The very first short story I wrote about animal rescue and fostering dogs was about Trooper, a little yellow dog once struck by a car and left for dead. He became one of the many animals my wife and I fostered during our tenure with the Humane Society of Forsyth County, when he had recovered well enough to leave the veterinary hospital. Whenever someone says that they couldn't foster a dog or cat because they are afraid of becoming too attached, I often think of Trooper. My wife and I would have loved to have kept him, but he was a very desirable dog that proved easy to place in the perfect "forever" home where he wouldn't have to compete with the pack for attention. Trooper is the reason why my book was named Always a Next One: true stories of dog fostering. If we had adopted him, we couldn't have fostered Bessie the Basset Hound or any of the other dogs that followed Trooper. Only by helping good dogs like Trooper and Bessie go to the right homes, perfect homes for them, were we able to help save even more animals. It was easy to become attached to the fosters, and not as easy to let them go. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. We fostered Pancho for over a year before the perfect home for him came along. I grew very attached to him. Unlike Trooper, Pancho had people issues and wouldn't easily fit into just any home. When the perfect home for him finally came along, it would have been wrong for me to keep Pancho. If we hadn't let go of Pancho, we might not have had space for Trooper during his recovery. There was a great reward for having that … [Read more...]
More kind words for Always a Next One
In her review for Reader's Favorite, Alice D. wrote: John Leonard and his wife Lisa have been involved with animal rescue and fostering in Georgia for many years. Their children learned to live alongside dogs and cats whom the Leonards had taken in while awaiting their "forever home". Author John Leonard comes across as the soul of kindness. From his writings the reader will know that Leonard is an expert at rescuing animals, taking them to a veterinarian when needed, and judging with wife Lisa what a dog or cat needs in the way of petting, feeding, playing, and tending to toilet needs. He tells of German Shepherd Sheba who protects Sparky from a bully named Cole, of Maggie the border collie chosen at a shelter by Leonard's son, of Belle the dalmatian who has gastrointestinal issues and lets loose with smelly farts, of Simone the cat who thinks she is one of the dogs. As he writes on page 42, John Leonard will convince the readers to "never underestimate the healing power of a stable pack." "Always a Next One" is a wonderfully written story of a family's involvement with taking in foster animals until their permanent homes are found. Readers who like Herriot's animal stories will be drawn to John Leonard's writings and will want to read more than the sample chapter of dog stories featuring Leonard's beloved Ox at the book's end.The writing in each story is consistent and not maudlin and the animals' characters come through believably. Simone the cat is a cat, not a human in disguise. This is a book that belongs on animal lovers' reading lists everywhere. Wow! Any … [Read more...]
