OCEAN CITY – Two Ocean City residents will celebrate their new book, “Old Dogs, New Chapters,” with a launch party this Saturday.
On Dec. 14, the Original Greene Turtle will host a launch party for the new book “Old Dogs, New Chapters: Uplifting Stories of Senior Rescue Dogs.”
Written by Ocean City residents Alison Clary and Jason Pappas, “Old Dogs, New Chapters” shares the true stories of senior rescue dogs that receive a second chance at life.
A description of the book reads, “’Old Dogs, New Chapters’ shares the touching stories of nearly thirty senior rescue dogs, all of whom found themselves, for various heartbreaking reasons, in need of a permanent home when they were eight years old or older. Fortunately, compassionate people from different walks of life stepped forward to provide these wonderful senior dogs with loving forever homes and blissful new life chapters.”
Clary – a professional writer – said she and Pappas, her fiancé, began a joint effort to write a collection of short stories on senior rescue dogs after adopting their own elderly canine, Stanley, nearly three years ago.
“He’s really changed everything for us, and I think a lot of times people tend to overlook the older dogs in the shelter,” she said. “They look at them and think they have limited time left, that they won’t get the full dog-ownership experience. So the whole point of the book is to raise awareness and show that these dogs have had really happy lives after being adopted at an old age.”
Clary said “Old Dogs, New Chapters” features the stories of 29 senior rescue dogs – including Stanley – from the U.S. and Canada.
Using the internet, social media and personal connections, Clary said she and Pappas interviewed each of the owners and created a collection of short stories. Each dog’s story features a photograph and roughly three written pages.
“We tell the reader a little bit about their background, how they found themselves in the shelter – for some of them, we don’t even really know what happened – how they found their dog parent, and how they are enjoying their new chapters in life,” she said.
Clary noted that the book features inspiring stories. For example, one senior dog with almost 30,000 Instagram followers was reposted on Ellen Degeneres’ Instagram account. And another canine, who has since passed away, found a forever home after his story was featured on Good Morning America.
BOOK LAUNCH PARTY FLYER DESIGN MODIFIED
“Every single dog has a story to tell,” she said. “Some of them are pretty Instagram famous and there are some of them who don’t even have an Instagram that we found through family friends.”
A book launch party for “Old Dogs, New Chapters” will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 4-7 p.m. on the second floor of the Original Greene Turtle on 116th Street. The event is free and open to the public.
Copies of “Old Dogs, New Chapters” will be on sale for $20 at the party. The event will also include author signings, giveaways and a raffle to benefit the Worcester County Humane Society.
“We are also putting out some informational displays about the senior dogs that are available for adoption at the humane society,” she said. “Hopefully we can get them a home for the holidays.”
For more information on the book, or the book launch party, visit the “Old Dogs, New Chapters” Facebook page or follow “@olddogsnewchapters” on Instagram.
After the launch party, copies of “Old Dogs, New Chapters” will be available for sale at Greene Turtle Apparel on 116th Street.
To order a book directly, email [email protected].
“Old Dogs, New Chapters” is now available for purchase online at mascotbooks.com. In January, the book will also be available on Amazon and other major book retailers.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to organizations that support senior rescue dogs.
