A Dog Tale: Summer Resident Honors Beloved Canine in Children’s Book
In 2009, Gloria Orlando Ives and her family grieved the loss of their beloved Spencer, a member of a Hungarian dog breed called a Vizsla. Ives quickly put her emotions to paper. And then she set it aside. It wasn’t until a fortuitous introduction that the publishing wheels would be set into motion.
A neighborhood friend read Ives’ story and offered to introduce her to Chloe Helms, a grade-school art teacher in Medford who in addition to teaching also happens to illustrate books.
“Chloe and I worked on it for almost two years over COVID,” says Ives, a resident of Malvern, Pa., who enjoys spending summers in Stone Harbor with her husband Terry and their grown children Terrance, Lindsey and Avery. “It was a good partnership. While working via Zoom, Chloe was receptive to any suggestions for the illustrations in the book. It was a big deal that she was so gracious.”
Says Helms, who has spent summers in Sea Isle City the past 15 years: “It was my first experience ever working outside of the publishing company that I typically do work for. So, Gloria was my first self-published author, which gave it its own unique feel. We got to work more one-on-one. It was really nice.”
On May 12, “Some of My Best Friends Are Labs” – a children’s book written by Ives and illustrated by Helms – was published by Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-book self-publishing platform of Amazon.com. The graphic designer of the book, CJ Herr, is a graduate of Ohio University, Ives’ alma mater.
The main character in the story is a dog named – you guessed it – Spencer, also a Vizsla. And like Ives’ late dog, the fictious Spencer has a knack for developing friendships with other dogs, specifically with Labrador Retrievers.
“Everywhere that he goes, these different Labradors that he meets, some of them are older, and he learns from the older ones,” Ives says. “Some are younger, and they learn from him. It’s about appreciation ultimately, and what makes you unique.”
She adds: “Spencer was our first dog of this breed. And now we are on our third dog of this breed. And it’s a really engaging, happy, joyful, love-everybody kind of breed. Very enthusiastic. And when I would take him on walks and hikes various places, he learned to be more in the moment, something that he taught me.”
The book is available online through Amazon and some independent booksellers. Locally, the book is being sold at Hoy’s 5 & 10 in Stone Harbor, Avalon, and Ocean City and Barrier Island Books & Art in Stone Harbor.
“At the end of the book, Spencer loves to explore and have adventures,” Ives says, “but he loves his home and family most of all.”