Kim Kavin's Blog, page 6

Pretty Much Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Charter Yachts

The September issue of Yachting magazine is on newsstands now. It’s the annual “winter charter” issue, and as the charter editor, I was responsible for the 21-page special editorial section in the features well along with bonus coverage online. The print edition includes features about chartering in Myanmar, a recent trend in superyachts being refit for charter, interviews with yacht owners wanting to change the way charter business is done, and a roundup of everything from family-style sailing catamarans to luxury megayachts that are available for bookings this winter.

Our whole team at Yachting is very proud of our work in this issue, which featured about 40 boats in print along with another 25 online that are available for charter this winter everywhere from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia. Special thanks to Yachting’s art director, Eric Powell, who did a bang-up job not only on the charter section, but also on a cover that captures the feeling of arriving at a yacht charter by helicopter or seaplane. Beautiful!

I can’t remember ever producing a single month’s coverage highlighting so many yachts since I began covering charter for America’s top boating magazines back in 2000. This was a major undertaking, and I hope readers enjoy it as much as we all reveled in the challenge of putting it together.

 

Coming in 2015: “Good Stock—Inside the $11 Billion Global Industry of Buying and Selling Dogs”

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve inked a deal with Lyons Press to publish my tenth book, whose working title is Good Stock—Inside the $11 Billion Global Industry of Buying and Selling Dogs.

This book is an outgrowth of my award-winning 2012 title Little Boy Blue, which focused on trends in nonprofit dog rescue across America. While working on that book, I realized that the supply and demand networks for dogs have truly become globalized, and I wanted to tell the broader story about the industry that each of us buys into with every dog we bring home—from breeders and rescuers alike.

Good Stock will take readers to places many dog lovers never visit, or even know exist. I’ve spent time this past year doing research inside America’s largest legal dog auction, at several large commercial breeding farms, inside the Hunte puppy distribution company, at the home of a $3,500-per-puppy show dog breeder, inside the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and more.

The book explains the “puppy mafia” currently basing in Eastern Europe and moving dogs illegally across Western Europe as well as into the United Kingdom, introduces readers to a top Italian breeder selling dogs into Poland, Russia, Western Europe and America, and looks at the health scandal that rocked the Crufts dog show in Britain, including a new interview with the producer of the documentary “Pedigree Dogs Exposed.”

Good Stock will also bring readers inside a large American shelter that went from high-kill to No Kill, introduce readers to the concept of nonprofit rescue transports and take readers inside the political and legal battles being waged around the world in an effort to ensure that all dogs are treated with respect. It will feature shelters from Costa Rica to Australia that have come up with groundbreaking ways to get mutts noticed and adopted, and will take readers inside a shelter in Berlin, Germany, that is believed to be Europe’s largest rescue facility.

Good Stock also includes interviews with worldwide leaders in animal law, political science and marketing, all bringing their expertise to bear on why we dog lovers think what we think about dogs of all kinds—and how those attitudes may now be shifting for the first time in generations. The book includes a talk with the guardian/special master of dogs in the Michael Vick dogfighting case about the significance of her appointment and what it may mean for animal welfare in the future. It includes a discussion with political scientists whose research indicates that there may be a conservative/liberal bias at play when it comes to buying purebreds or mutts. It includes an interview with one of the leading researchers in the field of canine cognitive science talking about what breeds actually mean—and what about them is pure stereotype in our minds.

The point of Good Stock is to help all of us dog lovers understand the global system of marketing and sales that we are buying into with every dog we bring home. It is a book about how to be a conscious consumer of dogs—how to buy dogs from people who treat dogs well, purebreds and mutts alike.

We expect the publication date to be about a year from now, in autumn 2015. Please stay tuned to this website or to the Little Boy Blue website and Facebook feed for announcements about Good Stock’s own social media, website and advance-ordering links going live online.

Filed under: Uncategorized

New Review of “Little Boy Blue” from a Longtime Rescuer

Not all reviewers love “Little Boy Blue,” and this one from Team Unruly had her doubts at first, but we won her over by the end. She concludes by stating: “This book might not convince you that transport-based rescues are a good thing. But it will surely do a good job of laying out why they exist, what their goals are, and why a whole lot of people support them. It’s also honest about some of the pitfalls and drawbacks of the system. And for that reason, I think it is a really valuable addition to the literature on shelter dogs and rescues in the United States.”

Filed under: Uncategorized

“Little Boy Blue” Earns 100th Customer Review

Some writers obsess about their books’ customer reviews on Amazon.com. I’m not willing to put myself in that category, but I will admit to being excited about Little Boy Blue receiving its 100th customer review recently on the site. There’s just something about the number 100 that makes the whole process feel meaningful in terms of sample size. And it was yet another five-star recommendation, which also made me smile.

As of today, the book has 103 customer reviews on Amazon. A solid 94 percent of them are either four or five stars. Boy is that nice to see!

My heartfelt thanks to every reader who has taken the time to write a review—and especially to the readers who say the book inspired them to adopt a homeless dog. Those are the best reviews of all.

If you’d like to keep up with Blue and his happy life (he’s now 4 1/2 years old), please follow Little Boy Blue on Facebook. Most recently, he has been taking long trail walks with his adopted mutt sister, Ginger, and the two of them have been enjoying backyard playtime with a 14-week-old foster puppy. He has a five-star life, for sure.

A Response to The New York Times Op-Ed about Dog Rescue

Last weekend, The New York Times published an op-ed about homeless dogs in the South being rescued and transported to adoptive homes in the North. It was terrific to see this topic getting ink in one of the nation’s leading newspapers, and the author did a great job of relating a lot of the same material that was covered in Little Boy Blue.

There is, however, one thing I wish the writer (and the Times editors) had done differently. In fact, I wish that all journalists covering this topic would do this one thing differently.

I explain my thoughts in this new op-ed just published by The Bark.

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

Little Boy Blue to Appear in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

On Saturday, May 17, Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin and Blue himself will be signing books to benefit Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, during the Proud Pet Day event.

Pet Pantry is a nonprofit group that offers food assistance to dog owners who can’t afford to feed their pooches, in the hopes that providing such assistance will allow the dogs to stay with their families.

Proud Pet Day will be held at That Fish Place, That Pet Place at 237 Centerville Road in Lancaster. The event runs from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m., and Kim and Blue will be signing books from about 11 a.m. until about 1 p.m

“Blue and I are always thrilled to support nonprofit groups working to reduce the number of dogs in local shelters,” Kim says. “We’re excited to be heading out to meet the folks from Pet Pantry of Lancaster County to help their cause.”

Please come out and meet Blue later this month in support of this great cause.

Filed under: Appearances

We Love this New Reader Review!

The newest reader review for Little Boy Blue on Amazon.com (published yesterday) includes the comment, “I will always rescue from now on due to this book.”

That just makes our day. Thank you so much for the great feedback!

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

“Little Boy Blue” to Appear at Mutts + Models Show

One of the groups that helped to save Blue’s life is Pennsylvania-based Lulu’s Rescue. Blue will be giving back to those who helped him by appearing at the rescue’s Mutts + Models Fashion Show on Sunday, March 30.

“Blue and I will be there signing books to help raise money for the rescue, which will be putting on a fashion show of adoptable dogs strutting their stuff on a runway,” says Little Boy Blue author Kim Kavin. “It promises to be a fun-filled day for all, with a silent auction, a dessert buffet and Kiss-a-Bull booth to show how sweet bully breeds really can be.”

The Mutts + Models Fashion Show will be from 1-4 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church in Buckingham, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit the events page on the Lulu’s Rescue website.

We hope to see you there!

Filed under: Appearances

New Reader Reviews of “Little Boy Blue”

While we took our holiday break during December, four more readers added reviews to the Little Boy Blue page on Amazon.com, bringing our total to 88 (with 93 percent of them now being four- or five-star reviews).

Thank you so much for the continued support for Little Boy Blue. We appreciate the great feedback and everyone working together to share the message of helping wonderful dogs like Blue!

Filed under: Little Boy Blue: The Book

Happy Holidays from Little Boy Blue!

Our signing schedule is done for 2013, and we’ll be taking a break during December to spend time with family and friends. Thank you for your support of the book this past year. We’ll see you in 2014!

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