by Sylene Argent
Inspired by the story their adopted dog, Eddie, had to tell, Amherstburg couple, John Schlarbaum and Lori Huver, wrote the children’s book “EDventures – A Tail of Love & Rescue,” to share his story of abandonment and search for a loving family.
Huver explained she had dogs all her life, and six-months prior to adopting Eddie three-years ago, the couple’s 18-year old Shih Tzu had passed. She swore she would never get another dog, citing the pain involved with losing a beloved fury family member. One day, however, she happened to be browsing the internet and came across Second Chance Animal Rescue and a photo, “Of the most adorable, scruffy mutt, and that was Eddie.”
She passed the photo along to Schlarbaum, “And I think he already knew what that meant: can we go get him now.”
Eddie was from a litter of three brothers and a sister, who were born in Texas. They were found under a house, Huver said, noting a nearby neighbour was keeping an eye on the little furry family, after noticing their mother was hanging around.
As a member of a foster and rescue group, this kind woman took care of Eddie and his family for around a year, then reached out to Second Chance Animal Rescue, where they were fostered locally.
“Eddie was the last of the group to be adopted. He was very shy,” Huver said.
After getting Eddie home, Huver and Schlarbaum knew Eddie had a powerful tale to tell, so Schlarbaum used his 15-years of experience in writing mystery novels and plays to pen Eddie’s story.
The first half of the story, Schlarbaum said, takes place in Texas and tells how Eddie and his siblings were abandoned. Stories from other dogs were added to Eddie’s story to form a tale about a rescue dog. The second half is all about getting adopted and how his life has changed forever and what it is like to be loved.
“It is just an inspirational story,” he said.
Before the pandemic, Schlarbaum said Huver would do a lot a travelling, so he would take lots of pictures of Eddie to send her to keep the two connected. Then, the couple thought some of those pictures could be used for the book, which were altered a bit to create a cartoon-style to help further engage young readers.
The two worked on the story together, with Huver using her knowledge of Eddie’s rescue to strengthen the storyline and Schlarbaum using his writing ability to captivate the young readers.
Huver added one of the key messages of the story is the old saying, “adopt, don’t shop.” She said there are many animals out there who need homes, and those who are rescue can make loving pets. Another benefit of approaching a rescue to adopt a pet, is that they have foster programs that can reveal behaviours and match personalities.
For Huver, Eddie’s story was so moving, she began to volunteer with Second Chance Animal Rescue and Schlarbaum hopes to write a second “Edventure” book.
A portion of every book sold is going back to Second Chance Animal Rescue.
For more information on “EDventures – A Tail of Love & Rescue,” visit: johnschlarbaum.com.