Buy a Good Book, Save a Dog!

Sorry to turn seriouson you, but I want to talk briefly on an issue near and dear to my heart—animal abuse. Growing up on a farm, Iwitnessed the results of such abuse by passersby intentionally andunintentionally harming our animals. These experiences are why I support organizations that help abused and homeless animals, particularlydogs. Maybe when you've read some of my experiences, you'll feel the same way Ido.
My family lived on afarm right up against the Salt Lake Canal road. Youngkids found it entertaining to throw rocks or shoot their BB guns at the animals.They didn't wait around to see the harm done by these acts. My dad spent manyhours trying to heal the wounds. Unfortunately, sometimes the BBs couldn't berecovered and serious infections ensued, occasionally even death.
Our farm wassurrounded by subdivisions on the other three sides and neighbors saw thefields as a dumping ground for their garbage and rocks. What they didn't seewas that their trash broke the equipment we used to harvest the alfalfa andgrain, and it caused us to harvest poor quality feed or lose crops. Thisaffected the animals greatly. Also, the cows and horses grazing the pasturesoften times ended up eating nails, metal or plastics thrown over the fencesthat ended up injuring or killing them.
I remember helping mydad inject magnets into the cows with a bolus to collect as much iron and steelas possible. This was to prevent punctures in their stomachs. Metal causesHardware Disease or peritonitis. The magnets would hold the metal in place andcellulous would wrap around it much like a pearl in an oyster. Still, it would'vebeen better if people had thrown their trash in the garbage instead of thefields. The magnets weren't always successful.
Most crushing to myheart were the acts carried out on our dogs. They were shot, poisoned, and evendeliberately ran over by people speeding along the canal road.
I'm happy that most stateshave passed the law that animal abuse isa federal offense. If you live in a state that hasn't made animal abuse afederal crime, please contact yoursenators and representatives today and let them know how you feel.
Hazardous Hideaway , my next book whichwill be released on March 7th, has a scene pertaining to such animalabuse. Please help launch the book byordering on March 7th. A portion of the proceeds will be donatedto: NoMore Homeless Pets in Utah , a program of Best Friends Animal Society, www.utahpets.org.
Here's part of thatscene: Tom:HeroDallasHeroineGracie:Collie/Dingo mixIna:Gracie's ownerSetting:  Dairy community in central Utah
Tom swooped Gracieinto his arms and ran toward the house. Dallas finally found her legs and racedto open the door for him. The dog flopped limply in his arms. Dallas pushedeverything recklessly off the kitchen table, and he gently laid Gracie down.Ina gasped and ran for bandages from the medicine cabinet.He washed Gracie'swounds with warm water, checking the seriousness of each cut. Swiftly, theyworked together. He doctored and sewed each wound, trying to believe theremight be hope for the suffering dog. But, his gut told him different.Patches of hide hadbeen ripped off her from rolling down the hard asphalt. Her left, front leg hadbeen broken in several places and the metal bumper had ripped her shoulderclean open to the bone. Pretty fair guess she had internal injuries too. Probablywasting supplies, but he didn't want to disappoint Ina and Dallas. They loved Gracie.He swallowed hard. He did too.Dallas stroked thedog's blood-matted face, as Tom gently wrapped her leg. Gracie slowly liftedher head, looked at him and let out a soft whine. He swallowed hard as anotherlump lodged in his throat. Her head drooped back down on the table, and thelast light left the old girl's soft brown eyes. His hands trembled slightly ashe stopped working, and his eyes watered some."Oh, Tom, her unbornpuppies," Dallas whispered, tears welling in her eyes.Silently, they stoodlike some still-framed snapshot.

Join in the launch.Order your copy on March 7th.A portion of the proceeds will benefit homeless pets.Thank you.

SweetRomance, Comedy, Suspense…and Dogs!CindyA. Christiansen – Sweet Romance AuthorFlyinto a good book at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com
  123RF Stock PhotoCindy A. Christiansen
Sweet (clean) Romance Author