Sena, a Jack Russell, was the star of the show at the the launch of vet Sanil Singh’s anthology, Paws for Thought 2. The book was launched at the Durban International Book Fair last week. Adults and children have contributed stories about their pets. Sena is the inspiration for the book’s cover. Supplied.
EVERY dog has its day and for Sena it came last Saturday when he was celebrated as the guest of honour at the Durban International Book Fair, #DIBF2024.
The Jack Russell belongs to local vet Sanil Singh who launched his second anthology, Paws for Thought 2, dedicated to man’s best friend (and some other pets) at the annual literary festival.
The inspiration for the first book came after Micromega publisher Anivesh Singh, who co-founded the book fair, persuaded Singh that many people would love to read anecdotes about his patients.
A hesitant Singh felt that they might be barking up the wrong tree, but the book was a runaway success with 100 copies sold at the launch.
“The intention was to give each of my clients and initially some friends an opportunity to write their own animal story. So I would put my own story and I would get some staff to put their stories. They were short stories that were written very simplistically and we tried to edit it minimally,” he said.
Singh thought it would be a one-off project, but the second book was born due to demand.
“Clients who read that first book felt they could share it with their mother, their granny and with children because it was simple enough for everybody to read. They said it was interesting, it was endearing, because it was about animals, some sad stories, some happy stories. And it could be passed on to kids to the extent that some of my copies have been given to kids in New Zealand, Australia, and the US.”
The first book touched many hearts, and fans were disappointed when a second volume wasn’t released last year.
“So this year we said 'let's do another one because there's been requests from a lot of clients who felt that they were left out of the first one'. People said 'I would like to tell my story, I'd like to have my dog's story there, my cat's story',” said Singh.
A heartbroken client whose dog had died offered to sponsor this year’s book and Singh said all the proceeds would go towards their animal welfare project where they worked with other organisations to sterilise cats and dogs. Last year 600 cats were spayed at cost.
However, many stories in the new book are catastrophic because several animals featured have died, leaving their owners so distraught that they vowed to never own another pet.
“And I offered them the opportunity to write the story; let others see what happened, how you dealt with the dog's illness, when did you make the decision to euthanise the dog. Because it's going to help people going forward. People are often in a quandary because euthanasia is something that's not practiced in human medicine and they see it as murder, rather than an act of empathy and kindness. So that would be one of the ideas I hope emerges from this,” said Singh.
So what makes pets so special?
Singh has been a vet for almost 40 years and he says in recent years there’s been a shift in thinking; previously pet owners would treat their symptoms and if they couldn’t afford it, they would put the animal to sleep. Now, many young pet lovers will pay thousands of rand for medical tests so that they can make informed decisions, and pet patients are living longer, he said.
“They are earning much better. They have no expenses because they still live at home. They buy fancy cars, and then they buy a very expensive pet, a baby, because they are postponing kids," Singh said.”
Paws For Thought 2 contains 25 stories and a poem, and the contributors range from preteens to people in their 60s.
Singh said all the writers received a certificate in recognition of their contribution to animal education, literature, and welfare.
The book sells for R150 and those who also want the first book can get both for R250. Singh says many of his clients bought several copies which they would offer as gifts to adults and children, instead of toys.
To order the book from Micromega Publications, email anivesh@mweb.co.za