child I was taught that animals were inferior to humans. We were superior to all life on Earth. This teaching was inherent in both culture and religion. Maggie helps me challenge that belief. She shows me over her lifetime that she is an intelligent, emotional being with a huge presence. I learn to respect her as a being who I share this planet with--a different--not a lesser being.

Posted By:

Dawn Kairns

Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

www.dawnkairns.com
www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/themaggiebook