Amber Polo's Blog

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I'm moving from this blog to my NEW Wordpress Blog Because I have a New Book!The Pharaoh and the Librarian  Please Come Along on the Journey



What if Cleopatra faked her death? 

While her sister sailed for Wales with the most valuable ancient books from her Library of Alexandria? And they both landed in an imagined new world filled with crypto-creatures and historical humans? 

Trekking the desert of 1st century New Mexico, Cleo from the Yucatan and Alex from Nova Scotia, they’d need bravery and help from friends and lovers to evade inner demons and determined villains across an uncharted wilderness.

Alternate history- Fantasy-Romance - Adventure!


I'll be leaving up the 250+ posts on Wordshaping. There are great book reviews, interviews, and lots of memories of people and books. There just won't be more.

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“The Call of the Wild” the Movie and More

Jack London published “The Call of the Wild” in 1903 as short pulp fiction, first serialized in the Saturday Evening Post. A thrilling story of survival and wilderness adventure set during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, London’s writing is surprisingly modern for an almost 120-year-old work. His protagonist is the dog Buck not the human characters and the tone fits the turn of the century style of anthropomorphizing animals and accepting that they think and feel with human emotions.

London describes Buck as a St. Bernard-Scotch Shepherd mix with a long muzzle and wolfish head.  Desmond Morris’ book “Dogs; The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1,000 Dog Breeds” refers to a lot of Scotch collies. My guess Buck’s mother was one of the heavy-bodied drover’s dogs, bred to take sheep and cattle to market and fight off wolves and other predators in Scotland and England, a sturdy Lassie-sized herding dog. The latest movie version of “The Call of the Wild,” staring Harrison Ford in the role of John Thornton will be released February 21, 2020. Harrison seems to be a perfect match for Thornton, but the role of Buck has created immediate controversy.

The movie is a live action/animated hybrid. The director’s wife Jessica Steele-Sanders adopted the dog Buckley from a Emporia Kansas animal shelter.  A digital scan of Buckley was made into a full CGI model to replace the original plan for a Burmese Mountain Dog. Critics commented that no dogs were harmed in the making of the movie--because no dogs acted in the movie.

Note: There’s also another recent movie. One called “Cats” which also has critics complaining about computers. Digital fur on stars and computer generated ears and tails offended some. But “Cats” never proposed to be about real live cats. Like “The Call of the Wild,” “Cats” is a movie for animal lovers, real and virtual.


  For fun, watch the 1935 movie staring Clark Gable and Loretta Young. The film bares little resemblance to London’s book. With only a small part for a dog and a very different plot, movie-makers put out a 1930s romantic comedy and saved only London’s title and the so-so-real snow.

Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson - Book Review

  Dog Driven by Terry Lynn Johnson

  Fourteen-year-old McKenna accepts the challenge of a three-day dog sled race across the Canadian wilderness. Hiding her deteriorating vision from all, she takes herself and her beloved dogs into danger on the trail. Written as an adventure for middle schoolers the story is too interesting not to be read by anyone interested in sled dogs.

Terry Lynn Johnson is an experienced musher who bases her books on her own experiences. She owned a dog-sledding business with eighteen huskies and taught dog-sledding near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and served as a conservation officer and backcountry canoe ranger. Loving outdoor adventures, she brings that knowledge to her writing for young readers. Johnson, who now has one Border Collie, is also the author of “Ice Dogs” and “Sled Dog School.”

Old Town Albuquerque Christmas 2014

What Do 135 Christmas Trees Look Like?The weekend before Thanksgiving I went to Albuquerque for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards banquet. As an aside my book Heads in the Clouds did win the Romance category. But even without that thrill spending a weekend in Old Town Albuquerque at the elegant Hotel Albuquerque was a delight.

Shops, museums, art, lots of jewelry. And chilies – hanging from rafters and mixed into luscious New Mexico dishes.While visiting the historic old San Felipe de Neri church on the Old Plaza, I noticed a tall pole with skeleton-like protrusions in the Plaza Don Luis. Left over from the Day of the Dead celebration? I didn't think so.


When a bucket truck arrived and placed a pine tree on the top, I asked the clerk at the gift shop, located in the Sister Blandina Company that once housed the Sisters of Charity, what was happening. Then I saw a flatbed truck pull up with a lot more, really a lot more, trees. And workers began inserting trees into the skeleton from the top down.
As the day progressed, so did the tree, until one hundred and thirty-five (135) trees merged into one gigantic tree.

Workers continued to decorate the the tree with lights, white snowflakes, and red bows until the glorious tree was complete!

New and Gift-Worthy Books

“A Dog’s Promise”by W. Bruce Cameron (October 15, 2019)“A Dog’s Promise” is Cameron’s newest Dog’s Purpose novel. Like the original “A Dog’s Purpose” it stars Bailey whose lives began in “A Dog’s Purpose” and continued in “A Dog’s Journey “(both books and movies). Now old soul Bailey’s back and ready to experience more purpose-driven lives. Cameron’s heartfelt style merges tenderness, humor, and wisdom as Bailey is helped by Lacey, a new dog.  W. Bruce Cameron is the top-selling author of dog books globally! And, of course, there will be another movie.

“Racing in the Rain”by Garth Stein Any dog lover that missed seeing the recent movie debut of “Racing in the Rain” needs to reread the book before  the movie is available for streaming and on DVD. For a special treat, listen to the audiobook. Note: there are 2 audio versions: the original (the same as the book) and a shorter family version. Since the entire book is from Enzo’s point of view, listening to a dog think and complain about not having thumbs takes readers into the mind of a smart and loyal dog. 


“Heart of Barkness”(A Chet and Bernie mystery, 2019) by Spenser Quinn Chet, as philosophical as Enzo in his own way, and funnier, narrates another mystery though canine eyes. Chet and his (human) partner private investigator Bernie Little. Since both are music lovers, the partners take on a case in the country music world.







David Rosenfelt has two new Andy Carpenter mysteries: “Bark of Night” and “Dachshund through the Snow.” Rosenfelt is the author of the Andy Carpenter mysteries, with nine books in the series. Dog lovers and mystery lovers alike follow Andy’s work to help clients and help dogs through his Tara Foundation. The Rosenfelts’ real life Tara Foundation has placed over 4,000 dogs in loving homes and continues to be active in the rescue community. He is also the author of two non-fiction books: “Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure” and “Lessons from Tara; Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog.” 




“Katt vs. Dogg” by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein. 
A book written for middle grade kids but too much fun not to be shared with the entire family. Oscar is a happy go lucky dogg who (along with his dogg family) thinks katts are good for nothing but chasing up trees. Molly is an aspiring-actress katt who, like her dogg hating family, despises drooly disgusting doggs. A laugh-out-loud story of cooperation over prejudice. With brilliant cartoon illustrations.






“Fearless Felines: 30 True Tales of Courageous Cats” by Kimberlie Hamilton (Scholastic, November 5, 2019)  Delightful cat stories like the Scottish cat Pyro who flew with RAF pilots in WWII. Plus amazing cat facts that will make cat lovers purr and dog lovers laugh. “It a cat sneezes, rain is on the way.” “Put a cat whisker in your wallet to attract money.” Charming illustrations by 17 artists. For ages 8 and up (and up).







Previously published in the Oct.-Nov. issue of The Flagstaff-Sedona Dog magazine. Print and online.

Guide Dog Book Reviews

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust by Michael Hingson. Thomas Nelson, 2012.

On September 11, 2001, a guide dog led a blind man down 78 flights of stairs and safely out of the World Trade Center's North Tower.

Roselle, Mike Hingson’s guide dog, was raised in California at Guide Dogs for the Blind away from storms. Now living on the East Coast, thunder frightened her - but not much else.

Mike tells the story of that September day from the morning thunder, to their taxi ride to the train station, and trip to his office. Preparing a sales presentation, he felt the building sway. He shut down computers until it was clear he and Roselle must leave with his colleague David. Mike was prepared, had taken training, and knew how to exit the building in an emergency. From Room 7827 down 1,463 stairs.

Burn victims pass them. Mike jokes that if the lights go out a blind man and his dog with help them, His humor calms the fearful . Roselle breaks her training and kisses a firefighter’s hand. Perhaps his last touch. Sightless, Mike describes the chaos around him. And trusts Roselle to do her job and lead him to safety. Outside he describes the smoke, falling glass, and ash.
An inspirational story, showing the trust and courage of the man and the dog and that saved them both. Truly an heroic team.


Running with Roselle: How a Blind Boy and a Puppy Grew Up, Became Best Friends, and Together Survived One of America’s Darkest Days by Michael Hingson with Jeanette Hanscome. Roselle's Dream Foundation, 2013.

Written for children age 8 and up, Running with Roselle is the story of Mike Hingson and his guide dog Roselle and their 9/11 escape from the World Trade Center. The book does not talk down to kids and adult dog lovers might like it even more than Thunder Dog, for it contains more information on the training of a guide dog.

Told alternately, by man and dog, the story begins with a boy growing up with parents who worked hard to ignore their son's disability. He never let his disability hold him back and shares what blindness is like. As a boy he rode a bicycle and later drove a car (with a sighted friend’s assistance). He went to public schools, received his first guide dog at 14, attended college, and earned a graduate degree in Physics.

Roselle tells her story through the imagined eyes of a soon-to-be guide dog at GDB headquarters. From birth as a Guide Dogs for the Blind yellow Labrador Retriever puppy, through meeting her puppy raisers, her rigorous training, graduation and being matched with Mike. They become a team.
The issues of 9/11 and their escape is presented in a thoughtful manner and teaches appreciation of what service dogs can do.

Guide Dogs for the Blind retired the name “Roselle” as a guide dog name in 2007. Roselle lived until the age of 14.

Michael Hingson lives in Novato, California with his wife, Karen, his guide dog Africa, and Africa's mother Fantasia. When he isn't traveling the world with Africa speaking and teaching, he enjoys playing with his dogs and cooking.

In 2011 Hingson started Roselle's Dream Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to help society understand that blindness is not the characteristic that holds anyone back from achieving all they wish to be. It provides scholarships to assist blind students, especially elementary and high school, to secure needed assistive technology to help them further their education.

Sacred Scarlets – Scarlet Macaws: Big, Beautiful, Brilliant Birds

Sacred Scarlets – Scarlet Macaws:
Big, Beautiful, Brilliant Birdsby Amber Polo

 
After hundreds of years Scarlet Macaws can again be seen at the ancient pueblos of the Verde Valley. Their dazzling feathers catching the sun under the Arizona skies.

History

Remains of macaws have been documented in early archaeological excavations at both Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monuments. The birds were traded into the Verde Valley from hundreds of miles south in modern day Mexico. Substantial numbers of macaws were identified at Pueblo Bonito (Chaco Canyon) and Wupatki at least as early as 1,000 CE. The earliest date for Chaco (Pueblo Bonito) is approximately late 8th century to early 9th century. The date for Wupatki is approximately 1135-1195.


Kelley Taylor

At the age of five Kelley Taylor, founder of Sacred Scarlets, wrote a letter to Santa asking for a parrot. But she didn’t receive her first birds, three goldfinches, until her sixth birthday. Kelley says, her lifelong companionship with birds has "brought decades of joy, adventure, knowledge, and fun. I feel compelled to share this gift with the world through Sacred Scarlets and my beautiful Scarlet Macaw companions, Sedona  Rose and Bonita."

After a career in photography and working in Italy, Kelley adopted several large parrots and began to foster, rescue, rehab, and re-home others. Returning to Arizona she pursued her interest in the thick-billed parrots who once lived in the "Sky Islands” region of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico.  She's visited parrot sites in Mexico, volunteered with the Arizona-Soronran Desert Museum’s Raptor Free-Flight Program, researched the Scarlet Macaw in archaeology at the University of Arizona, and worked with parrot rescue organizations in Arizona. In 2010 Kelley founded Sacred Scarlets, now a 501(c)3.

Scarlet Macaws

Vivid red, yellow, blue, and green feathers make Scarlet Macaws the most brilliantly colored creatures on our planet with their unique red hues spanning ultraviolet to red. Scarlet Macaws are:
32 inches long, with more than half the length in their tailWeigh 2.2 lbs.Mate for lifeFly 35 mphHave dark red with metallic gold iridescence flight feathersPossess red feather pigments produced only in parrotsMay live 75 years in captivityEndangeredConservation and Education 
 
The birds of Sacred Scarlets serve as ambassadors for the protection of birds in the wild while acting as brilliant examples of macaws in the history of the American Southwest culture.

Macaws molt and feathers are replaced regularly. Kelley donates feathers to Hopi carvers for their kachinas.

Kelley facilitates rescue with fosters and sanctuaries and urges all potential parrot owners to learn about these intelligent birds before obtaining one from a reputable breeder or rescue.  Macaws mature slowly and require a deep commitment to the human-bird bond and long-term responsibility in attention, nutrition, and behavior training. Kelley is available to consult on parrot training and behavior problems.

See the Sacred Scarlets birds and hear about Scarlet Macaws and their history:
Tuzigoot National Monument (Clarkdale, AZ) -  Monthly demonstrations  Regular fees apply. 928-567-3322 x223Montezuma Castle National Monument ( Camp Verde, AZ)  Regular fees apply– 928-567-3322 x 0  

Sacred Scarlets, Scarlet Macaw ConservationKelley Taylor, Sacred Scarlets, Founder & Presidentsacredscarlets.org
Sacred Scarlets, P.O. Box 3543,Cottonwood, AZ 86326

The Wolves of Medicine Wheel Lodge

HealingWolf’s Medicine Wheel Lodge is a magical place. On ancient land once a sacred gathering place for Native Americans, later Morgan Earp's stagestop, a school, a home, and, for the last seventeen years, a sanctuary for wolves. 

HealingWolf
Healing Wolf believes wolves are our teachers. She has raised Gray Wolves, Arctic Wolves, Timber Wolves, and now Tundra Wolves. Iroquois on her mother's side, HealingWolf received her name from her father when at a young age he found her healing a wolf. Since then wolves and all wildlife seek her out. She believes herself privileged to have worked with wolves since rescuing her first wolf in Tennessee.

Honoring all tribes, traditions, and relations, HealingWolf is foremost a teacher.

She and her husband Jon Bickis established Medicine Wheel Lodge in Rimrock, Arizona as a gathering place for people to slow down, learn, share, and heal, interacting with these magnificent ambassadors of nature.

The Wolves of Medicine Wheel Lodge Dakota, after serious abuse at a fur farm, came to Medicine Wheel Lodge from a shelter where he would have been euthanized. Rescued at 1 1/2 years, he’s had serious medical issues but is now a huge healthy adult male who’s learned he is safe forever.Kira, an abused female now 6, has slowly overcome her fear of men and serious distress issues.Mahota and Jhertoma (Tundra wolves) were rescued as 4 month-old-pups after their mother was killed. With no history of human abuse, they are true ambassadors of wolf magic.

All four wolves came to HealingWolf through an informal network of wolf rescuers. Education for Animal Rescue
HealingWolf considers herself a voice for animals and dreams of a time when all animals wild and domestic are safe. A supporter of wolf reintroduction and all forms of animal rescue, she speaks strongly against the breeding of wolves and wolfdogs for pets and sale. Wolves and part-wolves are not pets. You can’t “own” any wild animal. She urges people who want an amazing companion to seek a needy one in their local shelter.

Caring for wolves and wolfdogs is difficult and expensive. Veterinary care must come to you and surgeries are difficult. Wolves and wolfdogs are not dogs and can easily escape ordinary pens. She has erected heavy 10-foot-high fenced runs with double gates and concrete bases 3 feet into the ground and provided dens. Keeping them healthy and safe is ongoing full time work.

HealingWolf urges all who love wolves to support rescue groups run by those who are doing the work of preserving wolves in the wild and caring for all animals in captivity who can never survive in the wild. 



Visits to Medicine Wheel Lodge
Visitors and retreat groups from all over the world and people of all beliefs open their hearts to animals. HealingWolf and her wolves teach respect and love for all wild and domestic animals through physical interactions. 


For more information about Medicine Wheel Lodge and Native American Sacred Hoop (the 501(c)3 non-profit). Donations are appreciated for rescue, food, and veterinary care, as well as educational work. www.MedicineWheelLodge.com 

To schedule a visit to Medicine Wheel Lodge in Rimrock, AZ call (928) 592-0588 or email healingwolf@hotmail.com. (All visits are scheduled to the best benefit of the wolves.)

 

Published in another form in the August-September 2017 issue of the Flagstaff-Sedona Dog.

Guide Dog Book Reviews

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust by Michael Hingson. Thomas Nelson, 2012.

On September 11, 2001, a guide dog led a blind man down 78 flights of stairs and safely out of the World Trade Center's North Tower.

Roselle, Mike Hingson’s guide dog, was raised in California at Guide Dogs for the Blind away from storms. Now living on the East Coast, thunder frightened her - but not much else.

Mike tells the story of that September day from the morning thunder, to their taxi ride to the train station, and trip to his office. Preparing a sales presentation, he felt the building sway. He shut down computers until it was clear he and Roselle must leave with his colleague David. Mike was prepared, had taken training, and knew how to exit the building in an emergency. From Room 7827 down 1,463 stairs.

Burn victims pass them. Mike jokes that if the lights go out a blind man and his dog with help them, His humor calms the fearful . Roselle breaks her training and kisses a firefighter’s hand. Perhaps his last touch. Sightless, Mike describes the chaos around him. And trusts Roselle to do her job and lead him to safety. Outside he describes the smoke, falling glass, and ash.
An inspirational story, showing the trust and courage of the man and the dog and that saved them both. Truly an heroic team.



Running with Roselle: How a Blind Boy and a Puppy Grew Up, Became Best Friends, and Together Survived One of America’s Darkest Days by Michael Hingson with Jeanette Hanscome. Roselle's Dream Foundation, 2013.

Written for children age 8 and up, Running with Roselle is the story of Mike Hingson and his guide dog Roselle and their 9/11 escape from the World Trade Center. The book does not talk down to kids and adult dog lovers might like it even more than Thunder Dog, for it contains more information on the training of a guide dog.

Told alternately, by man and dog, the story begins with a boy growing up with parents who worked hard to ignore their son's disability. He never let his disability hold him back and shares what blindness is like. As a boy he rode a bicycle and later drove a car (with a sighted friend’s assistance). He went to public schools, received his first guide dog at 14, attended college, and earned a graduate degree in Physics.

Roselle tells her story through the imagined eyes of a soon-to-be guide dog at GDB headquarters. From birth as a Guide Dogs for the Blind yellow Labrador Retriever puppy, through meeting her puppy raisers, her rigorous training, graduation and being matched with Mike. They become a team.
The issues of 9/11 and their escape is presented in a thoughtful manner and teaches appreciation of what service dogs can do.

Guide Dogs for the Blind retired the name “Roselle” as a guide dog name in 2007. Roselle lived until the age of 14.

Michael Hingson lives in Novato, California with his wife, Karen, his guide dog Africa, and Africa's mother Fantasia. When he isn't traveling the world with Africa speaking and teaching, he enjoys playing with his dogs, cooking.

In 2011 Hingson started Roselle's Dream Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to help society understand that blindness is not the characteristic that holds anyone back from achieving all they wish to be. It provides scholarships to assist blind students, especially elementary and high school, to secure needed assistive technology to help them further their education.

Guide Dogs for the Blind & Doris McFadden - 75 Years of Loving Dogs

 Doris McFadden & Guide Dogs for the Blind


In 1942 long time Camp Verde, Arizona resident Doris McFadden lived in Richmond, California. A 12-year-old dog crazy girl, she helped at a Dalmatian kennel near her home. The kennel owner gave her the opportunity to learn about the world of dogs. At a San Francisco dog show she heard about the new organization called Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB). At the time GDB accepted dogs to be trained and Doris even wanted to donate her own pet to the program.
The Dalmatian kennel’s owner brought two young pups into her home and Doris came daily to care for a 2-month-old Belgian Shepherd. From this solid beginning her love of dogs and dog training blossomed. Doris says, "It was a great experience. And taught me responsibility and stimulated my serious interest in dogs."

In June Doris traveled back to California to be honored by Guide Dogs for the Blind during their  75th (1942-2017) Anniversary celebration. She toured their facility and was participated in puppy socialization, met volunteers and toured the campus. She had lunch with staff, including a class supervisor trainer, where she asked questions and shared her history of dog training and Guide Dogs for the Blind.

In 1942 when wounded servicemen were returning from World War II, Guide Dogs for the Blind was the first West Coast school to train guide dogs. GDB has provided 14,000 guide dog teams (2,200 currently active) and 1,015,000 volunteer hours of service at no cost to students.

A key part of GDB’s program is volunteer puppy raisers and puppy raiser clubs. Pups aged 2-14 months live in a home and learn about the world. Puppy raisers receive a pup at approximately 8 weeks old and teach the puppy good manners and basic obedience in a home environment. CocoPups of Flagstaff is a GDB puppy raiser club. Their members expose pups to a wide variety of experiences including puppy socialization parties, public transportation, city traffic, even a Diamondbacks game.

Back in California after formal training in guide work learning over 35 commands, such as “Find the Door,” successful dogs begin a residential course with their blind partner. GDB estimates it costs about $40,000 to graduate a team. After that GDB provides lifetime support.

Over the years, Doris owned many dogs and trained even more for others in the Verde Valley. She taught dog obedience in Camp Verde and competed in trials most recently with her Australian Shepherd, and became active in Greyhounds of the Verde Valley after adopting a retired racing Greyhound.

Her interest in animals includes wolf advocacy. She serves on Board of Directors of the U.S. Wolf Refuge in Sparks, Nevada and helps with visitors at the Medicine Wheel Lodge wolf refuge in Rimrock.

Seventy-five years after training that pup for GDB, Doris is still dog crazy and still teaching owners to train their dogs. Although Doris’s pup never graduated, the Guide Dogs for the Blind’s CocoPups of Flagstaff puppy raising group recently honored Doris with a pin awarded to a puppy raiser when their dog returns to San Rafael for formal training.

Amber Polo

A form of this article was published in the June-July 2017 issue of the Flagstaff-Sedona Dog.