Guest Post by Dawn Kairns – Thank you for inviting me to write a guest post about my book, MAGGIE The Dog Who Changed My Life on the Adopt-a-Pet.com blog. It is truly an honor. I’d like to share with you why I wrote MAGGIE the dog who changed my life, a few impressions from readers, and a short excerpt from my book. I donate a portion of my book royalties to Main Line Animal Rescue to support puppy mill rescue and awareness. Maggie was a very special being I was blessed to share my life with. The depth of our love for each other, of our human-canine bond, was deeper and beyond anything I imagined a bond with a dog could be.
Maggie’s way of being so present in the moment brought me more into the present moment. She reached out to people and brought them into our circle. Maggie’s genuine, loving way brought people into their hearts, and so my communication with others became more genuine and from the heart. Through her I learned to live in the present, to trust my intuition and messages in my dreams. She showed me that the most important things in life are love, connection, and following our hearts
My journey with Maggie helped me make important personal and professional decisions about who I wanted to be and how I wanted to live; to honor my wants and question. She taught me the importance of being over doing and to follow my intuition.
Maggie showed me that she read my thoughts somehow and understood me more than I thought possible in a dog. Call it telepathy. Call it a sixth sense. I wrote MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life in the hopes that you, the reader, will tune more into your own dogs and see them through the eyes of beings who understand you, their human, and read your thoughts and energy more than we realize; and in the hopes that you will look at animals as different beings, not lesser beings.
I also wrote Maggie the dog who changed my life to encourage you, the readers, to listen to your intuition, and to question veterinarians when your gut feelings disagree with a vet’s diagnosis. I also encourage you to evaluate the information available about pet food and vaccination frequency and ask yourselves as I did in Chapter Nine, “What’s Really Best for Our Pets?”
Finally, my hope is to help you know that the deep grief you feel when you lose your precious pet is normal; to help you feel supported and understood, and most important, to not feel isolated in your grief.
If you want to learn more about my book, visit please visit my website at www.dawnkairns.com. Maggie the dog who changed my life is also available in Colorado Bookstores, on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or order from your local Barnes and Noble.
What Are Reader’s Saying About MAGGIE The Dog Who Changed My Life?
“It’s simply a beautiful book…” — Karen Bingham, Murfreesboro, TN “
“… I was with you on every page.” — Ellen Mikula, Broomfield, CO
“Last year I picked up a copy of Marley & Me. I was so moved by this book … I recently searched the internet for another book similar to Marley & Me and came across your book … I couldn’t put it down … I loved your book … It’s just nice to have someone else out there that understands my connection with my dog and the loss that I feel.” — Angie Bitz, Parker, CO
“…Your book was really healing for me…” — Patty Bakken, Minocqua, WI”
“…What an inspiring story–I cried and laughed throughout the wonderful tale of love and ‘finding yourself.’ You are an inspiration. I can relate to … the connection with your animal teachers… the holistic approach to healthcare … the spiritual aspect … ” — Sue Mallery, Laguna Vista, Texas
“I enjoyed reading your book so much … I began reading it, and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s lovely.” — Glenda Denham, Boulder, CO
“It is one of the best written books I’ve ever read.” — Marcy Spiker, Minocqua, WI
To see more Reader’s Comments visit: www.dawnkairns.com/index.php?page_id=273 or
Amazon Reviews for MAGGIE the dog who changed my life
Excerpt from MAGGIE: The Dog Who Changed My Life
“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 being—not a lesser being.”
© By Dawn Kairns
http://www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com/
Author Bio
A family nurse practitioner turned writer, Dawn Kairns is a lifelong animal lover. Her passion for dogs led her to volunteer with the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, Front Range Labrador Rescue, and Freedom Service Dogs. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dawn volunteered with the Humane Society of the United States in Mississippi, assisting the displaced Katrina dogs. Her own dog and cat are rescues.