Angel's at my Feet

Our animal companions live wholly and completely in each moment; their lives are gifts that inspire us and make us better human beings, says Helen Gilhooly. For her, those gifts do not end with a beloved companion's death. Her former pets are angels at her feet, sending her messages to help her heal from their loss just as they helped her cope while they were alive. This brief book can console anyone who has lost a pet. The author vividly describes these companions and tells how they all, in different ways, have let her know they are still around beyond the earthly plane and will see her again. Mutley, a terrier adopted as a fuzzy puppy when Gilhooly was fourteen, loved to play marbles with her brothers and to take walks with her father. Champ, a border collie, soaked up her tears during her dating years and watched over her as she married and became a mother. Heather, an abandoned greyhound, spent nearly two years waiting for a family. A shelter thought that Ben, a collie abused by former owners, could not be rehomed because of aggression. Gilhooly, a shelter volunteer, discovered his gentle soul and took him home. Steptoe got his name when her brother discovered the abandoned pup by stepping on him. Moses was a cat who liked to plop live mice and other presents on the author's bed. "Am in love with this book. This book talks about companions and angels, how they come to help and console us whenever a pet or any animal dies," says reviewer George Finn.