Teresa J. Rhyne on the mistakes people make when searching for a lost dog, the community that helped her look for Poppy the missing beagle, and finding your people.
By Zazie Todd PhD
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Poppy in the Wild: A Lost Dog, Fifteen Hundred Acres of Wilderness, and the Dogged Determination that Brought Her Home by Teresa J. Rhyne tells the story of Poppy the terrified beagle, who is fostered by Teresa after arriving as an international rescue. When Poppy escapes from some would-be adopters, Teresa has to organize a search effort, which is hampered by Poppy’s location in a large area of wilderness abutted by busy roads. As the experts keep telling her, it’s a marathon that could take weeks or months. It feels like you are right there with Teresa through this breathtaking and ultimately heart-warming story. And the book ends with valuable tips in case your own dog ever goes missing.
You can hear Teresa J Rhyne talk about the book at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. She’s on a panel called Canine Blockbusters with Alexis Devine, Kerry Nichols, and Teresa J. Rhyne.
Poppy in the Wild is available from all good bookstores, including via Bookshop (and Bookshop UK) which support independent bookstores, as well as my Amazon store.
Below, Teresa J. Rhyne answers my questions about the book.
Why did you write this book?
When we were searching for Poppy, I was shocked to learn how little I knew about how to find a lost dog—and worse was learning everything I had done was incorrect and could have been detrimental to Poppy. After working with two pet recovery specialists, I was in awe with their knowledge and techniques. I was inspired to get the word out so no one else made the mistakes I did. It also helped that the story had a happy ending (Poppy says hello from her seat on the couch next to me!), and that a very large community of dog lovers pulled together to get her home.
What are the main themes of your book?
A large theme to me was the importance of community. We had so much help in searching for Poppy, it was a beautiful thing to see and feel, and in large part it was what kept me going too.
Another theme was, of course, to find and trust the experts!
What surprised you while you were writing the book?
I interviewed many of the people in the book to find out what they were thinking during the search for Poppy. I was surprised how many of them thought the search was futile and yet didn’t give up. I was also surprised how difficult it was to piece events together—but that’s likely because I was exhausted during the “main event” in the book.
Tell me something about your writing process and how it shaped this book.
My writing process is very haphazard. I try to keep journals, since I’ve been writing what I call “dog-oirs” (part dog book, part memoir), and that helps. Truth be told though, I can go weeks without remembering to journal! When Poppy was lost, I did journal every day as a way of keeping myself calm (and I spent a lot of time sitting around” at the direction of the pet recovery specialists), and later it helped to have those notes.
I’m a practicing lawyer with my own firm, so making the time to write is often difficult. But since I was exhausted for much of the time described in the book, sometimes it was useful to be exhausted while I wrote too! I also finished the first draft of this book at a retreat in the Santa Cruz mountains. I think it was inspiring to be out in nature when writing a book about a dog lost in the wilderness.
Who will especially enjoy this book?
Dog lovers of course. But it’s also a book for anyone who has ever felt lost or in search of their own “people.” I received a wonderful note from the coordinator of a book club for foster children. She told me the book gave the kids hope that if Poppy could find her home, they might also find a home one day. I think that’s the best review I’ve ever received.
What are you working on right now?
I am trying my hand at fiction right now, as far as the writing goes. But we moved into a new (to us) home a year ago with a nice yard and I have tiptoed into gardening. (Zinnias from seeds is my biggest success yet!) We also are fostering to adopt a new little guy—a chiweenie, we think. He’s got a few health issues, and it’s only been a few days, so he needs much of my spare time. And I’m also working on the perfect itinerary for a visit to New York with a girlfriends—which is where I will be speaking from for Bark! Fest!
“It’s also a book for anyone who has ever felt lost or in search of their own “people.””
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