While my focus this year has been on "Not in Vain, A Promise Made," "Me, My Dog and a Sheep" is still my heart.
It is a non-fiction Children's Book about a dog that never gave up
Below is a Review:
Me, My Dog and a Sheep by Melissa Mullamphy is a story of hope, faith and perseverance. In this book, the author shares her family’s real-life experiences with their dog, Grizzy. It is 52 pages long and belongs to the Children’s book genre.
The book begins with a four-month old dog, Grizzy, being ignored by all customers at a pet store due to his age. One day, Luke’s father selected Grizzy and gave a two-year old Luke his new best friend. A few years later, one day, when Grizzy could not stand, the family took him to a doctor and discovered that Grizzy needed surgery, after which, Grizzy was left paralyzed. The rest of the book describes the struggles of both Grizzy and the family, as they cope with the situation and do everything that they possibly can for Grizzy’s recovery, despite knowing that there are bleak chances of success. Will Grizzy be able to walk again? Will Grizzy and the Family’s tireless attempts prove to be successful? Will Luke be able to play with his best friend again? More importantly, how is a sheep relevant to the story? Read the book to find out!
The story is told from Luke’s perspective.
Luke’s thoughts and feelings are expressed in a manner that would enable anyone, but specifically children, to connect with him and hope for the best for him.
Further, the author has included numerous pictures of the real dog and family (who the plot is based on) which made me extremely involved in their story. As a result, to be honest, I doubt any reader would be able to read through the book without hoping and praying for the best.
As I read through the book, I found it to be an emotional roller coaster. The first page included a real image of the dog, and I felt like I could see pain in his eyes. As an animal lover, that picture had a large impact on me. Towards the beginning of the book, the author described how “sad and abandoned” the dog felt when every customer walked by him and did not select him. At that point, I could almost feel the dog’s pain. As the plot moved ahead, it was inspiring to read how, despite every failed attempt, Grizzy and the family never gave up. They did everything they could, at every step. Without giving away any spoilers, I can mention that the end was also emotional.
In terms of language, I thought that the book was well written. The vocabulary and sentence structures were simple and I found no word that, in my belief, a child would not understand. The book seems professionally edited and has been formatted well. There were large, full-page illustrations on every alternate page. The illustrations were simple, but appropriate with regard to the text they represented. Overall, I thought that the book was very easy to understand and follow. I have no major issues with the book.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. I thought that it was well written and had an important message for children – not to give up. After finishing the book, I felt good about having read it. To me, that is a definite sign of a great book. While I would definitely recommend the book for children, I would also recommend it for animal lovers of any age group. If you love animals, this is a book that you will not regret picking up!
I miss Grizzy so much. We got #msgracy and #buddy but Grizzy is truly irreplaceable. I don't think I will ever have as deep a connection as I did with Griz. If you haven't seen his stories on #TheDodo they were nice enough to cover it twice in 2018 and 2020. Over 15 countries also covered it in different languages and various other viral platforms. I'm truly blessed. #GrizzyFam is over 15,000 members globally and growing.
If you love animals, dogs, cats, farm animals, horses and want to support #shelterdogs #rescues and help continue to fulfill my Griz's Journey even though he crossed the rainbow bridge last October please join us at https://www.instagram.com/grizzysjourney/ .
We raise money for shelters, abandoned dogs and cats, patients of abuse (which there is a lot of), share lost dogs (all animals), share knowledge and support and serve as a voice for the voiceless. If you are new to this blog or the story about Grizzy, my husband bought him at a pet store (no we don't recommend or endorse this) for my son Luke. At 6 years old he was diagnosed with #wobblerssyndrome which for human translation is equal to #spinalstenosis or a disc impinging on the spinal cord. He became lame and we ruled everything else out and found out that Grizzy had to have major spinal surgery. You are probably wondering how dogs get this. I'll save you the trip to #google it is prevelant in many large breed canines and is also heriditary. It can also happen if there is trauma to the neck. Breeds that it is commonly found in is large breeds like #mastiffs, #labs, #greyhounnds and #dovermanpinchers. Small dogs can get it too but it is generally a larger breed issue. Here is some information about it.
If your dog is diagnosed with #wobblers some do not need surgery. My eastern medicine Vet treated a lab with acupuncture for 5 years and he never got surgery. Be very careful with your decision because #Griz did need surgery but the #Vet said he would walk out of the clinic. He unfortunately came out a total quadriplegic. He walked into surgery and came out on a gurney. We tried to get him to walk from April until July without success. I bought everything to try including a #hoyerlift to try and do #rehab at my home. It was 24/7 work as he could not move and that is including getting outside to go to the bathroom.
The surgical center said they had #caninerehab but they did not have the staff our resources. When #Grizzy did not walk by July the Vets told us we should put him down as statistically he "would never walk" if he didn't four months post op. 10k later, (surgery and MRI) they did surgery my dog could only keep his head up and eat. We were not going to give up on my son's best friend so I found a canine rehab facility in Latham, NY called Shaker Animal Hospital - VCA. They took Grizzy in as an inpatient because it was a 2 hour drive and he needed 24 hour care. Many including some family members told us we were out of our minds and to put "the dog down." If you know me, other peoples opinions about what I do with my money or for my animals is my business.
There is a review above about "Me, My Dog and a Sheep." Pre #Covid I read it in many schools and other venues and the kids absolutely love it and leave with the critical message to #nevergiveup. From late July until January of the following year he was an inpatient with some amazing Vets and #rehabtechnicians. We all had the same goal to get Grizzy to walk even though the odds according to many medical journals was "he would never walk again." Below are two videos that went viral that were put out by #thedodo.
My goal for this book is for children, other dog owners, or anyone to know that miracles do happen and to never give up even if everyone is telling you to. #memydogandasheep is available to order on my website as well as #Amazon, #BarnesandNobel, #Apple #Google and where many other books are sold. If you want one from my website see the link to purchase and make sure you write who you would like it made out to and I will also send you a Grizzy bookmark and it will be autographed. http://www.melissamullamphy.com
Here are the videos below. Enjoy and check us out on #instagram.
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