Fido and Friend in Five: Corinne Humphrey and Rudy!

Corinne and Rudy!

There's nothing more fun (in my mind) than an evening spent with good friends, talking endlessly about dogs and writing. And that's just what Corinne and I (and three other amazing authors) will be doing up here in Park City on the evening of April 30th. We will be part of THE literary event of the season when we talk books and dogs at "Authors Unleashed", a benefit for Friends of Animals of Utah. Corinne is one of my good friends up here in the mountains of Park City. There's no one who can light up a room the way she can. She's not just a dreamer, Corinne is a do-er! Several years ago, she retired from years of working as a stewardess for Delta airlines and threw herself in pursuing her dream of being an artist. Which she did with her trademark zeal and optimism. About that same time, she decided it was time to add a canine companion to her life. Not only did she find just that when she adopted Rudy, but she also found a muse for her work. The end result was her self-published, multi-award winning The Tao of Rudy. After a couple of years of working her tiny tail off promoting her book, the The Tao of Rudy was bought by Chronicle Books. Now it has reincarnated into Shoot for the Moon, with new text inspired by her life with Rudy, accompanied by her wonderfully whimsical artwork.

The Tao of Rudy

1.  How did you and Rudy find each other?  I'd made numerous trips to Friends of Animals of Utah's adoption center, "Furburbia", looking for a canine companion who "connected" with me. Rudy (formerly knows as Bob) was not my first, or second, or even third choice because he'd become kennel aggressive from being in a shelter for so long. The intuitive staff at Furburbia kept pitching him, saying, "Bob's our favorite!" and "...just take him out for a little walk." As soon as we got outside and away from the kennel, he leaned into me and gave me a look with such a mixture of hope and despair, that I was hooked. It's been love ever since!

Shoot for the Moon

2.  What's your all-time favorite dog story?  Mine and Rudy's books, of course, The Tao of Rudy and Shoot for the Moon: Lessons on Life from a Dog Named Rudy.


3.  If Rudy could change just one thing about you, what would that be?  I'd let him chase things!

4.  What makes Rudy's tail wag?  Rudy had been terribly abused, and then spent about three years in various shelters, so it took a year and a half before he wagged his tail. Now when we get ready for our daily walk, or his girlfriends come over to visit him, or I sing his song to him, "When you're happy and you know it, wag your tail," he not only wags his tail, he wags his whole back end!

5.  In five words, tell us what Rudy means to you:  JOY, love, loyalty, humor, and more love!

Thanks Corinne and Rudy!  You can find out more about these two and their books on their website
www.thetaoofrudy.com

Watch for details about "Authors Unleashed" coming soon!