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FERNDALE – In 1998, Yvonne Harper was working as support staff in a veterinary clinic in Seattle when a young Shih Tzu needing emergency medical attention was brought in. The dog, not yet a year old, had been beaten so badly his eyes had ruptured and bulged out of his head, he was severely underweight, and clinic staff had to shave off all of his fur in order to treat a whole-body skin infection that left him an unhealthy pink. |
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“He was the cutest thing I had ever seen,” Harper said. “I was just so drawn to him.” After clinic staff removed the dog’s damaged eyes and his condition stabilized, Harper brought the puppy home. “I’d never been around a blind dog before,” Harper said. “I did not think he’d be able to go for walks or jump in the car or get around the house. I envisioned having to pad everything.” But Harper quickly learned that her dog, Twinkle, could do pretty much everything a sighted dog could do, including playing fetch by following the noise his toys made. In 2002, at four years of age, Twinkle died unexpectedly while coming out of anesthesia after an emergency surgery. “It was really a shock and I think that was why it hit me so hard,” Harper said. |
Record-Journal photo — Amy Scott |
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Record-Journal photo — Amy Scott |
She said the idea of writing a book about special needs dogs came to her around that time. “I went through a really tough mourning stage with him and I wanted to somehow keep his memory alive,” Harper said. “The only way I could think of doing that was by writing a book.” Two years later Harper began work on the book. She tracked down other special needs dog owners, interviewed them about their pets, and incorporated her love of photography by taking photos of each animal. Harper said from start to finish the book took about five years to write. “I had never written a book before and the process was just totally foreign to me,” she said. She said when the book first came out last August, she didn’t know what to expect. “I didn’t know how people would respond to the book,” Harper said. “I didn’t know if anybody would buy it.” But people bought it, and she began receiving e-mails from readers wanting more. One of Harper’s readers, Ferndale’s Lori Leighton, said she read “Blind Faith” and loved it. Leighton, owner of The Glass Slipper, has been carrying the book in her shop for about six months. “We can’t keep it in stock,” Leighton said. |
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She said she recently received a stack of signed copies of the book, and she is planning to special order more signed copies when she runs out.“She did a really good job writing it and I can’t wait to see what her next book is,” Leighton said. Harper said she has begun work on a second book, which will continue the tradition of “Blind Faith” while including the stories of other types of special needs animals. She said now that she is more comfortable with the process, it should go much faster, and she hopes to publish the second book by the end of 2011. “Now I kind of have my ducks in a row, whereas before I didn’t even have any ducks,” Harper said. Today Harper draws her inspiration from her Pekinese Kizmit, who is blind, and Sydney, her diabetic cat. “It’s really hard to have a bad day or feel sorry for yourself when you’re looking at this little eyeless dog who’s wagging his tail,” Harper said. Twinkle, Kizmit and Sydney have had a profound affect on her life, Harper said, and she hopes her book raises awareness for special needs animals and shows others how fulfilling a relationship with them can be. “They bring a little bit of magic into your life,” she said. Blind Faith can be found at The Glass Slipper or can be purchased online through Harpers Web site, www.yvonneharper.com, or from Amazon.com or Borders.com. E-mail Amy Scott at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
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