Summary: “He was not old. It was not his time, I will spare you the drama, except to say I lived in the pupil of his eye,’ Dead Dog by Lisa Underwood. That poem is among 52 stories from people around the world in author Jim Mitchem’s book “Gone Dogs” – a tribute to the dogs that have left us, written by the people who loved them. But the crowd-sourced book only really came to be, after Jim wrote a blog post about his dog’s passing. It was a simple tribute that generated such a strong response, he realized that all dog owners have something important in common — eventually, we must all say goodbye. Jim and his design partner Laurie Smithwick collected the stories to create a special coffee table book, which may just be the greatest collection of love stories about dogs ever published. In this Long Leash, Jim tells the story behind the many heart-warming tributes in the book, but also how writing Gone Dogs changed his life. About Jim Mitchem Jim Mitchem is a writer based in Charlotte. He's married and is the father of two daughters who are both in college. He has a few human friends but prefers the company of dogs. As a copywriter, he makes a living coming up with ways to get people to think differently about things. He’s written a novel, Minor King, a novella, Mongoose, and has a thousand files containing a thousand other stories and poems that really need my attention. I am also the publisher and editor of Gone Dogs, a crowd-sourced book about the dogs of our lifetimes. Dogs who are gone, but who will never be forgotten. With his partner, designer and artist Laurie Smithwick, the pair pulled together the greatest dog book ever published after five years of falling down and getting up again and again and again. In his own words: “I'm reminded of why this book is important every time someone tells me how much they love it, or how it's helped them overcome the grief of their own gone dogs. That was the idea--to put something beautiful into the world that anyone who has ever loved a dog can identify with. Deeply.” Buy a copy of Gone Dogs through Amazon by clicking this link Jim Mitchem’s links https://www.QuickLikeMongoose.com https://www.facebook.com/GoneDogsBook/ https://twitter.com/GoneDogs https://www.instagram.com/gonedogs/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmitchem/ About The Long Leash Thank you for joining us. If you have enjoyed listening, please SUBSCRIBE so you’ll never miss out! Check out Dog Podcast Network for other dog-adjacent shows. Follow us in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
