Tracy Stopler’s story brought up lots of questions for me. Dog lovers out there may have already thought these through, but ponder is good. Here, she shares with us her perspective on human-animal relationships. If you love animals, you will really enjoy this book!

And what a unique giveaway she’s offering–your puppy could become famous! Read all about it!

If you are a book reader, dog lover, and interested in reading about dogs, I can add your puppy (or someone else’s) to My Brother Javi before you purchase the book. If interested, please send me (via Facebook PM) your puppy’s headshot photo, name and age, I will add him/her to the updated Thanksgiving paperback edition of My Brother Javi. It also makes a great gift for someone else’s pup. ???

Have to add that Tracy’s a nutritionist…and here’s a photo of a cookie from her culinary creations.

The depth of “human” emotions in canines…do they have a sense of humor? I would swear that my dogs laugh. Only a dog parent would understand. I can throw my little Bella up in the air, catch her, and believe I hear her say, “More, more.” With Binah, a bit older and a bit heavier, I play, “tickle, tickle,” and again, I hear her saying something like, “Oh, Mommy, you are so silly, ha, ha, ha!”  
The degree to which a human-pet relationship can bring healing? I can share first-hand that Javi was my first dog, and since then I have learned to take life less seriously. I have laughed more and cried less. I now share space with Binah (who is a ten-year-old Havanese) and Bella (who is a rambunctious two-year-old Aussie doodle) and I no longer look for material things to bring me joy, unless it’s toys or treats for my fur-kids. 
What motivated you to write this story? When Javi passed away in 2011 I didn’t know how to channel my grief. At the time I was writing my debut novel, The Ropes That Bind  and decided to weave Javi into the story. Doing that actually empowered me. After that book was published in 2016, I immediately started writing My Brother Javi: A Dog’s Tale. I wanted to tell this story in Javi’s voice. By this time Binah had joined the family and it felt right. I absolutley loved being in their heads, or at least pretending to be. I’m smiling now just thinking about that writing process. I had so much fun. 
Any obstacles encountered along the way?  I don’t know if I would call them obstacles, but there was that difficult-to-write-section where I couldn’t stop crying and then the ending, oh, geez. But I truly feel that my emotions made the editing process better. It made me feel connected to Javi, and write with him rather than about him.  
Do you see Javi/Binah making a difference in this old hurting world?   Well, for starters, Binah was a gift from Java. The dream in the story was true, but what was too unbelievable to write was that someone (a stranger) brought Binah (her name was Oreo at the time) to my home asking if I can rescue her. She was black and white the way she appeared in my dream. I took that as a sign. I changed her name to Binah because Binah means understanding in Hebrew, and that was exactly what I had been searching for.

So, Binah provided some understanding and immediately changed my life. Soon after Binah made herself at home, the two of us started visiting senior citizens. Any dog lover will tell you that dogs have the gift of magically erasing lonliness. During COVID I was fostering Bella. It was supposed to be a foster, I mean I was actively seeking a home for her, but, I, huh, guess I failed.

That little one has kept me on my toes, not to mention, contributed to my torn ACL two years ago, and my broken toe two days ago. She is lucky that she is so cute. LOL! Everyone in the neighborhood loves them and, so yes, my girls, and dog (pets) in general are here to help people heal so people can become their best and make their contribution to beautify this world. 

TRACY STOPLER, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian, with a Master of Science in Nutrition from New York University, and the nutrition director at NUTRITION E.T.C. in Plainview, Long Island. Tracy has been an adjunct nutrition professor at Adelphi University for 25 years and teaches workshops on Mind/Body Medicine. Tracy is the author of two award-winning novels: The Ropes that Bind and My Brother Javi: A Dogs Tale. Look for her next novel, We All Fall Down in 2023. 

To watch the one-minute book trailer for My Brother Javi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4G0DeLhx2AYou are invited to watch the two-minute book trailer for The Ropes That Bind https://youtu.be/bXDSlQOUWIU
Tracy’s 14-minute TEDx talkhttps://youtu.be/IowLwYXdhR4

Connect with Tracy:

Tracy Stopler TracyStopler@gmail.com
Amazon Author Linkhttps://amazon.com/author/tracystopler

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/15633962.Tracy_Stopler

Facebook Author/Baker link https://www.facebook.com/Tracy-Stopler-Author-and-Baker-108944818574934/
LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-stopler-m-s-r-d-02a0626

Tracy Stopler, M.S.,R.D.President, NUTRITION ETC, Inc. Plainview, New York
Nutrition Professor, Adelphi UniversityGarden City, New York
Award-winning author, The Ropes That Bindwww.TheRopesThatBind.com

Award-winning author, My Brother Javi: A Dog’s Tale
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4G0DeLhx2A

<Javi Book Award Feathered Quill.jpg><Tracy and Binah.jpg>