Tales from a Dog Catcher: July 2016

Tales from a Dog Catcher

"In the tradition of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and John Grogan's Marley & Me, Tales from a Dog Catcher is a humorous and heartwarming collection about love, laughter, loss, acceptance, and fate, in the world of an animal control officer."

- Publishers Marketplace"

...Writing in a style reminiscent of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small, she recalls her experiences in 22 vignettes that dispel and replace stereotypes with an image of a compassionate individual concerned with animals and people alike. Like Herriot, she is a gifted storyteller and an astute observer.... At times amusing and heart-wrenching, this memorable book deserves wide readership. Highly recommended for public libraries. "
- Library Journal (starred review)

... In Tales from a Dog Catcher, she brings together these experiences in a magical book that is funny, touching, and heartrending by turns." - Amazon.com

"This is a wonderful book. I had a hard time putting it down. I was laughing and tearing up, sometimes at the same time! I didn't want it to end..."-Nina Killham, Bestselling Author of Believe Me, How to Cook a Tart, and Mounting Desire

"Having good writing skills isn't a prerequisite for getting a job as a dog catcher, but the two certainly make a good combination for the author of Tales from a Dog Catcher...Some stories are funny - some may move you to tears. I may be barking up the wrong tree, but I think they will appeal to animal lover's and even those who don't care for pets will enjoy reading about the eccentric people involved in these tales from a dog catcher." ...Phyliss Davidson - INFO Metropolitan Library System Magazine. Oklahoma

"Summer reading! Enjoy tales about hero hounds, crazy cats. Great dog books just made for Summer Reading! ... Here's a list of some of our favorite books ... Tales from a Dog Catcher by Lisa Duffy-Korpics is a collection of real stories about people and the animals they encounter...this book is in the tradition of "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot. The stories are funny, sad, uplifting and even silly." ...Laurie Denger - Dayton Daily News. Ohio

"...In Tales from a Dog Catcher," author Lisa Duffy-Korpics recounts her years as an animal control officer in a series of fascinating and engaging stories...the stories can be funny and heartbreaking, often simultaneously...However, there is no shortage of entertaining encounters. Animal lovers will appreciate the candid tales, and enjoy a new perspective on an often unexamined profession."...Dog Channel.com

"Lisa's numerous on-the-job adventures are compiled in this collection of sad, charming, delightful and humorous short stories. ...Animal lovers of all ages will appreciate Lisa’s recollections of her memorable encounters with domestic animals and injured wildlife in the beautiful Hudson Valley." ...Rachelle Nones - Tri County WOMAN magazine. New York

Monday, July 25, 2016

The Summer I Grew Up; Living With Your Eyes Open - Guest Author Emma Korpics

Emma in 2009

Years ago I featured my daughter as a guest blogger on this site. Tales from a Dog Catcher had just been published and I think she may have been going into 5 grade. We were on vacation in North Carolina and I interviewed her as my guest celebrity. It was then that I realized how funny she was...not in that cute little kid kind of way, but edgy, witty, tongue in cheek funny.
Here's the blog post from 2009.

Emma in 2016

Emma doesn't let people in until she's very comfortable with you. It's an honor really - harder to achieve than the Pulitzer. But when she does; it's totally worth the wait. As time went on she started to let others know she was funny - and then onto high school where she gained a reputation for being hysterical, quick and witty. She also could sing and dance like she'd had years of training - something else she'd mostly been keeping to herself. She was in select choir in elementary and middle school - she didn't even tell us she was auditioning. She was in the high school choirs, select, chamber, show choir...she was in the Musicals. We were lucky if she even told us when these concerts were. She was amazing. and even though it has been a number of years now since she's begun to allow the world to see this side of herself; I'm still constantly surprised.

SO...Just when you thought that was it; there was more. I'm finding that she can express herself as well on paper as she can on a stage. I had an idea she could do this - but I didn't know to what extent. That she could cause me, a 53 year old cynical seasoned (better than old) adult to stop and pause and really reevaluate my thinking....my perception of life.

"You don't realize how fast life is going until you really look into how much time has passed between each memory. I think about when I was sitting in the car as my mom drove me around because I didn't have a license. It feels like that was simultaneously yesterday and a lifetime ago.

...Obviously once you leave home and you fave to fend for yourself (for the most part), you start to grow as an individual. However, I'm not talking about individuality or relying on yourself - but growing up in the context of perception....time is precious and every minute has to be taken advantage of -and in this I have found a way to make an experience out of everything."