Not quite science writing, but very, very fun.
Published by Penguin Random House in October 2013, Quake Dogs includes stories of more than 70 dogs that survived the Christchurch 2010-11 earthquakes.
First, what this book isn’t: It is not a book about how dogs sense earthquakes before humans (I get that a lot). It is also not a weepy, sad book about dogs suffering horrible deaths (I never could have written that one).
It is a collection of many heroic, humorous and charismatic canines that pulled their human families through an enormously difficult period. There is the occasional sad story but I promise that most have a happy ending.
I began working on this project shortly after the 22 February 2011 earthquake as a way to record people’s stories, ostensibly about their dogs but also about their own experiences. I found people felt much more comfortable talking about what happened to them when they were telling stories about their pets. As such, there is certainly a great deal of human emotion in most of the stories.
My vision for the project was to raise funds for one of the animal charities that helped dogs through this natural disaster. For this reason, I donated my portion of the proceeds from the book to the incredible Helping You Help Animals (HUHA), a national organisation that works to rescue and re-home animals around New Zealand. HUHA came to Christchurch three times to take more than 70 dogs, plus numerous other animals, to safe and loving homes elsewhere in the country. If you can, please support their important work.