The Dog Who Lived (and So Will I) by Teresa J. Rhyne, 2012 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
This #1 New York Times bestseller memoir is a love story on multiple levels. First Teresa acquires Seamus, a beagle rescue, who won over her heart and that of her ’boyfriend’, Chris. I use the term boyfriend in quotes, since Teresa didn’t want a serious relationship with Chris, who was much younger, and she had been burned twice by divorce.
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Seamus develops an aggressive mast cell tumor requiring surgery and chemotherapy at a young age. The vet tells Teresa that Seamus has only a year to live. With loving care, the dog beats the cancer, only to have Teresa develop a very aggressive form of breast cancer a year later. Through surgery, chemotherapy, and wig shopping, Teresa keeps an upbeat attitude, and manages to beat the cancer, and win over Chris’s parents, who had been very much against her.
During a pitch session for my own book, My Broken Dog, agent, Anna Michels at Sourcebooks mentioned how Teresa’s book was similar to mine. My book is about Kaylee, a springer spaniel, and how she fought cancer, became paralyzed, and how these issues led to problems in my marriage. Although my book is very different, I can only hope it can become a best seller!
Check out Teresa’s Facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/TheDogLived/ I need to order her second book The Dogs Were Rescued (and So Was I), which came out last year. Teresa also helps with the Beagle Freedom Project, which rescues beagles from shelters and laboratory studies.
