Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family, by Melissa Shapiro (Atria Books, 302 pp, 2021, $26)
The Most Inspiring, Feel-good Book of 2021!
Perhaps you already know rat-sized puppy Piglet from his Facebook page, the Dodo story on YouTube, his appearance on TV, in People magazine - but I didn't know the Piglet before I finally picked up this book at my booksellers' establishment. Now I am a rabid fan.
A Piglet State of Mind
What's one more dog when you already have a six-pack of rescue dogs, four birds, and three kids? Especially a one-and-a-half pound puppy? I mean, how much more work can one little puppy be?
A traumatized tiny survivor of a hoarder who transforms the world - hard to believe, but true. The reader may recall the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. . . .
How much more work can one little puppy be?
It turns out, a lot, when that little puppy is deaf and blind with a voice that just won't stop demanding.
Of course author and Connecticut veterinarian Melissa Shapiro and her family only meant to foster little Piglet for a couple of weeks, tops, until he put on some weight and got back on his feet. The Shapiros had fostered dogs and birds before so they knew the ropes. But they didn't know how close they would become to little Piglet in just a few days. It turns out they needed Piggy and Piggy Sue needed them.
After life settled down (sort of) and word got out gradually, this little special-needs pup became a symbol for acceptance and diversity with his Inclusion Pack of six canines. Grade schools developed a curriculum around Piglet and he inspired others to foster and adopt special-needs dogs plus - you can bring the Piglet home in the form of T-shirts, stickers, and more - all to support dog rescues.
Acceptance, Inclusion, Empathy and Kindness: A Piglet Mindset - Love
A wee little dog teaches children and makes learning about acceptance, inclusion, empathy and kindness, fun. Piglet is a role model for overcoming adversity and the children started it all. Third-graders started a classroom project and "adopted" little Piglet: this, followed by a Facebook explosion may just change the world for the better....
With lovely writing by Shapiro and with Mim Eichler Rivas, Piglet is a warm, family story in two parts. The first tells the story of Shapiro and Piglet. We become part of Melissa's family growing up: we may also be Melissa, as we follow her life with two very encouraging parents. At an early age, she decided to become a veterinarian and totally devoted her high school and college years toward getting into veterinary school, which was more difficult since Connecticut did not have a vet school. Shapiro is extremely goal-oriented and a list-person. And yet, she is supportive and a good friend to have as well.
We meet all her family dogs (and a ferret) and even learn how she met her husband. When two of her kids are off to college, a deaf blind pink pup prematurely falls into her lap, a pup who is a devil barker, screamer, and wailer. But Shapiro understands the pup's fears and comforts him though her husband turns out to be the Piglet's Favorite Dad. With the help of the Shapiro family pack of six dogs, especially 12-year-old Susie-dog who adopts the Pig, eventually the little pup blossoms.
How Piglet maps out a new room very methodically and never forgets it, or how he learns a new person by their smell, is simply amazing. Just because one has only three of the five senses does not make one any less a person - or dog.
The second half of the book is about Piglet's work (and Shapiro's), being interviewed about deaf blind dogs and how they learn to navigate and to learn: instead of verbal or visual cues, Shapiro uses body taps to mean different things to Piglet. A tap on the rump is Sit, for example.
And Piglet and Shapiro visit classrooms and veterinary and animal conferences, are interviewed on television, and are written about in the media, but mostly they support dog rescues, especially fund-raising for those rescues filled with special needs individuals.
Join Piglet's Inclusion Pack!
If you loved Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love
and Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs,
you will love Piglet!
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