Posts Tagged ‘Vicki Watson’
New Children’s Book, Tender Mercies, By Local Author, Vicki Watson, Teaches Compassion for Animals.
I am thrilled to announce that our web guru, feline friend, and local author, Vicki Watson, has just released the fourth book, Tender Mercies, in her Sonrise Stable series. I had the privilege of reading the book before it was published to give Vicki my thoughts on the story line, which features Black and Orange Cat Foundation board member and friend, Dr. Kim West, and a kitty she rescued, Sparrow, who had been shot with an arrow.
You can read Sparrow’s full story and see photos HERE.
Vicki was so horrified after she heard about Sparrow that she wanted to tell others about the extreme cruelty that brought the cat to the Humane Society of Delaware County and Dr. West, as well as the extreme compassion that saved her life. Sparrow has, by the way, gone on to a wonderful home with a friend of Dr. West’s in Chicago. So despite everything, this kitty got a happy ending.
Sparrow’s tale is a side story in Tender Mercies, which focuses on the fate of foals born to “nurse mares.” In case you don’t know about nurse mares, here’s the sad information. When an expensive thoroughbred horse gives birth, the owners will sometimes take the much wanted thoroughbred baby away from it’s very valuable mother and have a nurse mare raise the thoroughbred foal. Because the nurse mare must have milk, she will have just given birth herself. Her true baby is of no value and is often killed.
Luckily, there are rescues that take these unwanted “products” of the thoroughbred industry and find the babies homes. One of those rescues is Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. Vicki visited Victoria Goss, who saves these horses, to get information for Tender Mercies. Both Victoria and the rescue are featured in the book and provide a very real and poignant portrait of the fate of these babies. Thankfully, there are places like Last Chance Corral for these foals that did not ask to be born and certainly don’t want to die.
Vicki wanted Tender Mercies to touch on the many cruel things humans do to animals to teach the next generation to be compassionate and more humane. The theme of Tender Mercies focuses on treating animals with kindness, based on Proverbs 12:10: “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”
If you are looking for a great gift for kids this holiday season that not only promotes reading, but also teaches compassion for animals, Tender Mercies fits the bill. To read more about Tender Mercies and to order the book, go HERE.
The other three books in the Sonrise Stable series, Rosie and Scamper, Carrie and Bandit, and Clothed With Thunder, are also available by going to the web site HERE and clicking on the link at the top for BOOKS.
Vicki lives locally in Marysville and her web site business, VWeb Web Design, takes care of Black and Orange Cat Foundation, this blog, and Midwestern Compounding. Vicki graduated from Jonathan Alder High School. Her good friend, Becky Raber, did all of the illustrations for the book and she lives here in Plain City. Visit Becky’s web site HERE.
I am so happy to support local artists who promote kindness and compassion to all animals and value the importance of rescue in the lives of unwanted animals. Thank you Vicki and Becky!
You can read another blog posting about Vicki HERE.
Our Wonderful Blog Designer, Vicki Watson, is Also An Animal Lover and Author!
The Plain Druggist blog site and the web site for Black and Orange Cat Foundation are the results of the wonderful efforts of Vicki Watson of VWeb Web Design. I get a lot of compliments on how nice both sites look and I have Vicki to thank for that. Vicki has done a spectacular job and I can’t thank her enough for all her help.
Vicki, however, is not just a web designer. She is also a homeschool mom who creates educational software for homeschoolers to use in their daily studies at her web site, Interactive Study Guides. She has an exceptional study guide for Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty.
As shown with her study guide for Black Beauty, Vicki is a horse lover and many of her other endeavors focus on this love. At her Christian Cowgirl web site, Vicki offers devotions, Christian horse book reviews, and horse movie reviews.
And on her Sonrise Stables site, Vicki dons the hat of author with her Christian Horse books for children. The first two books in her Sonrise Stable series, Rosie and Scamper and Carrie and Bandit, are currently available with updated artwork by Plain City artist, Becky Raber. The third book in the series, Clothed With Thunder, will be available in the Fall.
Vicki grew up around horses and cats. She always keeps an eye on the cats I have her post on B and O’s home page and she was especially interested in the story of Sparrow, who was the featured kitty in January. Sparrow was the cat that was shot with an arrow and taken to the Humane Society of Delaware County where our beloved vet friend, Dr. Kim West, saved her life (you can read the blog posting about Sparrow HERE). Vicki plans to do a book, available by the end of the year, that will tell Sparrow’s story. She wants her fourth book to touch on the many cruel things humans do to animals to teach the next generation to be kinder and more humane. The theme for the fourth book will focus on treating animals with kindness, based on Proverbs 12:10: “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”
Sparrow’s story will be a side story in the book, which will explain the fates of foals born to “nurse mares.” In case you don’t know about nurse mares, here’s the scoop. When an expensive thoroughbred horse gives birth, the owners will sometimes take the much wanted thoroughbred baby away from it’s very valuable mother and have a nurse mare raise the thoroughbred foal. Because the nurse mare must have milk, she will have just given birth herself. Her true baby is of no value and is often killed.
Luckily, there are rescues that take these unwanted “products” of the thoroughbred industry and find the babies homes. One of those rescues is Last Chance Corral in Athens, Ohio. Vicki recently visited Victoria Goss, who saves these horses, to get information for her next book.
As soon as Vicki’s fourth book, featuring these wonderful horses and Sparrow, is available, I will let you know.
Vicki lives in Marysville and attended Jonathan Alder schools. Joe and I always love to support local businesses and animal lovers! Happily, Vicki is both!
Visit Vicki’s Facebook page HERE.