The American Dog Magazine

Tales from a Dog Catcher is included in The American Dog Magazine's July - October 2009 Edition as part of their recommended summer reading. The American Dog Magazine Website describes their publication better than I ever could...so here it goes!

"The American Dog Magazine is sold in thousands of retail outlets nationwide and published quarterly in the spring, summer, fall and winter. We are a "Lifestyle" Dog Magazine that is devoted to showcasing the extraordinary lifestyles of dogs and the incredible rewards associated when a family embraces these amazing canine kids as a member of the family. We focus on the topics that are relevent in today's accelerated and spontaneous society. We cover the issues that need to be heard and matter to all Dog Parents out there. We want to bring you the outrageous, the funny, the entertaining, the in-depth editorial content and the thought-provoking, serious issues. We hope to inspire, amuse, inform, entertain and especially educate you as you scroll through the pages of The American Dog magazine!

All profits from The American Dog Magazine go to animal related charities. You can pick up a copy of the magazine at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods Market, B.Dalton Booksellers and other stores where books and magazines are sold.

Thanks go out to the editors of The American Dog Magazine for featuring Tales from a Dog Catcher as one of their "Bedtime Books for Summer Reading" for 2009!

Book Hound: Dogs in Black and White Review

A nice review from Tanya Turgeon from Fetchdog.com, your one-stop shop for all things dog! I really enjoyed reading this review...it was different than many others in that it really explained the role of an animal control officer and clarified the differences between the vision people have in their minds, and what a "dog catcher" really does. Thanks Tanya, for a great , incredibly well written and articulate review. Tanya should think about writing a book...she definitely has the chops! If you check out her website above, you'll see that this is a multi-talented young woman who can not only write, but also acts, models and even performs in a circus! She's done some work for the Big Apple Circus, which has its headquarters right down the road a bit from my house! It's a small world. You can read the review below or here, for the direct link to the Fetchdog.com blog.

Tales from a Dog Catcher

REVIEW by Tanya Turgeon

The Lyons Press, 2009 - 252 pages - $16.95

The words "dog catcher" conjure in my mind a cartoon stereotype of a middle-aged awkwardly burly mustachioed man in khaki shorts and matching button-down short-sleeved shirt wielding an oversized butterfly net. He is constantly warring with the neighborhood dogs who always end up oustmarting him, a la Heathcliff or Lady and the Tramp. I have since been educated by Tales from a Dog Catcher, written by former Animal Control Officer Lisa Duffy (now known as teacher and author Lisa Duffy-Korpics), who turns out to be the farthest thing from male and burly.

Curious if the difference between a "dog catcher" and an "Animal Control Officer" had to do with age, gender, size, and demeanor, I consulted my old faithful friend Wikipedia who informed me, "Gone are the days of the big bad dog catcher. Today Animal Control Officers focus more on educating the public on proper animal care, and rescuing animals from dangerous or abusive situations." Apparently my mental image was simply out-of-date. Relative to the book, this statement should appear in bold on the cover, that's how precisely it summarizes the experiences of Lisa Duffy.

The stories are quite self-sufficient and a few have already been featured in some of the Chicken Soup books, which is an indicator of the tone they take. As the antithesis to the old school dog catcher, ACO Duffy is most often armed with soothing words and dog biscuits as she saves animal after animal (including an endearing one-legged duck), empathizing wholeheartedly, and often being brought to tears by situations beyond her control.

If some of the animal encounters are odd, like a flock of turkeys marching down a steep embankment toward a busy roadway, the human confrontations are more so. One woman is told to feed and water some kittens, so she of course pours water all over them. Another insists on putting down a perfectly healthy Schnauzer so he can be buried with his owner, her recently deceased uncle.The only enemies in Duffy's life are negligent and abusive owners, who are reponsible for frustrating and often heartbreaking circumstances.

While I expected more nit and grit from such an insider view, I respect the realistic and honest writing. Besides who am I to judge when I so thoroughly misconceived the role of a dog catcher at the outset? At one point, ACO Duffy tenderly pets a beautiful German Shepherd whose life of abuse has led directly to euthanization. "You're misunderstood," she says.

So it seems has been the role of the dog catcher.

Animal Radio XM Satellite Radio Channel 158

Animal Radio Inteview at 2:45 EST. Book give-a-ways for lucky listeners.

You can listen online at animalradio.com or on your local FM affiliate. Some local ones in the tri-state area are: WXCT 990 Hartford, CT, WXBA 1 pm Saturdays. 88.1 on Long Island, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Sundays at 9 AM. and WKVA 920 in State College PA at 10 am on Sundays. Of course, State College PA is not in the tri-state area of New York, but my husband is a Penn State Alumni and I had to add that one!

The book signing at Barnes & Noble on Thursday evening was quiet, but productive. A rainy, cold, rather unpleasant evening limited the amount of people brave enough to venture out...even I was wishing that I could go home and wrap myself up in a blanket, but once I was there I met some great people. Thanks to Robin, who bought not 1, but 2 books! He was going on vacation and wanted to give one to his dog-sitter as a gift. I met some friendly ESL teachers out for the evening to look at some books, and of course my family who stopped by to help out. My sister in law Gen took me out to dinner at Cosimo's in Newburgh before the signing and then picked up two books to bring back to our new friends at the restaurant. I think Gen is personally responsible for my Amazon rank sometimes! All in all, I met some great people, sold a few books and enjoyed a Starbucks Mocha Frappucino for 2 hours on a rainy Thursday evening - much more fun than just sitting home with a blanket!

Dog Days of Summer Book Challenge

Found a great blog from a book club called novel-discussions.blogspot.com. They are challenging their readers to a Dog Days of Summer event! The goal is to read 10 books about dogs during the summer. The original idea was from another blog called The Literate Housewife, (I'm going to check that one out too!). The mini-challenge will begin on June 21st, and run through the last day of summer, September 22nd. This ends up being about 1 book a week. We can handle that! Tales from a Dog Catcher was one of the suggestions along with some of my all time favorites like James Herriot's Dog Stories. A great book that I haven't read in a long time is the original 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith. If you read that one carefully you may be able to find the 102nd Dalmation...she's in there but you have to be extra observant to find her!

New Book Recounts Experiences working as an Animal Control Officer: Review from Dog Channel.com

Tales From a Dog Catcher
New book recounts experiences working as an animal control officer.
May 25, 2009

Most dog lovers would not find a career in animal control particularly enticing. But in the new book “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.
In the 22 real life stories, Duffy-Korpics sheds light on the duties of a dog catcher serving the public. While there are plenty of mundane tasks civil servants must perform, there are plenty more exciting adventures the public is not always privy to. The author offers readers a glimpse into her world, where each day is never the same. She also reveals herself to be a compassionate animal lover as much – if not more so – than some of the people she served.
Each vignette is an interesting tale of human and animal interaction. The book is as much about the many animals Duffy-Korpics has encountered as it is about the quirky characters she met.

From the housewife certain there is a mountain lion or bear in her garage to the decades-long feud between two neighbors and their dogs, 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.

“Tales from a Dog Catcher” by Lisa Duffy-Korpics is on sale now.

Readings and Signings for June and July 2009

The Walden Josephine Louise Memorial Libary at 5 Scofield St, Walden, NY 12586 , (845) 778-7621, was established as a circulating library in 1896, the library has been housed at its present location since 1916. Chartered in 1900 by the NYS Regents Department, the Walden Public Library opened March 1, 1901 and incorporated in 1910.
Its greatest benefactor, the Hon. Thomas W. Bradley, resident manufacturer and U.S. Congressman, provided matching funds for a centrally located village hall which would include a permanent home for the library. The library is a memorial to his wife, Josephine, and daughter, Louise, one of the founders of the 1896 circulating library. I'm thrilled to have been invited to do a reading/book talk and signing at the library on Thursday July 9th at 7pm. Thursdays are also the weekly Farmer's Market in the Village of Walden - so stop by and pick up some produce and baked goods and then come on back to hear some stories from Tales from a Dog Catcher in the evening!

I'll be at Barnes & Noble at Newburgh Crossing, Rt. 300 (Union Avenue), Newburgh, NY on Thursday June 18th at 7 pm. Come and pick up a signed copy and have a frappucino, (or buy ME one!) and keep me company - Remember Father's Day is only a few days later - all Dad's love animal books...really...would I make something like that up?

Animal Radio Interview on June 20th at 2:45 pm

I'll be chatting with the folks from Animal Radio on XM Satellite Channel 157 on June 20th at 2:45 or so, (I'll update once I know for sure). You can listen on XM or your local affiliate station or even online at http://www.animalradio.com/. Animal Radio has a lot of helpful information for pet owners, product and book reviews, timely animal related news, and tips from well known Veterinarians to keep your pets happy and healthy.

Tri-County WOMAN Magazine - book review and interview!

Tri-County WOMAN magazine is a regional women's interest publication for females 24 to 65+ who live or work in Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster County, New York. It is published by Tigerlily Communications. The Editor in Chief is Felicia Hodges - photo-journalist, mom, writer, editor, publisher, college instructor, breast cancer survivor and activist, and as of this month...a Black Belt!

Each issue of Tri-County Woman has features on area women who are doing great things in their communities ("Movers and Shakers"), ("Book Nook"), articles for parents and parent-to-be ("Matriarch’s Manor") and relationship articles ("You and Your Mate"). Some departments, including "Business Spotlight," "In This Corner..." (local information of interest as well as product and movie reviews), "Book Nook" (reviews of local authors' books) and "HERStory" (dates of interest to women). Their readers are smart career-, education- and family-minded women - be they stay-at-home moms, single CEOs, graduate students or retired grandmothers - who want to take advantage of all the area has to offer. It has been proudly produced by Mid-Hudson Valley women since 2005. In June 2007 - Tri-County Woman won the WRPA (Women's Regional Publications of America) Gold Award for Editorial Excellence, Best Special Insert, Best Internet Content and WRPA Silver Award for Magazine of the Year.

For the June issue, I had the privilege of being interviewed for the "Movers and Shakers" section by one of their contributing writer's Leah Black. I admire Leah so much....she was so thorough and helped me feel comfortable being on the opposite side of an interview for the first time. Add to this, the fact that she did this interview in several parts with a brand new infant AND a toddler in the background. She is definitely an excellent multi-tasker!

Tales from a Dog Catcher will be the book reviewed in the "Book Nook" in the June edition as well. Thanks go out to my dear friend Felicia who published my first paid published piece many years ago as an editor for Hudson Valley PARENT Magazine's "Parent's View" section. It was titled "Baby Shoes" and my son was about two - he's 15 now and his shoes are a great deal larger! That essay was reprinted in Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul about a year or so ago.

Thank you Felicia...you are a role model for women everywhere! Check out Tri-County WOMAN at the link here or above.

Gracie the Dog: Naked Rescue Mutt Fearlessly Rides Seattle Metro Bus

I have a new friend! Gracie is a mixed breed rescue dog from Seattle, Washington. Her Mom reviewed my book, (you can read about it below), and now I find that she enjoyed it too, although she was protected from the very sad parts - which was a good idea since that may give her nightmares. You can read her take on Tales from a Dog Catcher here.

http://midlifedog.com/blog/index.php/a-dogs-life/a-dog-book-that-deserves-to-be-rescued/.

I enjoy reading about Gracie, her love/hate relationship with the cat, Ophelia and also about all of her adventures. I think it would make a great book! When you get a chance, check out her blog and see what Gracie's up to today. She is quite the jet-setter and even rides the city bus, and does so in a much calmer and appropriate manner then most people I've met on a city bus!

A Lovely Review from an Amazon Top Reviewer

5.0 out of 5 stars This book deserves to be saved!, May 4, 2009

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review on amazon brought tears to my eyes. Not only that, but she nailed the city! Even living clear across the country she could recognize my home town. I love the title of the review too. Let's start a campaign like in that scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, when everyone carries signs that say "SAVE FERRIS"! Much thanks to Dr. Cathy Goodwin from Seattle Washington. I truly appreciate it.

"A wonderful book that, alas, will probably be as lost and forgotten as some of the stray animals Lisa rounds up. This book is far better written (and infinitely more entertaining) than some books I've reviewed from major New York publishers. Lisa knows how to tell a story.

Each chapter shares an episode from her four years as an Animal Control Officer, working her way through college in a small town on the Hudson. Having visited friends in Peekskill many years ago, I found myself remembering the cold winters and hilly town. I even wondered if Lisa worked in Peekskill, disguising the name. Lisa shares the good, the bad and the evil. Sometimes she gets to save an animal's life. Sometimes she gets in bizarre situations (like the woman who thought "feed and water the kittens" meant "throw water on them"). And she meets people who are so evil it's breathtaking. Even the upbeat ending fit the story. Lisa's a natural. She describes filling in as a school crossing guard, having the kids skip across the street. She's a natural with kids and she must be a pretty amazing person.

I just wish someone could rescue this book from obscurity and put it front and center at all the bookstores."

-Dr. Cathy Goodwin