When a basset hound named Rory survives the animal control gas chamber and becomes an internet celebrity, he attracts the attention of Anita, a just-dumped-by-her-boyfriend, luckless burger flipper, who travels cross country to adopt him.

Spurred by an online group called Animal Warriors, Anita then embarks on a mission to improve animal rights. Along the way, Rory brings Anita true love and financial success through a chance encounter with America’s 1%, proving her spontaneous rescue of Rory was the best decision of her life.

We’ve already got a smile on our face. What genre is this novel?
It is a fictional pet memoir.

Um, can’t say we’ve come across that genre before. Are there any similar books out there?
Dewey the Library Cat.

Who will your book appeal to?
Anyone who loves animals or anyone who is busy and likes shorter books. At only 39 pages it can be read on a lunch break.

Fair enough. Tell us a little more about Rory.
Rory is a basset hound that got dropped off at animal control when his family decided they no longer wanted a pet. When he is not adopted within a week he is sent to the gas chamber but does not die.

That’s a really horrible fate. Where did the idea come from?
I had seen an HBO documentary called One Nation Under Dog. There was a scene where a group of dogs were gassed to death, and what I saw and heard haunted me long afterwards.

I am also a member of an online group called Animal Warriors Global. I thought it might be fun to write a story that brought all these things together. I even managed to get our group leader, Rory, to let me use his name as the main character.

That’s neat. We’ve all heard of “the boy who lived”; that probably makes Rory the dog that lived.
Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I like to read, usually by the fireplace with my cat. I like to travel but haven’t done much of it yet. Hopefully when I sell more books.

When I was a child I used to say I wanted to walk the earth like Caine from Kung Fu.

Talking about selling books, have you written any others?
My first book is a short story collection called For Animal Lovers. All the tales are told from the perspective of animals. People tend to either love this book or feel traumatized by it as all the stories don’t have the happy ending Dogschwitz has.

I also have a women’s fiction novel called A Widow Redefined. It’s a story of a young woman’s journey through grief and the transformational power of friendship.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
Sure. Building a new one as we speak: www.kimcano.com

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
Twitter: @KimCano2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-Cano/401511463198088

What’s next?
Working on my second novel. Should be out this Christmas. A women’s fiction story inspired by a family tragedy. Might as well turn lemons into lemonade, right?