Pajama Press

Pajama press is proud to announce that Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends   by Rob Laidlaw has been nominated for the 2014/2015 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award.

This award is an annual reading program that encourages literacy and the love of reading among children in grades 4, 5, and 6 in Atlantic Canada. The companion book to Cat Champions, No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, is nominated for the 2013/2014 award; those results will be announced later this spring. Learn more at www.hackmatack.ca.

Congratulations to Rob and to all of the nominated authors!

REVIEWS

“…the kids’ actions should inspire readers to get involved with rescue efforts in their own communities. This title would be useful for its information on young people and their determination to protect cats everywhere.”—School Library Journal

“The straightforward message, good examples and plentiful resources may well combine to inspire new advocates.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Written in a clear unpreachy style and brimming with lovely full-colour photos, this is an ideal volume for any young cat lover…”—Quill & Quire

“…the book’s centerpiece is the “cat champions,” or young people (some eight or nine years old) who have gone above and beyond to make life better for felines.…The list of organizations where kids can learn about ways they can help is extensive and useful.”—Booklist

“[A] book that will empower youth to help homeless cats… Attractive sidebars contain tidbits of information that will be of interest to cat lovers…Highly Recommended.”—CM Magazine ****/4

“The information is easily accessible and the stories are engaging and heart-warming… This is a wonderful book for any animal lover.”—Resource Links

When I was in Tokyo, I went to see the memorial statue of Hachiko the dog just outside the Shibuya train station. While Hachiko is extremely famous in Japan, he’s not quite so famous in other parts of the world—but he should be.

In 1924 Hachiko’s “owner” would take the train to work and return each evening. Hachiko would wait for him to return, but in May 1925 his owner passed away and did not return. Hachiko waited faithfully at the train station every day for nine years. During that time he became famous. In 1932 Hachiko also passed away, but his memory lives on today. In No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs I tell the story of the Greyfriar’s Bobby, a small Skye terrier who also spent years waiting for his “owner” to return. Hachiko, Bobby and other dogs like them can teach us a lot. Perhaps we should all be a bit more like dogs.

Welcome to Dog Tales, a series where author and animal advocate Rob Laidlaw shares stories and facts from his travels and work in dog advocacy. 

I’m always amazed at how wild dogs can exist in the midst of heavily urbanized environments. A year ago I even saw a big coyote casually trotting down the sidewalk of a busy downtown street.  But it’s not that surprising when you think about it. Both wild dogs and feral domesticated dogs have integrated themselves into human environments for a very long time and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.

One of the dogs that criss-crosses that amorphous dividing line between wild and domesticated is the dingo, a wild dog found everywhere in Australia except on the island of Tasmania. With a short, usually golden-yellow or brown coat, dingoes are stunning dogs that inhabit a wide variety of habitats. They tend to live in pairs, but can occasionally be found in small family groups.

While no one knows for sure how dingoes came to Australia, genetic testing has confirmed that they are descendents of dogs that probably came from southern China many thousands of years ago. Their scientific name is often cited as Canis lupus dingo (meaning it is a subspecies of the grey wolf) or Canis familiaris dingo (meaning it is a subspecies of the domesticated dog). There is a lot of argument about which one is right.

When Europeans first arrived on the remote island continent, they discovered dingoes living in relative harmony with Aboriginal people, sometimes serving as camp sentries or as hunting assistants.

When sheep farming was brought to Australia, dingoes found a new and easy food source. Unfortunately, killing sheep led to dingoes being treated as pests and they’ve been mercilessly hunted and killed ever since.

To keep dingoes out of southeast Australia, a 5,614 km (3,488 mile) fence was erected. Construction of the 180 cm (5.9 ft) high fence began in the early 1880s and was completed in 1885. North of the fence, dingoes are treated as wildlife, while south of the fence they were killed as pests. That’s still the case today.

However, the biggest threat to the dingo now is hybridization (breeding with domesticated dogs). Pure dingoes are very rare and many wildlife experts consider them an endangered species.

Primitive dogs, often dingo-like, can be found around the world. The New Guinea Singing Dog is a primitive dog that is thought to have been brought to the island several thousand years ago. Left alone, they developed into their own breed. Other early dogs are North America’s Carolina dog, sometimes called the American dingo,  Israel’s Canaan dog and the Pariah dogs of India.

Wild and feral dogs have been with us for a long time and for much of that time they’ve been mercilessly persecuted. That’s been the history of coyotes in North America—people waging an endless war against them. But coyotes have beaten the odds and they’ve survived and prospered. I hope the other dogs do too.

Lili, who blogs at Rescue Dogs the Movie, is nine years old—the perfect age to review No Shelter Here!

I just got this FABULOUS book from the library yesterday.

It’s called No Shelter Here. I LOVE IT! It’s very sad knowing what things are happening to dogs, but it just reminds you to give your dog extra love.

It also tells you about great websites to visit that have to do with Animal Welfare and Shelter Dogs.
With each dog problem it tells you about, there’s one story of someone who helps make the world a better place for dogs.

Thank you, Rob Laidlaw, for making the world a better place for dogs.

Click here to see Lili’s full post.

Are you a dog lover?  Learn about what life is like for a shelter dog and how you can help.  Kids like you all over the world are doing what they can to make the world a better place for dogs everywhere.  If you’re thinking about getting a dog, this book has lots of helpful information to guide you in choosing the perfect pet for you.  Learn the sad truth about pet stores and puppy mills and what goes on behind closed doors at some shelters.  Author Rob Laidlaw wants to spread the word about helping dogs, and he hopes you will listen!  Request this book today and learn what you can do to help dogs.
–Whitney Library

Click here to view the full post

Rob Laidlaw, long-time animal advocate and international champion of dogs, provides information about the challenges dogs face around the world.  With examples from Canada, Japan, India, and several other countries in addition to the United States, he exposes the plight of these abandoned and often abused animals.  Urging readers to get involved, he relates the stories of children and young people around the globe who saw a problem and became Dog Champions.  Kids have created documentaries, raised money, and helped to make lawmakers aware of dog abuse.  This book is great for reluctant readers, dog lovers, or kids who need to do a service project.

–Tracey L, Mackin Books in Bloom

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Animal advocate [Rob] Laidlaw has a bone to pick with the way some of the world’s 500 million dogs are treated. After identifying what all dogs need, the author takes a hard look at puppy mills, free-ranging dogs, dogs that are constantly chained, and dogs submitted to devocalizing and appearance-altering surgeries. While some dogs have healthy “careers” as dog sniffers, rescue dogs, and therapy dogs, the engaging text explains the perils for greyhound and sled-dog racers, as well as dogs used for scientific research. But not all dogs have it bad. Numerous profiles reveal how “Dog Champions” have initiated grassroots efforts to provide better services and protection to canines. For readers looking for their next best friend, Laidlaw explains how and why to adopt a dog and the various kinds of shelters available. Abundantly stocked with color photographs and supplemented with online resources and a glossary, this book invites children to pause and consider our friends who have paws.
— Angela Leeper, Booklist

Welcome to Dog Tales, a series where author and animal advocate Rob Laidlaw shares stories and facts from his travels and work in dog advocacy.

I recently read an article about dogs checking for bedbugs at a third of Hamilton’s public libraries. That’s one I’d never heard of. I’d known about dogs sniffing out loads of other things, such as bomb making materials, drugs and endangered species products, but this one was new to me. While researching my book No Shelter Here: Makingthe World a Kinder Place for Dogs, I came across some astounding “feats of the nose,” particularly in the medical field, including dogs sniffing out cancer tumors. But I’d never heard about them being used to find bedbugs. Well, apparently they do.

For any Hamilton library-goers who might be reading this, fear not. While the bed bug sniffing dogs did pick up the scent of the little critters, no actual bedbugs or eggs were found.

Welcome to Dog Tales, a series where author and animal advocate Rob Laidlaw shares stories and facts from his travels and work in dog advocacy.

During the past year I’ve come across numerous articles about some amazing dogs in Russia. Apparently there are about 35, 000 stray dogs in the City of Moscow and 500 of them have learned to use the subway system. My guess is that the cold Moscow winters forced the dogs to find shelter and the subway system, being underground, was a great escape from the cold. Well that’s pretty smart, but what’s even more amazing is that about 50 dogs have learned to use the trains. They hop on in the morning—usually on the front or rear car because they’re the least busy—and then take the train downtown. They get off at their stop, go up to the surface, forage for food and then repeat the travel process in reverse later in the day. Essentially they commute to work. No one knows who was the first commuting dog or how they learned to recognize the stops, but it’s thought that they might know how long it takes to get to a particular stop or they may be triggered to get off by an odour or sound that is specific to certain stations. No matter how they do this, it’s pretty amazing. I don’t think we give dogs (or other animals) enough credit. They’re usually much smarter than we think.

“No Shelter Here is a wonderful introductory for younger generations and sure to be a book the entire family will learn from. From what dogs need to have a quality life to serious issues and those who face them, Rob Laidlaw gives young readers a fair but realistic view on today’s canine world. While learning simple facts about acquiring a dog, their needs and responsible ownership, they are also exposed to several realities in the canine/human realm.

When it comes to the impact humans have on ‘Man’s Best Friend’ there are sensitive issues that can be extremely difficult to discuss, let alone explain. Laidlaw gently explores the various topics such as research, racing, chaining and puppy mills while featuring what he calls ‘Champions’ from around the world and what they are doing to create change”

–Jamie Hunter, Rescue Mag

Click here to read the full review