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If anyone is out there in the ether (this is such a new web page that I doubt it :)!), and if you’ve ever loved a rescue dog (or just love dogs and are interested in their welfare) then please try my book for just 99p for 3 days and then £1.99 for the rest of the week. Do let me know what you think… US Kindle countdown deal will be at the start of August for both this and Lilac Haze. Thank you!

 

A book about rescue dogs, families, holidays, Christmas…

I was inspired to write about Ralph because of the desperate, fearful way he was when we brought him home from the rescue shelter. I wanted to do something to make people think about the way in which ‘man’s best friend’ is sometimes treated by those who should be taking care of them.

Here is the ‘blurb’ from Amazon and the Amazon link:

 

 

” This is the humorous, sometimes sad, and eventually uplifting story of Ralph and the friends he has met along the way. He is a rescue dog with a difficult past who loves other dogs, is frightened of people and cars and mesmerised by cats and rabbits.
It is partly told through his eyes and describes how what he has experienced before has affected how he interacts with those around him.
Entwined with his story, Clare, his new owner and the author of this book, who has a total of over 30 years experience of working with animals and teaching veterinary nursing and animal care and welfare, tells of the joys of having him as a companion and how, through gentle nurturing, his whole outlook on life has changed.
She also writes with a great deal of passion about the pitfalls of a society that has resulted in Ralph being the way he is, and of some of the other issues that are contributing to the problems faced by dogs today. ”

It is sad in parts, as it draws on some of my experiences working with animals, but those who have read it seem to enjoy it. It is also light-hearted and passionate about dogs and their rescue…meet Ralph, Peggy the ex-racer, and little Luella-Lu.

 

I have finally updated my Facebook page with covers of both books. This is the second version of the Lilac Haze cover as I wanted it to reflect more what the book is about, which is the subject of organ donation. Here’s the blurb from Amazon along with the Amazon link:

 

 

Dumfries and Galloway Life Magazine’s ‘Book of the Month’ for April 2014 (Southwest Scotland)

“…an excellent read.” Summer 2013

” You don’t remember your childhood in detail, so your memories thirty or forty years on have become hazy; times you had back then are painted in colours that have become distorted, and you find yourself recalling conversations you have created in your head. Through living in the false world of remembering, you can deal with the past in such a way that the things that happened, they appear to matter less. This is a love story. In the end, anyway, that’s what it will be. A love story gives you hope: whatever you have lost; whatever you have to gain. For me, as someone on daily kidney dialysis, when an offer of a kidney came along which I couldn’t possibly refuse, there was everything to gain. But the past has a way of interfering with what seems as though it is the right path… and how do you ever in this life repay a debt so huge? Clare Cogbill was born in the mid-1960s and has spent much of her adult life working with animals, and as a lecturer. In this book, from personal experience, she explores the issues of organ donation, generosity, grief. and the human-animal bond. It is a story that readers will find thought-provoking and captivating. This book is an autobiography of love, loss, grief and what can happen when you dare to hope. ”

It’s a heart-rending read, and I’m fully aware of the sadness other people have in their life. I hope, however, that on some level it will help others who are experiencing live organ donation. I have received feedback from a few families who have read the book and who have, indeed, found it has helped them through the process themselves.