Book Nook: Lost, Found & Forever - When You Make a Promise, Keep It

Thursday, May 20th is National Rescue Dog Day. National Rescue Dog Day recognizes all the benefits of allowing a four-legged canine to adopt you into their immeasurably lovable life. According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.3 million dogs enter shelters every year. When these abandoned and abused animals find their way to a shelter, each one needs a forever home and their potential is limitless.

How far would you go to rescue a junkyard dog? Best-selling business author, speaker and organizational business coach, Leslie Yerkes, found out in 2013 when she discovered a forgotten, feral South African Mastiff eking out a subsistence living in a Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood factory field.

Yerkes’ debut children’s book, “Lost, Found & Forever: When You Make a Promise, Keep It” chronicles her heartwarming journey to rescue the oversized and undernourished pooch who -- in the end – wound up rescuing Yerkes just as much as she saved the lost dog who joined her family and came to be known as Big Boy.

This charming, page-turner – targeted at pre-teens ages 9 and up – has also found an audience with the adult, dog-rescue community. Co-author – and fellow dog lover -- Randy Martin, helped Leslie complete the 51-page soft cover book that tells the story from the voice of nine-year-old Beej, available now on Amazon and at www.LostFoundAndForever.com for $8.95.

Leslie says, "Lost, Found, and Forever is a classic tale of someone who struggles against overwhelming odds to accomplish what they set out to do. The subtitle, 'When you make a promise, keep it,' is the main underlying theme of the book and is its guiding principle.”

Four more books about Big Boy are in development. Book two is “Your Forever Dog” and tells the same story in Big Boy’s voice. Book three is “You Left Footprints on My Heart: the Story of Life After Big Boy.” Book four: “Tales from a Junkyard Dog” is from Leslie’s perspective. Book five is “The Amazing Adventures of Curious Crook, a cheeky French Bulldog,” about a little dog with a big personality who channels Big Boy. Yerkes’ books are published by Lost Dog Books, Bratenahl, Ohio.

I had a chance to interview Leslie to learn more.

Why did you write this book?

Bekah.  I write to process what I feel, see and observe in the world.  I look for the universal lessons in everything I experience and witness.  When I discover something that will appeal and relate to others in a helpful way I both speak and write about it.

While I was rescuing Big Boy, I started to post on Facebook about my experience.  Very quickly I developed a following for the posts and many people encouraged me to develop it as a book and specifically a children's book.  I have written six business books and this is my first effort in the genre of children's books. 

I am a lover of books and have been greatly influenced by the children's books that I have read and reread in my life. A good children's book teaches a lesson that can guide you through good times and bad. I still have my favorites on the bookshelf and enjoy reading to my great nieces and nephews.

The rescuing of Big Boy taught me many lessons but reinforced the most important one -- when you make a promise, keep it. I wanted to share the special experience with others.

Why do you think it appeals to such a wide range of ages?

'Lost, Found and Forever: When you make a promise, keep it' is written for a youth audience.  The story, the vocabulary and the length is meant for boys and girls ending elementary school and entering middle school.  I have several friends who have bought copies for themselves and sent a copy to a grandchild in a different state and are reading it together by phone in the evenings. Drafts of the book were ready by neighbor youth who provided great feedback and editing. 

A second, highly-illustrated version of the story written in Big Boy's voice is in production.  This book will appeal to all ages.

What do you hope people get out of reading your book?

I hope that this book will connect people to each other, to their own experiences of commitment, to the love of their pets and just be a happy moment in their day. 

The book is a passion project of mine and royalties will be donated to different dog shelters and rescue organizations that I visit.  It is my wish to shine a positive light on organizations and individuals who do the work of rescuing, rehabbing and rehoming animals.

I believe that when we treat our four-footed friends and each other with respect and kindness the world is made better.

And, I love to tell a good story.

If people want to support rescue dogs but can't adopt one themselves, how can they help? 

There are so many ways you can help if you are not in a position of adopting a pet.

You can:

donate your time and resources to a local shelter;

commit to a monthly donation of food to a local rescue organization or even friend who is fostering animals:

foster an animal until it finds it's forever home;

encourage everyone you meet to be kind to their pets;

support your local dog park;

help your friends with their pets;

About Leslie Yerkes & Lost Dog Books
Leslie Yerkes (www.LeslieYerkes.com), is author of the award-winning “They Just Don’t Get It” (2005), the Best-Selling “301 Ways to Have Fun at Work” (1997) both from Berrett-Koehler Publishing, and four more business books. Leslie works with organizations to launch products, re-direct enterprises that have gone off course and help steer companies through periods of rapid growth. She is a sought-after coach and consultant for developing leaders and managers, devising strategy, developing systems and enhancing capability. Her mission is to create healthy and sustainable working environments and working relationships.

She frequently contributes content to media outlets and travels internationally as a lecturer and keynote speaker. She has taught at John Carroll University, Baldwin Wallace University and Kent State University. Leslie also serves as an adjunct professor on the faculty of the Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Business.