In my book, "Frankie, the Walk ‘N Roll Dog" I share the name of the company that I went through to buy Frankie’s wheels.  They received a gift copy of Frankie’s book this week and were thrilled.  They have since placed more orders for the book to share with family and friends.  Now I am thrilled!

Here is a part of what Leslie from Eddie’s Wheels (www.eddieswheels.com) wrote:

"We were thrilled to receive a copy of Frankie in the mail today.  What a great job you did of telling her story – which is a universal story of love that every owner of a dachshund in a cart can identify with. 

We are also so grateful that you gave credit to Eddie’s Wheels, and the great professionals who helped you along on this path of healing, acceptance and rehabilitation.  We’re glad to hear that Frankie’s a wobbly spinal walker outside of her cart – that’s just what I tell people every day – this is what I call the every day miracle that happens when pups are given the time and support needed to heal."

I could not agree with Eddie’s Wheels more and that is another reason I wrote Frankie’s story to show others that these dogs truly can have a quality of life even in wheels.  The icing on the cake is that Frankie can now "hop" and wobble walk and gets around better than we ever thought she would.  We just needed to be patient, provide what we could for her and let her determined little spirit do the rest.

Bravo!!

Frankie’s book is finally here!  I am thrilled!  It is hard to find the right words to describe how this feels, but it is the most remarkable feeling I have ever felt.

Thirteen cartons arrived via a semi truck on Jan. 11, 2008.  My little street came to life when I heard the truck rumbling outside my house.  The anticipation was so great I could hardly stand it.  This was it.  Ten months of striving to complete this book and the big moment arrived.  I was so nervous!!  I then said a prayer and held my faith the book would be exactly what I hoped it would be.

It seemed like FOREVER while the truck driver unloaded the books onto the lift and then rolled them up my driveway and into the garage.  My hands were just shaking as I signed the invoice form.  He s-l-o-w-l-y walked away.  I then took my box cutter out of my coat pocket, steadied my hand and opened the first box.  There it was… Frankie’s book… I cried, and cried and cried.  I quickly unwrapped them from the plastic wrap and flipped through the pages.  It was better than I had hoped!!  A dream come true!

John said nicely, as I was still crying, “Get in the house.”  I made my way into the kitchen where Cindy, my cleaning lady was and she said, “Don’t cry or you’ll make me cry.”  We hugged and jittered with joy.

As I made my way over to my Mom’s house to show her my book I kept saying in my mind, “1-11-2008, 1-11-2008, 1-11-2008, I never want to forget this date and how this feels!”  A day or so later I wrote that date on a sea green stone and placed it by my indoor water fountain.  That symbol will always remind me what a remarkable day 1-11-2008 was.

Frankie’s book is now available for purchase via my website.  Click here for more information, joyfulpaws.com.

I will also be having a book launch to kick off Frankie’s book.  It will be held at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake on Feb. 24th, 2008 from 1:00p-3:00p.  A brief talk, selected reading and question and answer will be a part of the event, followed by a book signing.  We hope you can be there!  Frankie will be there to greet everyone too!  For more information feel free to email me at joyfulpaws@yahoo.com