I put my paw to paper and began outlining my vision for the children’s book once I returned home from the hospital.  Who shall be the star?  Me of course!  What is the storyline? That is where I got stuck. I had to solicit some help from mom (no surprise).  After some good brainstorming, we landed on a story centered around my favorite toy.  It took us about a month to put the story together.  In parallel, we were researching illustrators.  We knew we needed a professional, as I am not a very good artist. We were fortunate enough to find a very talented illustrator willing to work with a first-time author.  It was a lot of work (but fun) tweaking the story, reviewing the illustrations, deciding on the cover art, etc.  It took just over 3 months to get the final book completed.  It was an aggressive schedule, but we wanted it available for the holidays and it kept my mind off all the monthly check-ups.

Now that we had a book, we needed to publish it.  There are so many decisions that go into self-publishing a book that it can be overwhelming.  Do we want hardcover or softcover?  What kind of quality of paper, size, jacket cover, etc.?   Some of these decisions we needed to make when the book was being designed as it influenced the layout.  It took time to land on a service that worked for us.  We went with IngramSpark based on the options and cost.  After uploading the book, it took less than a week for their internal QC process.  Once you sign off on the proof, it's available for sale.  There is some work happening behind the scenes to prepare the book for distribution, including setting the prices for all the markets.  They do have a helpful guide that goes through what is needed and you can always research best practices.  I ordered a copy before releasing it just to make sure it was perfect.  It was such an incredible feeling seeing it all come together. 

I learned so much during this process about writing and publishing.  Never underestimate what you can do when you put your mind to it. 

Thanks for stopping by!
-Samantha

People have asked how I got into writing children's books. Well, when you spend 2 weeks at the animal hospital, you have a lot of time on your paws.  I saw the cute faces of all my fellow inmates (I mean patients), all relieved they were getting their treatments.  I wondered how I could help.  So began the journey of writing my very first book.  I plan to help furry friends in need through the sale of these books.  I’ve sold just over 200 copies of both books.  It’s not a lot yet, but enough money was made to donate to a local humane society to provide vaccines to pets eagerly awaiting adoption.  Sure, I can just ask my mom to donate but we can have a bigger impact through these books.  Not only by raising money but by entertaining adults and children through the stories.  At least that’s the hope!
 
Until next time,
-Sam      

Many people may not be familiar with Pekingese dogs unless you like to watch dogs shows.  We are part of the Toy Group and always make an appearance.  Pekingese have even won Best in Show - Go Wasabi!   We are not usually out and about, unless its Winter time. With our fur coats and smooshed noses (technical term - Brachycephalic), its best we stay inside or we may overheat.  Not that we don't like to go outside year round but we will last much longer in the Winter. 

We created a fun little Ode to Pekingese highlighting some of our signature traits.  While not every Peke is equal, you'll probably recognize some of the behaviors if you had a Peke as part of your family or know someone who does.  

Best,
Sam & Sophie

Hi! I'm Samantha.  If you haven't read my story, I encourage you to do so.  It provides a little background on why I am here.  I never thought IMHA would affect me at such a tender age.  One minute I was going for a walk and enjoying life, the next minute, I started having seizure like symptoms due to the reduced amount of circulating red blood cells (not enough oxygen).  Other than that, I was displaying no other clinical symptoms.  I was eating and playing just like I normally do.  Thankfully my vigilant care-taker (aka mom) knew something was not right and off we went to the emergency vet.  All looked well to the doctors who reported out that I may have a pinched nerve.  Being the ever so cautious mom that she is, she asked the doctor to go ahead and perform blood work to be 100% certain nothing else was lurking.  It was a good thing she did as my packed cell volume (PCV) was at 23%.  Normal is between 35-55%.  Needless to say I was not as healthy on the inside as I looked on the outside.  Several blood transfusions later, I was still not stabilizing.  It was then that the TPE treatment was offered as a potential option.  TPE was successful in removing all the "bad stuff" from my plasma, allowing my body to recover.  It wasn't an easy battle but almost two years later, I am going strong and still in remission.  I am down to my last immunosuppressant but I'm keeping my paws crossed that I will be able to wean off this last one.  Here's some good reading on the process in case you're interested in learning more about TPE.

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/therapeutic-plasma-exchange-an-emerging-treatment-strategy-for-canine-imha/

Thanks for stopping by!
-Sam