Lyons Press (November 6, 2012)

A DOG NAMED LEAF: The Hero from Heaven Who Saved My Life

By Allen Anderson with Linda Anderson

Allen and Linda Anderson adopted a traumatized one-year-old cocker spaniel who had been abandoned. Soon, the troubled dog they named “Leaf” turned their home into a war zone. Although Leaf and Allen were forging a friendship with visits to dog parks and bonding time, Leaf’s emotional issues overwhelmed the couple. Shortly after Leaf’s arrival, Allen, who had spent eight years as a big city police officer and survived so many close calls that Linda called him “Miracle Man,” received a diagnosis from his doctor that made him think his luck had finally run out. Allen had an unruptured brain aneurysm that could be fatal, and the surgery to repair it might leave him debilitated. Having seen his father live for years with the effects of a massive stroke, he dreaded that the worst fate might not be death. What Allen didn’t know is that he and Leaf, like comrades facing the ultimate battle, would be there for each other with the miracle of this man and this dog coming together at exactly the right time.

http://www.facebook.com/ADOGNAMEDLEAF

"Animals are divine messengers of miracles that go far beyond emotional comfort and practical assistance. Talk to those who have been transported to a heavenly place by the gentle purring of a kitten or whose broken hearts, burdened by worry and pain, have been mended by a dog licking their hand. They will tell you that animals connect them with the River of Life in ways poets imagine and mystics contemplate. They will tell you that their deepest and most sincere relationships with animals are spiritual partnerships."

--Allen and Linda Anderson, Angel Animals: Divine Messengers of Miracles, p.1

Allen and Linda Anderson

ANGEL ANIMALS NETWORK - Where Pets Are Family

www.angelanimals.net

To subscribe to Angel Animals Story of the Week, send a blank message to AngelAnimals-on@mail-list.com

Endorsements for Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals: Finding Comfort After Losing Your Pet by Allen and Linda Anderson (New World Library, 2008). All Rights Reserved.

“Allen and Linda Anderson’s book gives us permission to acknowledge the intense bond we have with our animal companions and the deep loss we can experience after their deaths. It provides helpful stories, exercises, and memorial services respecting a variety of beliefs. Infused with kindness, their work offers us help, hope, and a rainbow during the storm. I have learned from it and will celebrate and share it.”

--The Reverend Mary Piper, Episcopal priest and chaplain, cofounder of the pet loss support program at Heart of the Valley Humane Society in Bozeman, Montana

“This masterful and beautiful book is rich with wisdom, inspiration, and sound advice. With sensitivity and compassion as well as practical information, the Andersons gently and deftly guide us through the complex labyrinth of emotions associated with grief. I highly recommend this thoughtful, illuminating, and comforting book.”

--Diane Pomerance, PhD, creator and director of the Pet Grief Counseling Program, SPCA of Texas, and author of When Your Pet Dies

“As a veterinary medical correspondent and lifetime pet lover, I believe in both the power of pets and the power of stories to heal. This book. . .offers a wide range of healing activities, wise information, compassionate reflection, and practical help for honoring and memorializing the life of your pet.”

--Dr. Marty Becker, resident veterinarian on ABC’s Good Morning America and author of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul

“Let me say this about Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals: I love it. I treasure it. The Andersons have left no question unposed, no conflict bypassed, no reflection unacknowledged. If you are facing or have faced the loss of a beloved animal friend, let this book be your companion and your comfort. There exists no better exploration of this landscape of loss.”

--Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers and Why Buffalo Dance

“In this latest offering, the Andersons prove themselves to be the very angels and divine messengers of hope they write about in their Angel Animals series. Helping readers understand and successfully navigate the turbulent waters of grief, they remind us that the bond of love between a human soul and an animal soul is never broken and that the spiritual connection that binds us with a beloved animal never dies. Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals is fine reading for those who seek to better understand the agony of pet loss and priceless gift of compassion and love for anyone anticipating or coping with the loss of a cherished animal companion.”

--Marty Tousley, certified hospice bereavement counselor specializing in pet loss and author of Children and Pet Loss and The Final Farewell

“Allen and Linda Anderson care about those who have experienced loss. With warmth and sincerity, they provide many suggestions and resources to help you through the healing process. Saying Goodbye to Your Angel Animals inspires and brings comfort to anyone who has lost a beloved animal companion."

--Niki Behrikis Shanahan, author of The Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss Is Heaven’s Gain and There Is Eternal Life for Animals

"I especially appreciated this book's [Saying Goodbye] consistent message that animals are sentient beings who we can communicate with in meaningful ways both before and after their deaths."

--Species Link Magazine, Winter 2009

"In this wise and comforting guide to pet loss, [Saying Goodbye] the authors, well known for their "Angel Animals" anthologies, have written a simple and heartfelt examination of what to expect when faced with the death of a beloved pet."

--Sally Rosenthal, Best Friends Magazine, January/February 2009

Allen and Linda Anderson

ANGEL ANIMALS NETWORK - Where Pets Are Family

www.angelanimals.net

To subscribe to Angel Animals Story of the Week, send a blank message to AngelAnimals-on@mail-list.com

Allen & Linda Anderson

Award-Winning Authors and Speakers

TALK TOPIC

What's That TV Crew Doing in My Living Room?

A married couple who overcame the odds and became successful pet book authors share how being a golden team can make you newsworthy.

Short Description of Talk:

Individually or as a dynamic couple, Allen and Linda Anderson present their unusual, often-hilarious journey to becoming internationally and locally newsworthy. They share entertaining, enlightening, heart opening, and sometimes, harrowing personal experiences and insights from their offbeat road to becoming best-selling and award-winning animal book authors. With true cat, dog, horse, and other animal stories they have collected over the years, from around the world, they inspire audiences to overcome obstacles and value all of life's teachers. Allen and Linda show everyone that if the Andersons can do it, anyone can follow their dreams. Pet enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and people of any age or profession will appreciate what Allen and Linda say about teamwork and partnership and living the unexpected life while juggling love, marriage, financial dips, pets, purpose, courage, fear, and health challenges. They show how to get it together (or look like you did) when you're not cool at all. 

ABOUT ALLEN AND LINDA ANDERSON

In 1996, Allen and Linda Anderson founded the Angel Animals Network (www.angelanimals.net) to share the benefits and complexities of human-animal companionship. Since then, they have written a popular series of thirteen books (working on the 14th) about the human-animal bond, published by New World Library. Their work has been featured on national and local television and radio programs and newspapers, in national wire service articles, Canadian and British newspapers, and BBC radio. Several of the Andersons’ books are translated into foreign languages, and their books are also sold internationally.

The Andersons' books have been recommended on NBC’s The Today Show and ABC’s Nightly News with Peter Jennings and listed in Amazon.com’s “Hot 100” and Barnes & Noble’s “Top 10, What America Is Reading.” They have been featured in USA Today and the Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, KARE 11 Extra, Showcase Minnesota, and WCCO, KSTP, and Fox 9 news shows. Stories from their books were reenacted on The Montel Show and Animal Planet. RESCUED: Saving Animals from Disaster won the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Outstanding Book Award. They are contributing authors to Beliefnet.com, ivillage.com, and Awareness Magazine with the regular column “Pet Corner”.

Celebrities who have endorsed orcontributed stories and quotes for the Andersons' books include New York Times best-selling author Rory Freedman as well as Betty White, Gretchen Wyler, Carson Kressley, Joe Mantegna, Molly Sims, Rue McLanahan, Willard Scott, Brigitte Bardot, Tiffani Thiessen, Tippi Hedren, Richard Simmons, a US Senator, Dr. Allen Schoen, DVM, Dr. Marty Becker, DVM, and Dee Wallace, among others.

Allen and Linda Anderson were recipients of a Certificate of Commendation from Governor Tim Pawlenty in recognition of their contributions as authors enhancing the economy and welfare of the state of Minnesota.

The Andersons' speaking engagements include the American Veterinary Medical Association's convention in New Orleans, the Minnesota Veterinary Technician's convention at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and numerous Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, churches, fundraisers for animal shelters, and civic groups. They specialize in consulting with businesses on making products and services pet-friendly to maximize reach into the market of two out of three American homes that have pets as family members.

Visit http://www.angelanimals.net/speakers.html for details.

Allen and Linda Anderson

ANGEL ANIMALS NETWORK - Where Pets Are Family

www.angelanimals.net

To subscribe to Angel Animals Story of the Week, send a blank message to AngelAnimals-on@mail-list.com

A CAT'S EYE VIEW

We have often wondered what our cat Cuddles thinks of how we relate to our cocker spaniel Leaf. Sometimes, she looks at us quizzically when we praise Leaf for behaviors that come second nature to her.

For example, we give Leaf positive reinforcement when he goes to the back door and squeals to be let out to relieve himself. We lavish emotional, heightened praise on him. "Oh, Leaf, good boy. You told us you have to go."

Cuddles watches us with an expression of amazement on her face. Her world of fastidious kitty litter use and personal cleanliness, with a ritual of fur licking, is beyond a dog's world of housetraining.

Here are a few other discrepancies between cat and dog world in our house:

Belly rubs - After watching Leaf roll over on his back to beg for a tummy rub, Cuddles tried the maneuver to see what all the fuss was about.  She found having us pet her belly to be of absolutely no interest or pleasure.

Leaf's bed - Cuddles sprawls out on Leaf's bed at night and manages to keep him off of it until she moves away.  Is this a power struggle or is Cuddles trying to find out if she prefers Leaf's bed to hers? Actually her favorite bed is ours. She sleeps curled up against Linda for most of the night.

Leaf's water bowl -- Cuddles rarely drinks out of her bowl. She makes Leaf sit and wait until she finishes using his bowl before he can get a drink.

Leaf's chew toys - Cuddles never understood this concept of chewing on a toy. She watches Leaf with an expression that says, "How disgusting!"

Leaf chasing a ball - After observing Allen bounce a ball for Leaf across the hallway, Cuddles tried to chase it a couple of times. "How boring," she said and wandered off to lick her paws.

How do cat world and dog world differ in your home?

Allen and Linda Anderson, Angel Animals Network, www.angelanimals.net