Mar 14 2014

Peachy Greetings!

Hi this is Bumble. I have to start my post by saying that I love our beach! Although I’m not allowed to walk right on the sand. Mom says that babies crawl in the sand and if I accidentally do my business there, it’s not good for the babies. Who could disagree with that? And I would absolutely refuse to wear diapers like they do. Very restrictive.

bumble on the balcony (2) ed_edited-1 copy

But we have other beaches nearby where babies are not allowed. They are just for us dogs. So we’re even. Observing the beach from the terrace is fun too. I’ve spotted many dolphins and a few manatees in my days here. No sharks as yet. I guess that’s just a matter of time.

But there are animals on the beach, don’t be fooled. Alligators, like the one here. I’ve seen them when we walk in the nature reserve that borders to the beach. But there is something more exciting in the reserve itself: birds. Lots of birds. They stay in the marsh, mostly.

And if they dare to come onto my walking path, I will test whether they can fly. I have a scientific mind like that. I can tell you that all of them do fly. These Ibis birds too!

We usually go to the park in the morning. But I love to walk mom in the evening too…she needs exercise throughout the day and it’s my responsibility to ensure she gets it. We rescue dogs take our responsibilities seriously.

And coming home it’s so nice to curl up in the sofa. On my black and white cat pillow. Or even better on the king bed. I can sleep sideways and take more than half of the space if I stretch my legs really long!

Nowadays my life is quite peachy, or is it beachy? Not much to worry about. That’s all for today, I need to go check if there are any new treats in my bowl. The little banana-chicken ones are to die for! Soft and chewy, highly recommended. But mom may have given me carrots. You can read all about that in my book. Oh and I should say, have a really nice and peachy weekend folks! ♥ Bumble

Feb 28 2014

Great News!

Confessions of a Rescue Dog is now part of the Kindle Owners Lending Library!

It means that all Amazon Prime members with a Kindle or a Kindle reading app (free download to a tablet, computer or smart phone) can borrow the book for free and still support the HS Shelter!!

Feb 27 2014

One More Confession

So we managed to get through yet another day. It was not too bad for a Thursday. But it’s almost nine o’clock and my bed is not ready. Sniff. I checked – it’s not there! Where is my blanket, you know the red Ralph Lauren, made in China? Did you wash it, mom?

I’ll need to call it a day soon. Dad’s already in the bathroom, but what is mom still doing? This gives me a slight suspicion that my wellbeing might be of a lesser priority…and we don’t want that. Our relationship is built on trust! Mom better bring my blanket now. Or is she still sour about the little incident today? She needs to let it go!

I’ve gotten into the habit of reflecting back on the day before I fall asleep. It’s useful. I can learn from my obvious mistakes. Like the one today when mom left for her meetings. I should’ve seen it coming. It will only take a while, dear. Right! I thought she was talking about mixing something delicious for me just because it’s Thursday. But the tone was not quite right. There was some quilt in it. And she spent too much time in the bathroom. At least 15 minutes, I sat behind the door. And then poff, she was out of the door. I should’ve been ready. You know I love car rides…the flapping of my ears in the wind. There’s nothing more enjoyable, almost. And I could’ve watched her car.

But mom just went. And she left the radio on, not the TV. I can’t stand classic rock, but love watching CNN. How could she forget, so into her work? Or she just didn’t care? Now, what was I supposed to do? Nothing to do, it was going to be so boooring. But then I discovered she had also forgotten to close her office door. Maybe she was getting mature? That would explain it.

I was about to jump onto her chair to see if she’d also forgotten to close the computer, when a faint scent reached my nose. Sniff, sniff – it was ham, positive! There it was, a piece of her ham sandwich from this morning in the little wastebasket under the office table. It was well wrapped in layers of soft paper so I had to work hard to get at it, but it was worth it! There were some other interesting things too, but nothing more eatable. I checked.

The rest of the afternoon I was pretty much occupied. Tried to clean up a bit in mom’s office, brought a few things into the kitchen close to the large garbage bin, the one with a lid. Thought she’d appreciate my effort. And then I probably also dozed off a little before she finally came home.

I got a treat and a belly rub. Lovely to have mom home! But then she walked into the kitchen. I heard a high-pitched what have you done here? She should see what I’d done, I’d been cleaning! No thanks for my effort – mom just walked right into her office. More noises. I can’t hear you now…I’m under the bed. I started feeling guilty, but should I? I didn’t leave the sandwich in the waste basket and I didn’t forget to close the door…something’s not right. Or fair? Eventually she’d realize that too…I know my mom.

And she did. Love concurs all. Peace. Back rubs, belly rubs, a good dinner, a nice walk, more treats and a nice film sitting in her lap. Can one ask for more on a day towards the end of the week? Oh, I was in my thoughts, thanks mom for the blanket…I knew she’d bring it! It smells good, here you go mom, a nose kiss for good night.

All paws, sleep tight, sideways on the bed is good! Love Bumble

(Adapted from Bumble’s book “Confessions of a Rescue Dog”)

Feb 24 2014

The Truth About Mom

Mom and I worked together on the book for a few months, but we also do many other things together. For example, yesterday she asked me to respond to a blog award she had received. This is what I wrote.

“Ok, here we go. I hope mom doesn’t read this, she promised not to…and since I can only count to five plus one, forgive me if the number of things is not exactly the right number according to all the rules:
•Mom is very old, I mean she must be. She has a grand-daughter. She is three and she loves me. We like sitting in the easy chair together.
•Mom calls me by so many different names that it’s easy to get confused (and get blamed for dementia), like “Pludi”, which apparently has something to do with Disney, “Liti” for small, and “Bumpy” which tells me she really can’t pronounce my name. Bumble – how difficult is that? She an immigrant, you know, so I forgive her.
•Mom likes to sit on the terrace and look out on the water. She usually reads and has a drink. I like to sit with her on the lounge chair and when she goes inside, I’ll try to taste her drink. Water with lemon? It’s anyone’s guess.

•Mom is addicted to her Kindle. She calls it “fire” but I don’t see any flames, just the hot pink leather covers. So maybe she means that there is fire inside? But where’s the smoke?
•Mom always says she’ll go to the gym, but most days she just plans to go. Planning is good, better than nothing, right? At least she goes on long walks with me when I plan them.
•Mom’s clothes are at least one size too small. Why do I say that? It is obvious. The treats that she can get into her pockets are far too few and far too small. If she wore right sized jeans, for example, the pockets would be much bigger, right?”

I don’t know if this was sufficient, but that’s all I had time to write. And there’s much more in my book. Delicate details, not this flattering. Be good everybody!

Feb 19 2014

Straight Talk from the Heart of a Rescue Dog

We are happy to announce the release of our first title “Confessions of a Rescue Dog”! This treat for dog lovers of all ages is now available in soft cover (188 pages) on Amazon US and as a Kindle Edition!

A paperback edition will be available on Amazon world-wide and with other book sellers in the US by Friday, February 28.

Bumble, the rescue dog, hopes that his book will help other shelter animals find loving forever homes and he invites you to enjoy an excerpt from his book (below). This is how he rediscovered play after coming to his new home.

Mom and dad have tried to play with me. They throw a little soft ball, and I guess they expect me to fetch it. But I don’t. I just look at it where it stops on the floor. They look confused, but I hope they understand I’m not used to playing with anything. I’m still a little sad too. It takes a while to shake off all sadness and dare to feel happy. I’ve learned that happiness can be short-lived, and the happier one feels the more disappointed one becomes when the happiness is no longer there. I’m working on it though. Mom and dad make it easier for me. They show me every single day that they love me.

But I have to tell you that I am already interested in play. Or perhaps I’ve always been, but my ability to enjoy play was suppressed after I left my litter-mates and my real mother. See, yesterday some friends came to visit. They are dog lovers, so they came to meet me. Mom told me they have two rescue dogs at home. I haven’t met them yet, but I’m curious. I feel that the shared experience of being abandoned at a shelter might help form a deep friendship.

Anyway, they brought me a little fox. It is brown-whitish, has a soft coat and a long tail. I’d love to play with it. My paws are itching. I’ve been sniffing at it many times, but I have not yet touched it. I’d like to pretend it runs away, and I chase it. Play. I’m tasting that word, tentatively.

The fox is on the kitchen floor near my crate. I’m looking at it. I’m a hunter, like we poodles have always been. I want the fox to run from me. It doesn’t move. I go closer. It still doesn’t move. I touch it carefully with my paw. It moves a tiny bit. I touch it again, a fast move, a little harder. Another fast move, and another. It’s running! It’s running away from the hunter. I’m going after it. No one sees me. Mom and dad are having their dinner in the family room in front of the TV. They do that sometimes when there is a program they don’t want to miss.

So I continue to push the fox in front of me, one paw, another paw. It’s running into the family room, but I don’t even notice where we are going. I’m completely into the play now. The fox is running, and I’m going after it. Faster and faster. I catch the fox in front of the fireplace. I did it! I’m taking it into my jaws and shaking it. Shaking it, back and forth, back and forth! Oh, now I lost my grip! The fox flies up in the air, and lands right on dad’s plate!

A portion of this book’s sales will go to the local Humane Society shelter where Bumble lives.

Stay tuned for further news!

Jan 26 2014

Welcome! And How It All Started.

Dear reader, welcome to Firdemonte Press, a small newly established independent publishing house. Our first title will be available in February 2014, and two more titles later in 2014. Please join our mailing list to be the first to know about new releases and other exciting news.

Here is a bit of history on the first title:

OMG! He Did It!

Finally we are up for air, my writing partner and I. You see, last November right around NaNoWriMo time, Mister Bumble insisted that he wanted to write his story. He would call it ”Confessions of a Rescue Dog”. He asked me to type it since I’m a bit faster than him. When I hesitated, he went to his archives and brought me a quote. That did it.

The quote was written on a simple piece of white paper and it read: “Rescue animals aren’t broken. They’ve simply experienced more life than other animals. If they were human, we would call them wise. They would be the ones with tales to tell and stories to write… animals dealt a bad hand, but who responded with courage. Don’t pity a shelter animal. Adopt one! And be proud to have their greatness by your side.” -Anonymous

I thought his story was worth telling. In fact, it’s quite heart-warming and uplifting. So he started narrating and I started typing. And typing. For the whole month of November. Then came December and we both got busy with other things. I re-engaged in some income generating activities and Bumble concentrated on his work, namely protecting our home from shady characters. We made a few efforts towards editing the manuscript late at nights, but achieved little.

The holidays came and went. The manuscript was covered by soft cushions in a corner of the sofa in my office. Until one day, when Bumble was digging there to make a bed for himself, it fell down on the floor. And I knew we had to finish the book.

We got to work. Reviewing, editing, reviewing again. Then one day great illustrations appeared in my inbox. My son had finalized the cover and several other images for the book. Now we just had to get to the finish line.

So finally our joint labor is bearing fruit. 188 pages. Just before midnight yesterday, the book was submitted for publishing. Bumble did it! He wants to help other animals find loving forever homes so he committed us to donate a portion of the sales to the Humane Society’s shelter here at home. We have been there, seen all the dogs, cats and rabbits. It’s a large and well run no-kill shelter.

We’ll let you know when and where Bumble’s story will be available. When you read it, please remember not to take all his observations about me literally. While I think that he’s a fairly accurate analyst of human behavior, I have noticed that he tends to exaggerate a bit when I’m concerned.

♥ Helen and Bumble

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