'Traveling with Service Animals' hits a milestone

Publishing a book with a university press has a gestation period almost as long as that of an elephant. It takes about a year from acceptance of a manuscript to issuance of a finished book. (Nine months is normal with a commercial publisher, less if it's a book on a hot topic.)

Five and a half months after it was accepted at the University of Illinois Press, Traveling with Service Animals—written with coauthor Chris Goodier—has reached the end of copyediting and has gone into the jacket and interior design stages. Recently the press shared with us the proposed jacket and catalog copy, and here it is:

"This book is one of a kind. Detailed, easy to read, and well researched."

--Toni Ann Eames, cofounder and president of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners

"Traveling with Service Animals prepares those traveling with service animals to answer the call with confidence when far off horizons beckon. These well-traveled authors share their experiences, best practices, travel tips and in depth travel information to assure every journey with a Service Animal becomes a stress free, pleasurable experience. This book is a must to have to get there!"

--Sheila O’Brien, President of the North American Region of Assistance Dogs International (ADI)

“The boom in trained service animal use and access has transformed the lives of travelers with disabilities. As a result, tens of thousands of people in the United States and Canada enjoy travel options that were difficult or impossible just a few years ago.

“Henry Kisor and Christine Goodier provide a narrative guidebook full of essential information and salted with personal, hands-on stories of life on the road with service dogs and miniature horses. As the travel-savvy human companions of Trooper (Kisor's miniature schnauzer/poodle cross) and Raylene (Goodier's black Labrador), the authors share experiences from packing for your animal partner to widely varying legal protections to the animal-friendly rides at Disneyland. Chapters cover the specifics of air, rail, road, and cruise ship travel, while appendixes offer checklists, primers on import regulations and corporate policies, advice for emergencies, and a route-by-route guide to finding relief walks during North American train trips.

“Practical and long overdue, Traveling with Service Animals provides any human-animal partnership with a horizon-to-horizon handbook for exploring the world.

“Henry Kisor is a retired book review editor and literary columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. His books include What's That Pig Outdoors? A Memoir of Deafness and Zephyr: Tracking a Dream across America. Christine Goodier is a freelance travel writer.”

Those two jacket "blurbs" from two of the most prominent people in the service dog field are heartening to us.

Now we’re eagerly awaiting the cover design.