Ilona Benzel

I wrote these books because I love dogs. I gave my heart to them and I have lived with them since 1985. I traIned them myself. Some were purchased but the majority were rescues.

German shepherds predominantly have been my life's partner and I have forgotten more than most people know about dogs. My heart has always been with them since I was a child.

There were no leash laws and when I was about 5 I was cornered next door by a growling boxer. He kept backing me into a neighbors corner.

I whispered "Smoky" (our German shepherd totally from Germany), over and over until (like Superman) he came flying around the corner of my house and jumped right onto the boxer. I rewarded him with meat because I asked why chicken was named for an animal when no other meat was. I got a lesson about where hamburg, steak, bacon, pork chops all came from and began feeding Smoky under the table. I knew he liked me best. Feeding him gained me his friendship and I didn't have to eat the meat.

Ilona has a BA from a college in NH. She became the sole artist for NHTI a community college designing their catalogue and all college materials for the professors. Eventually she became an on-call animal control officer for her town PD for 5 years. Her husband talked her into the job during the day because there wasn't a day time officer and he had a full time day job.

They owned up to 8 shepherds at once, most were rescues or cast offs. They lived as a happy pack, no fighting. Three were purchased from very reputable breeders the rest were unwanted. At the same time she was volunteering for rescues and shelters. Over 20 years working with so many dogs has given her books a sincere reality with a special intuitive writing style that shows her complete understanding of dogs. She has also fostered for local rescues until the pups found their special forever homes until she was given a pup with severe heart issues by a rescue and kept her until she passed age 4.5.

Her books have the potential to change your view of your own dogs, and other people's dogs. It can change your life if you decide to volunteer at a shelter or rescue or even if you just spay and neuter your pet. It's a life altering reading experience!

If you have any interest learning what an animal control officer does or if you like short vignettes about some stand out cases you'll find these stories satisfying. You'll learn how a shepherd would wait at the video store for someone to get out of the car and he'd sneak in behind the driver and take over the driver seat. His owners were seldom home and like many other shepherds he wanted his people at ALL times. Or you may be interested in the rutting goat and his mate a female shepherd. The stories are true the names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty but the stories are from reality.

Her work helped improve the daily lives of many animals, either making sure they stayed warm in the winter, didn't run off, or had a family to live and play with. If you're looking for inspiration her books can provide that for you.

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