Monday, January 11, 2010

Coffee with a canine: Kyla Duffy & Bill

Today's featured duo at Coffee with a Canine: Kyla Duffy, founder of Happy Tails Books, & Bill the Boston Terrier.

Duffy, on who is in the photo at right:
My name is Kyla Duffy and among other things (flying trapeze artist, gymnast, editor, teacher, foster mom, etc), I'm the founder of Happy Tails Books, a publishing company on a mission to raise awareness of, and funding for, private dog rescue organizations. I started the company after realizing how many people weren't aware of the important work private dog rescue organizations do, and I'm hoping to reach out to people through our books and let them know that there are wonderful purebred and mixed-breed dogs (and puppies) available for adoption from rescue organizations all over the country other than local shelters (not that there is anything wrong with local shelters, it's just that some people are only interested in one breed and it's much easier to find that breed from a breed-specific rescue).

My Boston Terrier, Bill, was the inspiration for Happy Tails Books. He was my second and fifth foster... How? He came to me after being adopted and then returned to our rescue group. The family didn't want him because he was too scared to move after spending the first two years of his life in a 2'x2' chicken wire cage somewhere outdoors in MO. He just sat in his crate with a lifeless look in his eyes. Unfortunately, life didn't get much better for him after he came to "live" with me, because after only an hour he escaped my yard and got lost in the woods for three weeks. Luckily a jogger finally found him splayed out, trying to eat a carcass. He was down to 13 lbs (he's a 21 lb dog) and had a gash so deep on his leg that the muscle was exposed. After narrowly escaping euthanization, Bill came to live with me permanently. Healing his physical wounds were easy compared to the psychological ones, but a year and a half (and a lot of patience) later, Bill is the best companion I could ever imagine. His whole story is at...[read on]
Visit the Happy Tails Books website.

Read--Coffee with a canine: Kyla Duffy & Bill.

--Marshal Zeringue