December 5, 2023 • 24 mins
In this episode, W.B. Murph, the creative mind behind the children's book, "Molly's Miracle: A Chosen Dog, Not a Broken Dog." W.B. Murph, a former veterinary nurse, shares the remarkable journey of Molly, a lovable Beagle whose experiences mirror the harsh reality of animal neglect. Together with his real-life silly Beagle companion, Murph crafted a narrative that goes beyond the pages, encouraging young readers to embrace love and care despite perceived flaws, fears, and failures. The author discusses the inspiration behind this touching story that explores the depths of compassion, second chances, and the profound bond between humans and their furry friends. This episode explores the creative process behind this heartfelt children's book and how Molly's journey serves as an inspiration for readers of all ages.
EPISODE NOTES: The Beagle's Voice: Unveiling Molly's Miracle
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/save-a-pooch-rescue-dog-welfare-pet-life-radio-original--6669238/support.
EPISODE NOTES: The Beagle's Voice: Unveiling Molly's Miracle
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/save-a-pooch-rescue-dog-welfare-pet-life-radio-original--6669238/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to Save a Pooch on pet Life Radio. Thank
you for listening in today, I am Beverly is like
your host. In this episode, we welcome w B. Murph,
the creative mind behind the children's book Mollie's Miracle, a
childen dog not a broken dog. Through this book, Mrph,
a former veterinary nurse, shares a remarkable journey of Molly,
a lovable beagle whose experiences near the harsh reality of
(00:45):
animal neglect. So I look forward to hearing about the
inspiration and the creative process behind Molly's Miracle and how
Mollie's journey serves as an inspiration for readers of all ages.
So when we get back from these messages, we will
hear from author w B.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Take a bite out of your competition, advertise your business
with an ad. In pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows,
there is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
(01:24):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit petlifradio dot com slash advertised Today.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Welcome back to save a poot. We are talking with W. Murph,
the author and mastermind behind the children's book Molly's Miracle,
A children Dog, not a broken dog. So I appreciate
you taking the time today to talk about your recent
book release and congratulations by the.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Way, Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yes, So, what inspired you to write Molly's Miracle and
how did you decide to tell the story from well
a beagles perspective.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So, I work with a rescue in South Carolina called
Rescue Coop. They take imminent euthanasia cases only generally with
severe medical needs. They treat them and they rehome them
nationwide where there's more homes available. And what happened was
they adopted a bloodhound to a family with a beautiful
(02:44):
golden haired little girl. She was about three to five
years old, and they showed the adoption picture and her
eyes were so bright and her smile was so eager,
and I imagined her sneaking snacks to her her new
dog and playing fetch, and there was a whole world
of possibility in that little girl's smile. The next day,
(03:08):
the parents of the little girl turned the dog back
into rescue, saying only that they didn't think it through.
Since I have no other discernible talent, and I was
desperate to provide some kind of an acceptable example for
children like this girl, I wrote Molly's Miracle. It's written
from the beagles perspective, primarily because that's where my heart lies,
(03:32):
where my understanding is. I get dogs, I don't get
humans so much.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I can light Yep, that's good, that's awesome. Can you
share some real life events that served as the foundation
for Mollie's journey?
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Sure, Mollie's a real dog. She's our dog. She was
found by our local Humane Society on the streets and
she was only six months old. I had just lost
my soul dog, Oscar, a month earlier, and I saw
her on the website and she looked so dismayed and broken.
(04:12):
We went down to the Humane Society and we adopted her.
But to my dismay, we found that this little dog
was not only broken emotionally, but physically as well. Her
leg had been broken at some point and healed improperly,
which caused severe elbow displaysia. But more important than that,
(04:34):
her spirit was just completely shattered. She never barked, she
never played, She rarely even lifted her head up. If
you would pick her up, she would just freeze, completely freeze,
and not move at all. When I think of Mollie
the Beagle in Mollie's Miracle, I always think of my
(04:58):
Molly move and what it must be like to be
so broken.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
How much of that narrative is like reality versus fiction?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Well, I mean the thread is reality, because that was
what I was familiar with. But the narrative had to
sound as if Mollie were actually living that story. And
I knew that kind of a story, not only for
Mollie but also from in the veterinary world. You see
(05:27):
this time and time and time again. So but the
human characters in the book, I needed them to be
purely fictional because they needed to be used as foils.
Because Molly is weak, Molly is unhappy, Molly is unsure,
and Molly is broken. So Mandy has to be strong.
(05:48):
She has to be confident. Molly is kind, so her
original family system needed to be cruel, and I wanted
the villains to be not too terribly frightening for children.
So in terms of illustrations, they needed to be kind of,
you know, cartoonish in that. But so the thread is
(06:10):
my experiences in reality, but my own Mollie she has
not yet had her leg amputated, and it's a different
leg that's injured. And you know, there's a lot of Yeah,
there's a lot of things that aren't reality, at least
not at this point in time.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Okay, great, Maybe for terables that would be interested in
reading the book, maybe you could explain a little bit,
maybe like a synopsis of the main struggle and Mandy. Sure.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So, Mollie is a young beagle. Her family loved her
when she was a puppy, but as often happens in reality,
they became bored with her. She became a pest and
a nuisance. They started to treat her a little bit rough.
You have a little bit of more cartoonish violence in
the book. Violence is a strong word, but I guess
(07:00):
one of the little boys in the family throws a
lego at Mollie. She escapes out the front door, but
she is injured in the escape, and she does have
to live on the streets for a brief period of
time where she has to just kind of subsist as
best she can. So there are a couple of cartoony
restaurant owners that chase her, but ultimately she finds herself
(07:24):
in the hands of the very kind shelter system and
who is really concerned with her well being. So she
does have to have her leg amputated. That isn't really
described in the book because I don't think it's appropriate
for younger children. And then she's put up for adoption
and she is found by Mandy. Mandy is broken in
(07:47):
her own way, but Mandy, unlike Mollie, is very confident,
very secure, very sure of everything that she brings to
the world. And so it's her position in the book
to teach Mollie that Mollie is fine just the way
she is.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Okay. Well, what I like is the powerful message of
the book is about second chancetance. Can you elaborate on
how Mollie's story reflects the resilience of animals and maybe
the impact of compassion.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Yeah? Sure. The real Molly. She took us two years
to transform. She would go to the bathroom in her crate,
she would be terrified of all loud sounds. Whenever she
was afraid, she would run away and hide somewhere. And
it took us two years, but we never gave up
because every day we saw just a little bit of improvement.
(08:42):
So first she started to meet our gaze instead of
turning away, and then she started to take food from
our hands. Then she would sit on the couch with
us voluntarily. A lot of people think that animals are
unable to remember, but that's not true. Between animals and
humans is that animals can choose to forget what's been
(09:06):
done to them and become companions to humans again. So
the road from broken to transformed, it's long. And what
makes the largest difference for the dog is our attitude,
our love, our compassion, our dedication to helping them, because
to help them to become the dog that exists inside
(09:30):
of them before they were broken by whatever happened.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I love that. I love that the dogs choose to
let go of resentment. Oh the lessons we can learn from.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Them, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
So you're a former veterinary nurse, right, how did your
experiences shape the themes around this book. You didn't mention
you have a lot of experience with rescues, and I
love that so God.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Sure, yeah, I work with rescues, but as a veterinary nurse.
It's not the first time I've been asked this question.
And I always think of Clyde, and this is an
example of what I did. I am very fortunate to
be in a position where we as a family don't
have to struggle financially. And I know that I'm very fortunate.
(10:17):
So many times I personally paid for dogs that came
in that needed life saving treatment, that had loving owners
who simply could not afford it. And the dog I
think of always is a little Red Ducks and his
name was Clyde, and his sister was and Clyde came
(10:38):
in dying of immune mediated hemolytic anemios where the blood
cells kind of collapse, if you will, and it's the
immune system attacking the blood cells. So when I was
working up front that day and when I saw the
owner turning around to leave with him, I knew that
it hadn't gone well in the back because I knew
(10:59):
that that dog was very, very sick. So I ran
outside and I caught her and I spoke to her,
and she flat could not afford the treatment that would
save Clyde's life, let alone the follow up treatments, and
she was crying, and she asked me, could any charities
help her? And I knew that the chances that any
(11:21):
charity could help Clyde in time for him to live
would be close to nothing. So I spoke to my
veterinarian and I paid Clyde's original bill, and then over time,
as the owner kept coming in for follow up treatments.
Once we saved his life, I kind of took that
owner under my wings. She's very young, and I taught
(11:44):
her to say just a small amount every month, a dollar,
two dollars, just her change, even any amount for her dogs,
so that when she needed it, she would never be
so desperate again that she could pay nothing it all,
because I know from personal experience, a lot of vets
are willing to work with you. If you can pay
(12:05):
at least something, they'll work it out with you. Clyde
and his owner remained a client to the hospital for many,
many years. And it's a funny little a side story
that Clyde would bite anyone and everyone who would come
anywhere near him, except he never touched me. He never nothing. Yeah,
(12:28):
I do think he understood that I had his best
interests at heart.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
That's amazing. Oh well, thank you, thank you for doing
that out of the goodness of your heart. We're just
going to have a quick break and when we get back,
we'll the city talking with the author behind the children's
book Mollie's merphle Cholsen Dog. Not a broken dog.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
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Speaker 2 (12:53):
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Speaker 4 (13:40):
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Speaker 6 (13:44):
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Speaker 2 (13:56):
Welcome back to the Sable Food We are talking with
off they're in former veterinary nurse WP Murph. But yeah,
just before the break, we were talking about the goodness
that you have done for the dog, and that reminds
me that what is your opinion on the importance of insurance, like,
what are what are your thoughts on that, since you
(14:17):
do come from insurance is essential.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Before I was a veterinary nurse, I actually worked in insurance,
not property insurance, though car insurance a very odd My
perspective on this is that insurance is essential. If you know,
for a fact, I used to work with a rescue
coast to coast docks and rescue, and I would go
into docsins have bad backs, all doctions, some of them
(14:44):
never manifest it, but all of them have it. And
I would always go into prospective homes and say, do
you have ten thousand dollars in the bank right now
today to pay for this dog's impending back surgery? If
the answer was no. My answer was always, then you
need to have insurance. But the only thing you need
to be cautious of is if you get insurance, read
(15:08):
the sample policy. A lot of people go into getting
insurance and they think, well, it's going to cover shots, vaccinations,
and air cleanings. No, it doesn't cover any of that stuff.
It can in certain instances, but normally no. So you
need to read the policy. You need to understand what
you're buying, and you need to know if it's going
(15:30):
to meet your needs. So too many people are caught
off guard when they find out. For example, some insurance
companies think of back injuries and back disease in doctions
as genetic, even though there's no known genetic link. Yet
other companies say, no, it's not genetic. So you need
to know if you own a doction, and you have
(15:50):
to make it your business to know. But yeah, I
think insurance is essential if you do not have the
savings to pay for it. If you haven't savings, there's
no need to get it. Just pay it out of
your savings. It is fine unless you want to gotcha.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Okay, thank you for clearing that up, because it's always
a question with a lot of people that I come across,
So thanks for you. Now now back to your features feature.
As an author, what role do you see storytelling playing
and fostering empathy, with which I think is crucially needed
in rescuing dogs as well as compassion.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
Yeah. Actually, children do not develop empathy until they're at
least around four years old. Four to five years old.
They have no empathy. They don't theirs are not capable.
I see books, especially books like this one, which challenge
a child a little bit, that it gives them the opportunity,
(16:51):
It gives them a safe space where they can examine
their own emotions and the emotions of the children of
the characters in the book, while still understanding this is
just a story, it's not real. And so that's true
for all stories, no matter the stories subject matter. But
(17:12):
this is particularly true for those stories that are written
from the perspective of a child or of an animal,
because they are inherently vulnerable creatures and they are particularly
adept at therefore creating empathy in others. So too often
(17:32):
we shelter children where we ought to be challenging them,
and we challenge them where we ought to be sheltering them.
And stories are a safe space to challenge your children
and teach them how in the future they can be
champions of social justice for dogs or whatever their cause is.
(17:56):
It doesn't matter to me what the cause is. In
my case, it's dogs. But they can be a champion
for those animals if they learn from the start that
these animals have real, concrete, verifiable feelings, and the story
is a safe way to show them that.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Oh I like that perspective. Oh, I really like that perspective.
I've never thought about it that way. And I did
not know that children did not have They're not Their
brains aren't developed for empathy until that age.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
No, and it only starts at age four. It does
not complete. The production of the feeling of empathy doesn't
finish until late adolescents, which is why you see child
doing some stuff that you're like in the world. That's
why they're not fully formed yet noted.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Well, I learned something now in terms of like encouraging
adults or even those that work in the animal shelters,
how do you hope the book encourages them to support well?
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I wrote the book with a specific cause in mind,
which was everybody who buys the book online and they
choose the Rescue Coop edition. I send a copy of
the paperback version of the book to Rescue Coop to
give out to their adopters. Oh so my hope is
(19:17):
that in the future I can maybe expand that to
more rescues. I'm trying to work with here locally, with
Humane Society of the Pike's Peak Region to try and
do some book signings down there. Anything also with a
couple different school districts to come in and do some readings,
anything that encourages people to use the shelter system, to
(19:40):
appreciate the shelter system and that intern because I think
if we teach people that the shelters, not just rescues,
but the shelters as well public shelters provide an invaluable service,
they then get more donations, more fosters, more lies, more services,
(20:01):
more funding because they're people. The people who live in
that community know the value of that system. So that's
the way I really hope that I can help rescues
and shelters is to raise awareness of the work they
do and how incredibly important it is.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Well, you may just have your next books topic.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
No, actually, I have three more written that aren't release,
they're written and illustrate. So I already know the next
three books.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Oh, what's the next one? Give us a teaser on
the next book.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
The next one is going to be Daisy's Daydream, and
it's a lifelong homeless dog. It's based on my Daisy again.
She was rescued by Rescue Coop from the high kill shelter,
but she was astray and they think she was a
lifelong straight And it's kind of the story of the
three three three rule of dog rescue, which is give
(20:57):
them three days to stop being shut down, three weeks
to start to understand what the routine of the houses,
and three months, and that's a minimum three months before
they are becoming the dog that they will ultimately be.
It's my opinion that no dog should be thrown away
(21:21):
before it has been in a home for at least
three months, because you have no idea how that dog's
going to turn out based on the first few weeks
that you have it. So Daisy's story is the story
of a dog that choose up the remote control piece
on the floor, barks all night, and it's a little
(21:41):
more joyful and a little less serious than Molly's miracle,
but still has a very powerful message about how we
can help, particularly rescue dogs. But that is true of
every dog, not just rescue dogs. All dogs need that time,
how we can help them to acclimatize to a human
(22:01):
world which is not their native.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So that's exactly I like that role. Three three keeps us. Yeah,
now Daisy is also a real dog you have.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Daisy is my foxhound. Yeah, she's a She's a foxhound,
maybe a foxhound mix. I'm not sure. I think a
pure bred foxhound though she's She was saved by Rescue
Coop in South Carolina, and she was she had obviously
bred many, many, many times, and she had some behaviors
that made them think that she was a lifelong stray
(22:36):
picked up by animal control. And unfortunately the animal control
where she was picked up is not one of the
better ones, and so their policy is to hold the
dog for seven days and then euthanize. Wow, so they're
not Yeah, they're not the kind of place. So Rescue
Coop gets a lot of their dogs from that shelter
because they are all in imminent danger of euthanasia. As
(22:59):
a matter of fact, I was a little bit the
reason I was listening well prepared with the Zoom meeting
is I was trying to save a dog at Rockymount.
I'm trying to get a placement of foster placement for
a dog at Rockymount whose time is up today.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
So oh no, well, I've wish to all invest in
that in that scenario.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Wow, your work is really commendable, so thank you for
doing that. So we are out of time. I really
appreciate you taking the time. Thanks to our show producer
and Mark Winter for making the show possible. So you
can follow Murph's work at Murphrights dot com as well
as her social media, which will also be on the
show notes page. Again, Murph, thank you, thank you. If
(23:41):
you have any questions, comments, or ideas for a show,
please email me at Beverly at petlife radio dot com.
So until next time, spread adamal and passion.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Let's talk bets every week on demand only on Petlife
radio dot com
Is pet Life Radio. Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to Save a Pooch on pet Life Radio. Thank
you for listening in today, I am Beverly is like
your host. In this episode, we welcome w B. Murph,
the creative mind behind the children's book Mollie's Miracle, a
childen dog not a broken dog. Through this book, Mrph,
a former veterinary nurse, shares a remarkable journey of Molly,
a lovable beagle whose experiences near the harsh reality of
(00:45):
animal neglect. So I look forward to hearing about the
inspiration and the creative process behind Molly's Miracle and how
Mollie's journey serves as an inspiration for readers of all ages.
So when we get back from these messages, we will
hear from author w B.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Take a bite out of your competition, advertise your business
with an ad. In pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows,
there is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
(01:24):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit petlifradio dot com slash advertised Today.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Welcome back to save a poot. We are talking with W. Murph,
the author and mastermind behind the children's book Molly's Miracle,
A children Dog, not a broken dog. So I appreciate
you taking the time today to talk about your recent
book release and congratulations by the.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Way, Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yes, So, what inspired you to write Molly's Miracle and
how did you decide to tell the story from well
a beagles perspective.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
So, I work with a rescue in South Carolina called
Rescue Coop. They take imminent euthanasia cases only generally with
severe medical needs. They treat them and they rehome them
nationwide where there's more homes available. And what happened was
they adopted a bloodhound to a family with a beautiful
(02:44):
golden haired little girl. She was about three to five
years old, and they showed the adoption picture and her
eyes were so bright and her smile was so eager,
and I imagined her sneaking snacks to her her new
dog and playing fetch, and there was a whole world
of possibility in that little girl's smile. The next day,
(03:08):
the parents of the little girl turned the dog back
into rescue, saying only that they didn't think it through.
Since I have no other discernible talent, and I was
desperate to provide some kind of an acceptable example for
children like this girl, I wrote Molly's Miracle. It's written
from the beagles perspective, primarily because that's where my heart lies,
(03:32):
where my understanding is. I get dogs, I don't get
humans so much.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
I can light Yep, that's good, that's awesome. Can you
share some real life events that served as the foundation
for Mollie's journey?
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Sure, Mollie's a real dog. She's our dog. She was
found by our local Humane Society on the streets and
she was only six months old. I had just lost
my soul dog, Oscar, a month earlier, and I saw
her on the website and she looked so dismayed and broken.
(04:12):
We went down to the Humane Society and we adopted her.
But to my dismay, we found that this little dog
was not only broken emotionally, but physically as well. Her
leg had been broken at some point and healed improperly,
which caused severe elbow displaysia. But more important than that,
(04:34):
her spirit was just completely shattered. She never barked, she
never played, She rarely even lifted her head up. If
you would pick her up, she would just freeze, completely freeze,
and not move at all. When I think of Mollie
the Beagle in Mollie's Miracle, I always think of my
(04:58):
Molly move and what it must be like to be
so broken.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
How much of that narrative is like reality versus fiction?
Speaker 4 (05:06):
Well, I mean the thread is reality, because that was
what I was familiar with. But the narrative had to
sound as if Mollie were actually living that story. And
I knew that kind of a story, not only for
Mollie but also from in the veterinary world. You see
(05:27):
this time and time and time again. So but the
human characters in the book, I needed them to be
purely fictional because they needed to be used as foils.
Because Molly is weak, Molly is unhappy, Molly is unsure,
and Molly is broken. So Mandy has to be strong.
(05:48):
She has to be confident. Molly is kind, so her
original family system needed to be cruel, and I wanted
the villains to be not too terribly frightening for children.
So in terms of illustrations, they needed to be kind of,
you know, cartoonish in that. But so the thread is
(06:10):
my experiences in reality, but my own Mollie she has
not yet had her leg amputated, and it's a different
leg that's injured. And you know, there's a lot of Yeah,
there's a lot of things that aren't reality, at least
not at this point in time.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Okay, great, Maybe for terables that would be interested in
reading the book, maybe you could explain a little bit,
maybe like a synopsis of the main struggle and Mandy. Sure.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
So, Mollie is a young beagle. Her family loved her
when she was a puppy, but as often happens in reality,
they became bored with her. She became a pest and
a nuisance. They started to treat her a little bit rough.
You have a little bit of more cartoonish violence in
the book. Violence is a strong word, but I guess
(07:00):
one of the little boys in the family throws a
lego at Mollie. She escapes out the front door, but
she is injured in the escape, and she does have
to live on the streets for a brief period of
time where she has to just kind of subsist as
best she can. So there are a couple of cartoony
restaurant owners that chase her, but ultimately she finds herself
(07:24):
in the hands of the very kind shelter system and
who is really concerned with her well being. So she
does have to have her leg amputated. That isn't really
described in the book because I don't think it's appropriate
for younger children. And then she's put up for adoption
and she is found by Mandy. Mandy is broken in
(07:47):
her own way, but Mandy, unlike Mollie, is very confident,
very secure, very sure of everything that she brings to
the world. And so it's her position in the book
to teach Mollie that Mollie is fine just the way
she is.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Okay. Well, what I like is the powerful message of
the book is about second chancetance. Can you elaborate on
how Mollie's story reflects the resilience of animals and maybe
the impact of compassion.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
Yeah? Sure. The real Molly. She took us two years
to transform. She would go to the bathroom in her crate,
she would be terrified of all loud sounds. Whenever she
was afraid, she would run away and hide somewhere. And
it took us two years, but we never gave up
because every day we saw just a little bit of improvement.
(08:42):
So first she started to meet our gaze instead of
turning away, and then she started to take food from
our hands. Then she would sit on the couch with
us voluntarily. A lot of people think that animals are
unable to remember, but that's not true. Between animals and
humans is that animals can choose to forget what's been
(09:06):
done to them and become companions to humans again. So
the road from broken to transformed, it's long. And what
makes the largest difference for the dog is our attitude,
our love, our compassion, our dedication to helping them, because
to help them to become the dog that exists inside
(09:30):
of them before they were broken by whatever happened.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I love that. I love that the dogs choose to
let go of resentment. Oh the lessons we can learn from.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
Them, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
So you're a former veterinary nurse, right, how did your
experiences shape the themes around this book. You didn't mention
you have a lot of experience with rescues, and I
love that so God.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Sure, yeah, I work with rescues, but as a veterinary nurse.
It's not the first time I've been asked this question.
And I always think of Clyde, and this is an
example of what I did. I am very fortunate to
be in a position where we as a family don't
have to struggle financially. And I know that I'm very fortunate.
(10:17):
So many times I personally paid for dogs that came
in that needed life saving treatment, that had loving owners
who simply could not afford it. And the dog I
think of always is a little Red Ducks and his
name was Clyde, and his sister was and Clyde came
(10:38):
in dying of immune mediated hemolytic anemios where the blood
cells kind of collapse, if you will, and it's the
immune system attacking the blood cells. So when I was
working up front that day and when I saw the
owner turning around to leave with him, I knew that
it hadn't gone well in the back because I knew
(10:59):
that that dog was very, very sick. So I ran
outside and I caught her and I spoke to her,
and she flat could not afford the treatment that would
save Clyde's life, let alone the follow up treatments, and
she was crying, and she asked me, could any charities
help her? And I knew that the chances that any
(11:21):
charity could help Clyde in time for him to live
would be close to nothing. So I spoke to my
veterinarian and I paid Clyde's original bill, and then over time,
as the owner kept coming in for follow up treatments.
Once we saved his life, I kind of took that
owner under my wings. She's very young, and I taught
(11:44):
her to say just a small amount every month, a dollar,
two dollars, just her change, even any amount for her dogs,
so that when she needed it, she would never be
so desperate again that she could pay nothing it all,
because I know from personal experience, a lot of vets
are willing to work with you. If you can pay
(12:05):
at least something, they'll work it out with you. Clyde
and his owner remained a client to the hospital for many,
many years. And it's a funny little a side story
that Clyde would bite anyone and everyone who would come
anywhere near him, except he never touched me. He never nothing. Yeah,
(12:28):
I do think he understood that I had his best
interests at heart.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
That's amazing. Oh well, thank you, thank you for doing
that out of the goodness of your heart. We're just
going to have a quick break and when we get back,
we'll the city talking with the author behind the children's
book Mollie's merphle Cholsen Dog. Not a broken dog.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Mollie, here's your dinner.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
See that's not your food.
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Speaker 4 (13:40):
Let's talk past, let's done that headline.
Speaker 6 (13:44):
Radio catlve radio dot com.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Welcome back to the Sable Food We are talking with
off they're in former veterinary nurse WP Murph. But yeah,
just before the break, we were talking about the goodness
that you have done for the dog, and that reminds
me that what is your opinion on the importance of insurance, like,
what are what are your thoughts on that, since you
(14:17):
do come from insurance is essential.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
Before I was a veterinary nurse, I actually worked in insurance,
not property insurance, though car insurance a very odd My
perspective on this is that insurance is essential. If you know,
for a fact, I used to work with a rescue
coast to coast docks and rescue, and I would go
into docsins have bad backs, all doctions, some of them
(14:44):
never manifest it, but all of them have it. And
I would always go into prospective homes and say, do
you have ten thousand dollars in the bank right now
today to pay for this dog's impending back surgery? If
the answer was no. My answer was always, then you
need to have insurance. But the only thing you need
to be cautious of is if you get insurance, read
(15:08):
the sample policy. A lot of people go into getting
insurance and they think, well, it's going to cover shots, vaccinations,
and air cleanings. No, it doesn't cover any of that stuff.
It can in certain instances, but normally no. So you
need to read the policy. You need to understand what
you're buying, and you need to know if it's going
(15:30):
to meet your needs. So too many people are caught
off guard when they find out. For example, some insurance
companies think of back injuries and back disease in doctions
as genetic, even though there's no known genetic link. Yet
other companies say, no, it's not genetic. So you need
to know if you own a doction, and you have
(15:50):
to make it your business to know. But yeah, I
think insurance is essential if you do not have the
savings to pay for it. If you haven't savings, there's
no need to get it. Just pay it out of
your savings. It is fine unless you want to gotcha.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Okay, thank you for clearing that up, because it's always
a question with a lot of people that I come across,
So thanks for you. Now now back to your features feature.
As an author, what role do you see storytelling playing
and fostering empathy, with which I think is crucially needed
in rescuing dogs as well as compassion.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
Yeah. Actually, children do not develop empathy until they're at
least around four years old. Four to five years old.
They have no empathy. They don't theirs are not capable.
I see books, especially books like this one, which challenge
a child a little bit, that it gives them the opportunity,
(16:51):
It gives them a safe space where they can examine
their own emotions and the emotions of the children of
the characters in the book, while still understanding this is
just a story, it's not real. And so that's true
for all stories, no matter the stories subject matter. But
(17:12):
this is particularly true for those stories that are written
from the perspective of a child or of an animal,
because they are inherently vulnerable creatures and they are particularly
adept at therefore creating empathy in others. So too often
(17:32):
we shelter children where we ought to be challenging them,
and we challenge them where we ought to be sheltering them.
And stories are a safe space to challenge your children
and teach them how in the future they can be
champions of social justice for dogs or whatever their cause is.
(17:56):
It doesn't matter to me what the cause is. In
my case, it's dogs. But they can be a champion
for those animals if they learn from the start that
these animals have real, concrete, verifiable feelings, and the story
is a safe way to show them that.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Oh I like that perspective. Oh, I really like that perspective.
I've never thought about it that way. And I did
not know that children did not have They're not Their
brains aren't developed for empathy until that age.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
No, and it only starts at age four. It does
not complete. The production of the feeling of empathy doesn't
finish until late adolescents, which is why you see child
doing some stuff that you're like in the world. That's
why they're not fully formed yet noted.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Well, I learned something now in terms of like encouraging
adults or even those that work in the animal shelters,
how do you hope the book encourages them to support well?
Speaker 4 (18:57):
I wrote the book with a specific cause in mind,
which was everybody who buys the book online and they
choose the Rescue Coop edition. I send a copy of
the paperback version of the book to Rescue Coop to
give out to their adopters. Oh so my hope is
(19:17):
that in the future I can maybe expand that to
more rescues. I'm trying to work with here locally, with
Humane Society of the Pike's Peak Region to try and
do some book signings down there. Anything also with a
couple different school districts to come in and do some readings,
anything that encourages people to use the shelter system, to
(19:40):
appreciate the shelter system and that intern because I think
if we teach people that the shelters, not just rescues,
but the shelters as well public shelters provide an invaluable service,
they then get more donations, more fosters, more lies, more services,
(20:01):
more funding because they're people. The people who live in
that community know the value of that system. So that's
the way I really hope that I can help rescues
and shelters is to raise awareness of the work they
do and how incredibly important it is.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Well, you may just have your next books topic.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
No, actually, I have three more written that aren't release,
they're written and illustrate. So I already know the next
three books.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Oh, what's the next one? Give us a teaser on
the next book.
Speaker 4 (20:37):
The next one is going to be Daisy's Daydream, and
it's a lifelong homeless dog. It's based on my Daisy again.
She was rescued by Rescue Coop from the high kill shelter,
but she was astray and they think she was a
lifelong straight And it's kind of the story of the
three three three rule of dog rescue, which is give
(20:57):
them three days to stop being shut down, three weeks
to start to understand what the routine of the houses,
and three months, and that's a minimum three months before
they are becoming the dog that they will ultimately be.
It's my opinion that no dog should be thrown away
(21:21):
before it has been in a home for at least
three months, because you have no idea how that dog's
going to turn out based on the first few weeks
that you have it. So Daisy's story is the story
of a dog that choose up the remote control piece
on the floor, barks all night, and it's a little
(21:41):
more joyful and a little less serious than Molly's miracle,
but still has a very powerful message about how we
can help, particularly rescue dogs. But that is true of
every dog, not just rescue dogs. All dogs need that time,
how we can help them to acclimatize to a human
(22:01):
world which is not their native.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
So that's exactly I like that role. Three three keeps us. Yeah,
now Daisy is also a real dog you have.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Daisy is my foxhound. Yeah, she's a She's a foxhound,
maybe a foxhound mix. I'm not sure. I think a
pure bred foxhound though she's She was saved by Rescue
Coop in South Carolina, and she was she had obviously
bred many, many, many times, and she had some behaviors
that made them think that she was a lifelong stray
(22:36):
picked up by animal control. And unfortunately the animal control
where she was picked up is not one of the
better ones, and so their policy is to hold the
dog for seven days and then euthanize. Wow, so they're
not Yeah, they're not the kind of place. So Rescue
Coop gets a lot of their dogs from that shelter
because they are all in imminent danger of euthanasia. As
(22:59):
a matter of fact, I was a little bit the
reason I was listening well prepared with the Zoom meeting
is I was trying to save a dog at Rockymount.
I'm trying to get a placement of foster placement for
a dog at Rockymount whose time is up today.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
So oh no, well, I've wish to all invest in
that in that scenario.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Wow, your work is really commendable, so thank you for
doing that. So we are out of time. I really
appreciate you taking the time. Thanks to our show producer
and Mark Winter for making the show possible. So you
can follow Murph's work at Murphrights dot com as well
as her social media, which will also be on the
show notes page. Again, Murph, thank you, thank you. If
(23:41):
you have any questions, comments, or ideas for a show,
please email me at Beverly at petlife radio dot com.
So until next time, spread adamal and passion.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Let's talk bets every week on demand only on Petlife
radio dot com
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