Fifteen Legs in the August 2007 issue of The Animal World magazine
In Fifteen Legs, Bonnie Silva takes the relatively unknown world of animal rescue transport and thrusts it into the limelight. Through Silva's accounts of traveling with a band of lifesavers, the unsung heroes are recognized for their selfless acts of driving. Millions upon millions of animals die each day in shelters as populations of homeless animals increase. Many times the animals only saving grace is when relative strangers come together to drive legs of cross country excursions in order to get them to a new home or safe house. These rescuers, who connect through technology and across state lines, commit and plan these trips day after day, week after week saving countless lives in the process.
While working on a documentary of the same subject, the book began to take shape. States Silva, "I was facing a situation where we had amassed a wealth of transport stories that I wanted to share, yet there wasn't enough time within the confines of our project to showcase even a small percentage of them. The book meant I had yet another storytelling venue, a place where readers could turn a page and traverse this little known world alongside me."
Through her work on Fifteen Legs, Silva has witnessed the sometimes sad yet courageous stories of these animals but she's also been privy to something far more miraculous. The hope that there are others, like her, out there willing to fight for the rights of animals and do whatever it takes to see them safely home. The transporters she was privileged to meet over the past two years were prime examples of this.
"They gave me hope as I watched them work as a team to fill the last missing leg of a trip coordinated for a blind Pit bull dog left abandoned in the snow. They gave me hope when their actions spoke louder than words ever could, and they kept driving and driving and driving until the last bunny on board was safe and almost home. They gave me hope every time they emailed me with lengthy itineraries for last-chance animals late at night, and then headed out the door early the next morning to transport the furry angels on their lists," explains Silva.
When asked about funny stories or people she encountered while tagging along on the transports, a repeated comical scenario came to mind. At a designated place along the route, the animals are handed off to the next person in line for driving duty. At these hand offs, Silva couldn't help but laugh at the quirky but never dull conversation. "Invariably, the people meeting would adopt cartoon character-like voices and would speak on behalf of the animal in their care. The conversation would go something like this:
Person holding leash or crate - "Thanks for bringing me! I hope you have some treats." Person receiving animal - "Oh yes. Furbabies deserve lots of goodies while they're traveling and lots of cuddles too."
Through the heartwarming stories, funny scenes and above all, the serious nature of these rescues, Fifteen Legs takes readers through the journey of transport rescue and Bonnie Silva does an amazing job of chronicling these lifesaving drivers. Without these transports, many animals would perish without a second chance at love and life. Brilliantly written, wonderfully told and an absolute must read!
About the Author
Bonnie Silva is a published author of articles, and a two-time CINE Golden Eagle and CINDY Gold award winner. She won a National Education Association Award for the Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting, and served as creator, writer and producer on an Emmy award winning public service campaign. She has fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams - to write a script that would air on Discovery's network, and hopes to write many more. Her work has been inspired by primatologist Jane Goodall and feature film director Carroll Ballard.