A Virtual Tour of Hero Dogs...and My New Pup! #PetsInSpace

For this Labor Day weekend, I'm very excited to share the news that Pets in Space® 4 is off to a fantastic start!

The 2019 edition was announced as available for preorder on August 20th, and it immediately hit the Amazon Hot New Releases in Science Fiction Romance list and climbed as high as #2 in both the new releases and the anthology categories on Amazon.

Wow! Now that's a proper launch!

Pets in Space® 4 will release on October 8, 2019 so it's getting closer every day!

This week, I wanted to share a little more about the non-profit that Pets in Space® 4 (as well as all previous releases) is supporting. It's called Hero Dogs, and this wonderful organization raises, trains and provides service animals free of charge to our veterans and first-responders. Ten percent of all pre-orders and first month's profits of the sales of Pets in Space® 4 will go to support Hero Dogs!

I want to tell you more about this fantastic organization, so let me give you a virtual tour of the Hero-Dogs site before I fill you in on some fun news, so you can see the great work this organization is doing.

Here's a short video to fill you in on their outstanding work.

Now, let's go to the Hero Dogs site and start at one of my favorite spots....meet the puppiiiies!

Adorable, yes? You probably noticed most of the pups are Labrador Retrievers, with the occasional Golden Retriever, German Shepherd or other breed included in the mix.

What's involved in the Puppy Program to start the process of turning these youngsters into Hero-Dogs? Here's a brief but informative overview: Puppy Program

When I wrote for the first and second anthologies, I chose one particular pup to support individually-- and separately from the joint donation from the Pets in Space® anthologies.

That pup's name was Mitch. I chose him because that's the  name of my hero in upcoming novel, The Outer Planets. Over the course of that year-and-a-half in 2016 and 2017, I got to know Mitch by following his regular reports on the site and his progress updates. Not all candidate dogs succeed--it takes a very special animal to become a Hero Dogs service animal graduate.

I was so proud when Mitch did indeed successfully graduate the program and was paired with a Coast Guard veteran. I can't tell you what a special moment that was. I was even invited to the graduation ceremony by Hero Dogs, but wasn't able to make the trip to Maryland to be in attendance. I was there in spirit though.

Would you like to meet Mitch? Here's his Hero Dog Graduate page.

As I mentioned above, Hero Dogs provides service dogs free of charge to veterans and first responders, and it's an expensive undertaking to train a service dog.

In fact, it costs approximately $40,000 to raise, train, graduate and place a service dog!

That's why donations are so important to this organization. If you'd like to learn more about how you can help, read about scholarship and sponsorship programs here or simply press the "Click to Donate" button beneath the photo of any puppy or dog shown here to send a little something to Hero Dogs to help fund the training for these exceptional dogs.

Now, my announcement!

Beginning in 2019, I've picked a new puppy to support via separate donations. My pup this time is a female!  You can see the puppy I chose to support by clicking here.  

Yes, my puppy's name is Derby! (If you follow this blog or our Thoroughbred Facebook page, you probably know why that particular name jumped out at me.) Derby was born October 2, 2018 and she's a yellow Labrador Retriever, like Mitch, and also like our own ranch dog, Kiva.

Would you like to follow Derby on Instagram? You can do that. :)

Think you know someone who might want to look into applying with Hero Dogs to become a service dog recipient? They can look here for eligibility information and how to get started.

Here are Two Easy, Free Ways You Can Help Right Now!

If you'd like to help with my donations right now SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG and I'll donate something to Derby's training for every comment I receive on this post.

Or before you buy a book or any product on Amazon, go to Derby's page and click the Amazon.smile box on the right side, and add or change your charity to Hero Dogs, and Amazon will contribute for you!

Thanks for much for taking the time to learn more about Hero Dogs! Hope you enjoyed your tour.

Have a great week!