Boykin Spaniel Stars in Novel

A Boykin Spaniel is the heroine in a new novel about animal rescue. Save a Spaniel, written by Cathy Mitchell of Weaverville, opens at an animal shelter in South Carolina where healthy, well-behaved dogs are put down because of a lack of funds for their care, said Mitchell.

“I wrote the book to show people the difficulties a rescue dog faces. It’s dumped at an animal shelter leaving behind everything it has known. If it is to survive, it has to learn to adapt to new people and their ways,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell drew on her five years as a volunteer with Boykin Spaniel Rescue to write the novel. 

"The Boykin Spaniel heroine of Save a Spaniel, is a prime candidate for euthanasia," said Mitchell. When the dog faces a frightening situation, she urinates, leading people to believe she’s not housebroken. She also has heartworms. The ailment is not fatal if treated but most publicly-funded shelters do not have the resources to handle the time-consuming treatment, said Mitchell.

Fortunately, an animal rescue group takes the dog from the shelter. But that’s only the beginning of her adventures, traveling through several homes which do not have patience with her problems. The dog eventually finds an understanding home where she survives and thrives.

As research for the book Mitchell read several studies of dog behavior. “Dogs can’t talk so they are reduced to communicating through mime. They have to act everything out. For instance, when a dog wants to tell you to calm down and to show you he is not a threat, he looks to the side and licks his lips,” she said.
"One of the themes of the book is miscommunication. The dog heroine keeps trying to signal things to people, which they miss, and people keep telling the dog to do things, but she doesn’t understand," said Mitchell.

"There’s also a good bit of lore in the book about Boykin Spaniels,” said Mitchell. “They’re smart, jolly dogs who really want to please.”

Cathy Mitchell, a member of the Boykin Spaniel Rescue board of directors, has volunteered with BSR for the last five years.  A Pulitzer prize winner and retired professor of journalism, she lives in Weaverville, NC.