Ten Things you May not Know About Libby Speaks

by John Sheirer

Writer and photographer John Sheirer has coauthored a book with his dog Libby called Libby Speaks: The Wit and Wisdom of the World's Wisest Dog. Here are ten fun facts about the book.

1. Libby is a Border Terrier. The breed originated on the border between England and Scotland, hence the name.

2. A portion of the proceeds from Libby Speaks goes directly to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, a fantastic animal shelter near Libby's home in Western Massachusetts. John and his wife Betsy got Libby from a terrific local Border Terrier breeder, but they have always been big supporters of the work Dakin does for the community. Libby recognizes how fortunate she is to have a happy forever home, and she wants to help other pets who are less fortunate than she is. For more information on Dakin, visit http://www.dpvhs.org.

3. Libby's best friend is named Bella, a Golden Doodle who appears with Libby in many of the book's photos. Bella is a year older than Libby and sort of Libby's niece. Bella lives with Danielle and Mike, John and Betsy's wonderful daughter and son-in-law. Bella is the first dog that Libby met outside of her immediate family. Their first meeting wasn't what we might call "good." Bella took one look at the new four-pound puppy and barked right in her face! Fortunately, the two happy dogs got past their initial meeting and became fast and permanent friends.

4. Libby likes to make appearances when John does photo shows and public events for the book. As you might imagine, Libby is very well behaved and far more popular than her photographer/coauthor.

5. Libby was preceded in her home by another Border Terrier named Daisy. Daisy was featured in one of John's earlier books, Loop Year: 365 Days on the Trail. That book recounts John's experiences hiking the exact same two-mile trail every day for a year. Daisy accompanied John's on many of his daily hikes and is featured prominently in the book. She lived happily to the age of 16 and passed away about a year before Libby came along. After having such a wonderful experience with Daisy, John and Betsy didn't even consider another breed. Daisy is also featured on the back cover of John's book of short stories, One Bite. The photo shows her reading a book, much like the photo of Libby on the front cover of Libby Speaks.

Daisy, reading

6. Nearly all of the photographs in Libby Speaks were taken with a simple point-and-shoot Canon Powershot. Libby is a great subject, and John is a self-taught photographer who had to make only a few minor lighting and color adjustment in photoshop to bring out Libby's beautiful features.

7. Libby admits that she isn't really the "world's wisest dog." As she says in the book's introduction, "The truth is that everybody is wise in one way or another. You are, and I am too, your parents, the twins who live down the street, your cousin Baxter from Nebraska, your teachers, the runny babbits with their bouncy white tails--even cats and squirrels when they let me get close enough to have a conversation."

8. One of Libby's favorite toys is an old, discarded rubber mini-football that she found in the woods near her home. She knows that it's an "outside" toy, so she usually leaves it somewhere near the door and picks it up the next time she goes out. She sometimes leaves it way down the street, but she always remembers where it is and goes straight toward it on her next walk. Hmmm … maybe she is the world's wisest dog after all!

9. Four new books featuring wonderful photos of Libby are in the works:

• a book about Libby's deep love for her favorite natural toy that grows on trees called I Like Sticks, set for publication this fall
• a children's book called Libby's ABCs
• a collection of poems that feature SAT-level vocabulary words called Little Dog, Big Words
• and, of course, the sequel to her first book, Libby Speaks, Volume 2: More Wit and Wisdom from the World's Wisest Dog

10. Did Libby really write Libby Speaks? You'll have to read it to find out!

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John Sheirer is the coauthor and photographer of the book, Libby Speaks: The Wit and Wisdom of the World's Wisest Dog, as well as several previous books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He lives with his wonderful wife Betsy in Northampton, Massachusetts and is a full-time faculty member teaching English and Communication at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut. Libby and John welcome everyone to visit Libby's Facebook page for news about their lives and writing careers. John can also be found at his homepage.

How I Became a Canine Co-author

 by John Sheirer

Dogs have a special wisdom that makes them among the most beloved creatures on earth. Libby Speaks (written by Libby, as told to me) gives us a peek into the delightful doggie mind of Libby, our happy and lovable Border Terrier. Libby Speaks features more than 100 photographs of Libby as a backdrop for her to share her wisdom and life lessons.

When I appeared on a local radio show recently to promote the book, the host looked at the cover, smiled, sighed, and said with affected seriousness, "John, you seem to be a mentally healthy person. And Libby seems like a wonderful dog. But Libby … is a dog. You do know that dogs can't write, don't you?"

He winked at me, and we both laughed. I enjoy speaking about Libby as the book's author. Of course, I know that dog's can't write in the sense of grasping a pen or directing their paws along a computer keyboard. But that doesn't mean they can't inspire. And what is writing if not inspiration? 

 

Libby's collaboration with me began even before she came to our home. When we first visited her and her siblings at the breeder, Libby's curiosity, bravery, and joy began "speaking" to my wife Betsy and me right away. She let us know that she was small, but we shouldn't hold that against her.

Libby quickly grew in size and in the space she took up in our hearts and home. And her communication with us also grew. Each day, she taught me something new about how to approach life with a renewed spirit and enthusiasm--a lesson all humans need on a regular basis.

When I woke up tired, she pulled me along until I was running alongside her in the cool morning air. When I found myself preoccupied with the abstract concerns of my job or current events, she curled against my leg with her tail wagging like a crazed metronome, reminding me not to take life so seriously. When I was recovering from knee surgery, she gently climbed into my lap to let me know that a warm friend was even more therapeutic than an ice pack. When I was happy, as I usually am, she reminded me how right I was to enjoy life and be kind to those around me.

My writing specialty is the personal essay, digging into my experiences with words the same way Libby digs into a snow bank with her strong little paws. I might search for insight while she digs for a buried stick, but our technique is similar. Oddly, Libby's presence in my life hasn't inspired many essays. But she has appealed far more to my visual-learner side. Her body language and facial expressions have communicated far more effectively than my words could capture.

I'd been taking pictures of her since we brought her home. I'm purely an amateur shutterbug, but some days I think that if I tossed the camera in the air, it would come back to earth with a dozen wonderful shots of Libby. That's an over-simplification, of course. The pleasure of digital photography is that there's no film to waste. I'm happy to take one thousand mediocre shots of Libby if that yields one good photo and one life lesson.

So instead of essays, I began searching for the shorthand messages she communicated through our photos. Sometimes her thoughts were crystal clear as the shutter clicked. Other times I wouldn't discover what she had been telling me until months later as I sorted through the cache of photos that filled my camera's memory card.

Throughout Libby Speaks, she rolls on the beach, romps in the snow, hikes through the woods, and shares her happiness with her human and canine family. Libby fully inhabits the pages as she contemplates the meaning of life, chews on a stick, or simply gazes in wonder at the big world around her. A little dog with a large life, soulful eyes, haystack fur, and crooked tail, Libby provides both the photographic and philosophical focal point of the book. She's my coauthor in every sense of the word. We couldn't make these books without each other.

Photographing and transcribing her messages has been my pleasure, and I plan to keep doing so for as long as she keeps giving me material. I'm happy to report that she hasn't shown any signs of clamming up. Of course, I know that dogs can't actually talk, and Libby is no exception. But when I keep my mind open to what she has to tell me, I know this above all else: Libby Speaks.

John Sheirer is the coauthor and photographer of the book, Libby Speaks: The Wit and Wisdom of the World's Wisest Dog, as well as several previous books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He lives with his wonderful wife Betsy in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is a full-time faculty member teaching English and Communication at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut. Libby and John welcome everyone to visit Libby's Facebook page for news about their lives and writing careers. John can also be found at his homepage.