The Divinity of Dogs

The Divinity of Dogs

The Divinity of Dogs captures moments in which you learn something profound about life from an experience with a dog. These inspiring and heart-warming true stories show where love, tolerance, comfort, compassion, loyalty, joyfulness and even death have provided experiences that have led to spiritual enlightenment.

You'll meet Little Bit, the Chihuahua who detected a small lump in her owner's breast, a growth even doctors couldn't find. There's Emma, the devoted Rottweiler who ferociously grabbed her owner's arm at the moment he was trying commit suicide, saving his life. You'll be inspired by Luna, the retriever who dragged her owner to safety after she collapsed late at night in a field. And you'll fall in love with the many dogs who simply provide steady comfort when needed - dogs like Bo, the Boxer who soothed his mistress after the loss of her son. The author also weaves her own experiences with dogs throughout the book, showing how they comforted her through mistreatment as a child, a divorce and a cancer diagnosis.

The stories that make up The Divinity of Dogs provide hope, help and healing for readers in the complex and difficult times in which we live. Whether you believe dogs are divine or are actually a gift from the divine, The Divinity of Dogs gives you permission to accept what you know: dogs are healers, educators, protectors and tangible examples of pure love.


Jennifer Skiff is an award winning journalist and bestselling author of God Stories: Inspiring Encounters With the Divine who, after her job as Assistant Managing Editor of a nightly national news program in New York City, began travelling the world as a Correspondent for CNN, WTBS and CNN International as an environmental investigative reporter. She's received the Environmental Media Award, a Gold Screen Award and has been nominated for the coveted Cable ACE Award for her writing and producing. Jennifer's passion is animals and their welfare. Her first series, 'Wildlife Minutes' was picked up by The Discovery Channel and syndicated internationally. After witnessing atrocities against bears in Laos, Jennifer, with the generous help of friends and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, worked with the communist government to build Laos' first bear sanctuary. She's currently a Trustee of the largest dog refuge in West Australia, where she lives with her Australian husband.


The Divinity of Dogs
Allen and Unwin
Author: Jennifer Skiff
ISBN: 9781743315415
RRP: $24.99

Interview with Jennifer Skiff

Question: What inspired you to collection the stories featured in The Divinity of Dogs?

Jennifer Skiff: It wasn't until I edited my first book, God Stories, that I realized my personal experience with dogs was shared with countless others. People wrote and told me about the private moments with dogs that changed their life. Their stories were profound and amazing – the type that warm your heart and make you cry out loud. They catapulted me into other people's trials, leaving me with a sense of appreciation for all I have. I decided these were stories that needed to be told, to document the divinity of dogs and to give us a library of inspiring life lessons.


Question: Why was it important to weave your own experiences with dogs throughout the book?

Jennifer Skiff: As an author I have found that my readers relate to me when I share my own stories. In addition to that, the stories of the work I have done as an animal advocate lend credibility to the book's voice.


Question: Can you tell us about your first dog?

Jennifer Skiff: My passion for dogs started at birth with a Boxer named Clara, whom I called Bookie. I am the eldest of six children, and for the first two years of my life, I was an only child. But I wasn't alone. Many of my baby pictures show the head of a chubby infant attached to the cheek of a tan-coloured Boxer with pointed ears and a black snout. I can't tell you much about my life with Bookie other than that we were inseparable, and when I was seven, she died. What I can tell you with certainty is that I've always missed her.


Question: Is that when your passion for dogs, began?

Jennifer Skiff: Absolutely.


Question: Do you currently own a dog?

Jennifer Skiff: My dogs own me! I currently have an 11 year-old, half blind and deaf Maltese/Cavalier rescue named Honey. She is a darling. And there's Sunny, a one and a half year-old Shih Tzu/Maltese I rescued from the Dogs' Refuge Home in Perth. He's my snuggler. We usually have a foster dog too, someone who needs extra love and care before being re-homed.


Question: Are you currently working on another book?

Jennifer Skiff: I am pleased to say that I do have my next book deal, for an inspirational memoir. I must get to work on it soon! Until I start, I'm going to continue promoting The Divinity of Dogs (which comes out in Italy next month and Brazil after that) and enjoying the great reviews.

Interview by Brooke Hunter