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A Letter to My Dog

Thursday 24 May 2012, 10:09AM

By Hachette NZ

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If you needed proof that New Zealanders are a nation of dog lovers you only have to spend a minute on new blog ‘A Letter to My Dog’ (www.alettertomydog.co.nz).

The response to the blog has been overwhelming. New Zealanders have opened their hearts and the letters have come flooding in.

From the heartbreaking to the heartwarming, it’s impossible not to get sucked into the many tales of extraordinary four-legged friends. We don’t know how we’d live without these animals, and for many of us who have lost them the pain is immense and long lasting. Even years later we grieve for our special pets.

There is still time for owners across the country to submit a letter to their pooch, along with their favourite photo of the dog. Exceptional letter writers and their canine recipients will be contacted for inclusion in a book of the same title, which will be sold exclusively through Whitcoulls stores later this year.

The book and blog are part of an international undertaking and the book will include letters from the US version of the project, which was developed by renowned photographer Robin Layton. The American letters include a range of everyday people alongside celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Hilary Duff.

A contribution from the proceeds of the book will go to Paw Justice to help the charitable organisation continue its work against animal cruelty.

A small selection of excerpts from the letters are below, see the blog for more…

Dear Harry
“Harry, I owe you so much. People say ‘they’re just dog’, but those people must never have known the simple joy a dog can bring into your life, and the way they teach you to see value in the small things in life… Whatever we do for you in your all too short life can never repay you for what you have given to us so freely, your trust and your love. Thank you for believing in us. We won’t let you down.”
Full letter: http://www.alettertomydog.co.nz/2012/05/17/dear-harry/

Dear Abbie Dog
“You came into my life when we both needed rescuing. You from a previous abuser, me, recovering a bad accident… We may have saved you years ago, but, you have repaid us over and over, with love and loyalty.”
Full letter here: http://www.alettertomydog.co.nz/2012/05/16/dear-abbie-dog/

To my Diggy Dog
It’s been over two years since I lost you, and the pain of that loss still bubbles up inside of me today, vicious and unexpected…. A week before my twenty-second birthday, we said our goodbyes. I wear a talisman to remind me of you – a stone from our driveway you once gave me in a singing moment of joy. That is how I try to remember you, but I’d rather not have to remember you. I wish you were still here.
Full letter here: http://www.alettertomydog.co.nz/2012/05/15/to-my-diggy-dog/