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Happy Tails Books
Happy Tails Books is the premier publisher of books that raise awareness and funding for animal welfare groups. We use our Facebook page to share specials, animal welfare informati...view moreHappy Tails Books is the premier publisher of books that raise awareness and funding for animal welfare groups. We use our Facebook page to share specials, animal welfare information, and fun for dog lovers!
Mission
Through books and gifts featuring adopted pets, Happy Tails Books encourages adoption and volunteering and raises money for animal rescue organizations. Additionally, Happy Tails Books provides self-publishing assistance to authors who wish to make a positive difference with their books.
Description
Don’t Kill Bill! The Inspiration for Happy Tails Books
A rescue dog named Bill was the inspiration for Happy Tails Books. In 2008, two-year-old Bill was released from a puppy mill after spending the first two years of his life sitting in a cage. When MidAmerica Boston Terrier Rescue took him into their care, he simply cowered in the back of his crate.
Bill was adopted out but then quickly returned due to his poor psychological state. The family wanted a dog to play ball with, but all Bill could do was stare lifelessly off into space. It may seem callous, but they knew they hadn’t the patience or desire to embark on the long road to rehab, and ultimately they did the right thing by returning him to the rescue group.
As if things weren’t bad enough for Bill, tragedy struck again when he and another female Boston Terrier broke free from their foster home’s yard. The female, a socialite, was recovered within minutes. Bill, on the other hand, confused and afraid, went into hiding. He hid so well that he eluded an intensive community search brigade and somehow survived for three weeks alone in a woodlands area where coyotes have dens. When he was finally spotted by a woman walking on a trail, he weighed 13 pounds down from 23, and he was only a quarter-mile from where he first escaped! She had thought he was dead, as he was splayed out next to a carcass. She even thought to poke him with a stick to see if he was alive! Animal control came and transported Bill on a doggie stretcher to their vehicle and then to the local shelter, where his life again hung in the balance. He had a gash on his leg that was so deep the muscle was exposed, and he still just stared off into space.
Fortunately, Bill’s microchip reunited him with his foster family. The shelter and the family jointly decided he deserved a chance, so Bill began the long road to rehab with a deadness in his eyes. He barely moved or even looked around. The gash on his front leg required bi-weekly visits to the vet for bandage changes and laser treatments to help stimulate healing, but this physical injury was nothing compared to the tremendous psychological trauma poor Bill had been exposed to his entire life. He was so scared that for the first few months back in foster care, he had to be carried outside to potty. As the pattern continued, it seemed Bill would never find happiness, but then, after four months, a glimmer of hope appeared…
With the help of other dogs at the dog park and a fantastic trainer, Bill began to come around. He transitioned from waiting to leave at the dog park gate to becoming the star quarterback (kind of like that movie “Rudy”–he’s small but fierce!). With positive reinforcement training, daily “drags” turned into races, and potty-time became an exciting moment to dance about.
These days the first thing people notice about Bill is how his right hind leg flies out sideways as he sprints to greet them with a big smile on his face. This has nothing to do with his injuries, he’s just trying to run and wag his stubby little corkscrew tail at the same time. Bill’s always trying to do two things at once to make up for his lost years, like bark and yawn at the same time when the car arrives at his favorite trailheads. He runs up rocks like a mountain goat and rolls down hills like a ninja, all the while making sure that his mommy is close by to share in the fun.
The light in this world burns brighter now that it has returned to Bill’s eyes. This gentle, loving lost soul has been found, and he has since touched the hearts of everyone who meets him.
Bill’s foster (and now forever) mom, Kyla Duffy, founded Happy Tails Books as an effort to educate people about the joy of dog rescue and the horror of puppy mill breeding. She asks that you please help put an end to animal cruelty and shelter overpopulation by choosing adoption over pet store purchases and understanding the breed before adding a dog to your family to ensure a good fit.
In addition to being the inspiration for Happy Tails Books, Bill also inspired the creation of Don’t Kill Bill: A Dog Lover’s Night Out, a theater production all about rescued dogs.view less