The Dogs of Proud Spirit (Equine Rescue)

The Dogs of Proud Spirit

By Melanie Sue Bowles

Pineapple Press, Inc.

Hard Cover, 2010, $18.95

ISBN: 978-1-56164-478-0

Available at Amazon or www.horsesofproudspirit.org

Sale proceeds help care for the rescued horses at Proud Spirit.

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton

And so, this was our life: challenged, but always enriched by the animals who somehow found their way to the gates of our sanctuary and into our hearts. Encompassed by our love, they loved us back. ~ Melanie Sue Bowles

There is no stronger seasonal message for animal-lovers than that found in The Dogs of Proud Spirit.

Proud Spirit sanctuary began with one horse in need on five acres in rural Florida and evolved into a 320-acre facility in Arkansas, where nearly 200 horses have come to live out their lives in peace. Melanie and Jim Bowles are the founders of Proud Spirit and this book offers incredible stories about the dogs that have also found their forever home at the sanctuary.

From Molly, the skinny hound running loose in a parking lot, to Gunner, the Corgi mix languishing in a shelter, to Dusty, the Rottweiler cross who took them past their “two dogs is enough” rule, Jim and Melanie kept adding to their pack. As happens to many with big hearts, strays continued to show up in their lives. The dogs fit in well, developed various ‘jobs’ for themselves, and got along with the horses.

Like all rescued animals, these dogs were mixed challenges and blessings. Molly and Gunner narrowly escaped death by alligators. Dusty didn’t like the existing pack and even showed initial aggression toward sanctuary visitors. Then, there were the infant hounds, dumped in a ditch, who grew into working dogs named Trixie, Trudy and Daisy.

Proud Spirit is one of the most successful, long-lasting sanctuaries for horses in the United States. These animals are not adopted out, but live their lives surrounded by compassion and kindness in an ideal environment. The stories in this book feed the reader’s soul and inspire new faith in the process of adopting and rescuing animals in need.

Melanie and Jim Bowles currently live with 72 horses, 12 dogs and one talkative barn cat. Melanie is also the author of The Horses of Proud Spirit and Hoofprints: More Stories from Proud Spirit. Visit Proud Spirit at: www.horsesofproudspirit.org

Season's Greetings!

Merry Christmas to all my fans!

Thanks for your support - I'm looking forward to interviewing more horse lovers to include their story in my fifth Beloved Horses book to be released in 2012. Process begins in January and there is still time to submit your special equine; e-mail me at sharonminer@yahoo.com with the names of you and your horse, pony, donkey etc, breed, age, location and a fond memory.

If you are the author of a book (fiction or non) and would like me to review it on this blog, contact me at the e-mail above.

Enjoy the ride in 2012!

Ground Manners

Ground Manners - A Novel

By Cynthia D’Errico

Xlibris, Soft Cover, 2011, $19.99; Hard Cover, 2011, $24.99
Available at: www.groundmannersnovel.com or on Amazon

Reviewed by Carol M. Upton

Learning that horses were butchered for meat left many people feeling raw and lied to, like suddenly finding out that your neighbour had barbecued your retriever or microwaved your cat. Like so many others, Yanne was clearly unaware that, whether for meat or other reasons, horses were slaughtered at all. ~ Part Three, Chapter Four, p. 116

Ground Manners. A Novel is an innovative synthesis of adventure, romance and animal advocacy. Cynthia D’Errico has produced a compelling tale based on true stories about Canada’s horse slaughter industry, the dangers of continuing to ignore coastline erosion, and which features an especially intriguing thread on how le Canadien became both Quebec’s heritage breed and the National Horse of Canada.

Through the thoughts of Ausencia, a slaughter-bound polo horse, the opening pages introduce us to the horse refuge run by animal communicator Skye Spahro and her daughter on Isle-Saint-Jean- Baptiste. The Institute of Nature Communications, like many horse rescues across the country, is dedicated to the care and rehoming of abused horses, including the rescue of those slated for slaughter.

The horses narrate a good part of the story as D’Errico performs skillful shifts from the human to the animal point of view. These shifts are reminiscent of those in other classics like Babe and Black Beauty, with that same brilliant seamlessness that keeps the reader fully engaged. The character of each horse is carefully delineated so that when Ulric, the eternally calm Belgian draft says: “I don’t like the look of things, Tessa,” his ominous tone ushers the reader into the darkness of the book’s last half.

The themes in this book require the reader to confront the moral dilemmas often present in horse ownership and attempt to expand the reader’s vision of horses. Yet the darkness is never overdone. The storyline is simultaneously about love, heroes and hope for lasting change in our treatment of animals and the planet – indeed of the very ground we walk on.

D’Errico’s writing style intimately involves readers in the lives of her characters, human and animal, in such a way that their world becomes difficult to leave as the book nears its gripping finale.

Ground Manners is the tale that horse lovers have waited for, but also essential reading for anyone intent on creating a more harmonious relationship with our planet. It will definitely raise public consciousness and is sure to spark debate.

A former ESL teacher and business editor, Cynthia has always felt a special empathy toward horses with whom she was raised. She continues to promote animals’ rights to live in whatever is left of their natural environments free of human interference. Visit Cynthia at www.groundmannersnovel.com

Painting & Drawing Horses by Jennifer Bell

I bought this book for my great-granddaughter. She is only 6 years old, but she not only LOVES horses, but also loves to draw them. She's always asking me to show her how - all I can draw is a cartoon horsehead...

The author includes text with her artwork - about what started her "horse doodles" as she calls them, and instructions with the sketches. She explains that one must use geometry (circles, ovals and triangles) as well as different shapes such a a kite for the horse's head. Very clever and imaginative.

She shows poses and horses in action, breeds, different disciplines, foals and even cartoons. I love where she explains how to show expression with the horse's body language.

This may not be quite right for my young horse lover, but she will appreciate it as she grows up I'm sure. Meanwhile, she may color the sketches and get a sense of the equine.