As part of a growing network of animal advocates and rescue groups using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, CARE posted Braden’s picture and information online so that people all across the area and, indeed, the country, who would never walk into that facility, could see him and read his story. They urged friends, family, and other advocates to spread the word, share Braden and his story, and help whenever possible by pledging funds or donating to fund-raising accounts to help cash-strapped rescue organizations with the financial resources necessary to save him from certain death—to have him vetted, neutered, and living safely with a foster or the rescue until his Forever Home could be found.
In Braden’s case, as with some other lucky shelter dogs and cats, a sponsor stepped forward with the offer to fully fund Braden’s rescue. The sponsor committed to covering all costs associated with his rescue, from the fee to “pull” him from the shelter to vetting and, if necessary, boarding costs until he could be placed or fostered. Even with that guarantee, it doesn’t always end happily with a successful rescue; some shelters simply lack the resources to keep dogs and cats very long, and most rescues are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of abandoned dogs and cats in both cities and rural areas. And there are never enough fosters stepping up to provide temporary homes for these pets while permanent homes for them are sought.
Braden was very lucky. He was rescued by Sassy Paws Angel Rescue out of Denver, North Carolina. (For more information on this rescue, contact them at Facebook.com/Sassypawsangelrescue or Sassypawsangelrescue.com or
[email protected])
He was literally on death row, as dogs and cats are on death row at “shelters” across the country every single day. And without the tireless efforts of countless people who care about those shelter animals, Braden would have been led or dragged on that last walk to his execution—and still in many “shelters”, today, that means a cruel and terrifying slow death in a gas chamber.
And there is nothing in the least humane about that. (Want to help stop this madness? Check out the American Humane site for the facts on euthanasia, or Google it. Go to Facebook.com/TakeAction.BanAnimalGasChambers, or Google your own state to find out what the law is and what you can do to protest and help change inhumane practices; sometimes just signing a petition or sending an e-mail to one of your representatives in state or federal government can make a difference.)
As I said, Braden was one of the lucky ones, and because I’ve seen too many dogs like Braden become tragic statistics, I felt I had to speak out in a positive way about both pit bulls as a “breed” (I have one myself) and shelter rescues (which all three of my dogs are), and to encourage responsible pet ownership. If you check out the pages on my website (KayHooper.com) devoted to my pets, you’ll see several reminders and pleas to have your pets spayed and neutered and to adopt from rescues and shelters rather than buying from pet stores (which supports the horrific business of puppy mills unless you’re certain the store offers only rescue animals for adoption, not purchase). You’ll see on my personal Facebook page (Facebook.com/kay.hooper.5) that I advocate and network continually for shelter animals from facilities both local and across the country. (My author Facebook page can be found at Facebook.com/BishopPage if you prefer to have information only about my books and writing career and news of upcoming projects.)
You should know that in all the decades I’ve been writing, this is the first time I have asked my publisher for these extra few pages to advocate for a cause I feel deeply about; the first time I’ve sent photos of a dog (provided by Sassy Paws; thank you, ladies!) to my publisher and asked that he be included in the cover design.
The dog Braden in Haunted is the character he needed to be in this story, as all my characters are who they need to be. The shelter rescue Braden, who passed a temperament test with flying colors and, as I write this, is living happily with his foster while the rescue searches for his Forever Home, is as most shelter dogs tend to be—a nice dog and a grateful one.
He is, in the words of his foster, a “precious soul.” He loves to hug, cuddle, and give kisses (common pit bull traits), and plays happily with his foster’s family members, especially shepherd mix Sissy and puppies. He loves puppies. He loves just about everyone he meets. He also loves being with his humans, observing all intently with great interest, and dearly loves his food. And his treats.
Braden is still young, still learning, and off to a very promising second chance in life.
Because Braden is safe. A group of people, most of them strangers to each other, cared enough to work on his behalf, and because of that, Braden has a happy life in store for him.
And doesn’t every dog and cat deserve that?
Copyright © 2014 by Sassy Paws Angel Rescue
SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT AGENT BIOS
(in order of appearance)
HOLLIS TEMPLETON—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Special Agent, profiler
Adept: Medium—with “bells and whistles.” Perhaps because of the extreme trauma of Hollis’s psychic awakening (see Touching Evil), her abilities tend to evolve and change much more rapidly than those of many other agents and operatives, with some entirely new abilities triggered by the stresses and/or events of an investigation. Even as she struggles to cope with her mediumistic abilities, each investigation in which she’s involved seems to bring about another “fun new toy” for the agent, though the events of Hostage may have stabilized her abilities.
Appearances: Touching Evil, Sense of Evil, Blood Dreams, Blood Sins, Blood Ties, Haven, Hostage, Haunted
REESE DEMARCO—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Special Agent, pilot, military-trained sniper; has specialized in the past in deep-cover assignments, some long term
Adept: An “open” telepath, he is able to read a wide range of people. He possesses an apparently unique double shield, which sometimes contains the unusually high amount of sheer energy he produces. He also possesses something Bishop has dubbed a “primal ability”: He always knows when a gun is pointed at or near him, or if other imminent danger threatens.
Appearances: Blood Sins, Blood Ties, Haven, Hostage, Haunted
MIRANDA BISHOP—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Special Agent, investigator, profiler, black belt in karate, and a sharpshooter
Adept: Touch-telepath, seer, remarkably powerful and possesses unusual control, particularly in a highly developed shield capable of protecting herself psychically, a shield she’s able to extend beyond herself to protect others. Shares abilities with her husband, due to their intense emotional connection, and together they far exceed the scale developed by the SCU to measure psychic abilities.
Appearances: Out of the Shadows, Touching Evil, Whisper of Evil, Sense of Evil, Hunting Fear, Chill of Fear, Blood Dreams, Blood Sins, Blood Ties, Hostage, Haunted
DEACON JAMES—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Special Agent
Adept: Empath. A rare male empathy, Deacon has a solid shield and is seldom blindsided by the emotions of others; even when he “tunes in,” he is able to tap into less than half of the people he encounters. His is an ability he was born with, not one triggered later in life, so he has fair control.
Appearances: Haunted
NOAH BISHOP—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Unit Chief, profiler, pilot, sharpshooter, and trained in martial arts
Adept: An exceptionally powerful touch-telepath, he also shares with his wife a strong precognitive ability, the deep emotional link between them making them, together, far exceed the limits of the scale developed by the FBI to measure psychic talents. Also possesses an “ancillary” ability of enhanced senses (hearing, sight, scent), which he has trained other agents to use as well. Whether present in the flesh or not, Bishop always knows what’s going on with his agents in the field. Always.
Appearances: Stealing Shadows, Hiding in the Shadows, Out of the Shadows, Touching Evil, Whisper of Evil, Sense of Evil, Hunting Fear, Chill of Fear, Sleeping with Fear, B
lood Dreams, Blood Sins, Blood Ties, Haven, Hostage, Haunted
TONY HARTE—FBI SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT
Job: Special Agent, profiler
Adept: Telepath. Not especially strong, but able to pick up vibes from people, particularly emotions.
Appearances: Out of the Shadows, Touching Evil, Whisper of Evil, Sense of Evil, Hunting Fear, Chill of Fear, Sleeping with Fear, Blood Dreams, Blood Sins, Blood Ties, Haven, Hostage, Haunted
PSYCHIC TERMS AND ABILITIES
(as Classified/Defined by Bishop’s Team and by Haven)
Adept: The general term used to label any functional psychic; the specific ability is much more specialized.
Clairvoyance: The ability to know things, to pick up bits of information seemingly out of thin air.
Dream-projecting: The ability to enter another’s dreams.
Dream-walking: The ability to invite/draw others into one’s own dreams.
Empath: An empath experiences the emotions of others, often up to and including physical pain and injuries.
Healing: The ability to heal injuries to self or others, often but not always ancillary to mediumistic abilities.
Healing empathy: An empath/healer has the ability to not only feel but also heal the pain/injury of another.
Latent: The term used to describe unawakened or inactive abilities, as well as to describe a psychic not yet aware of being psychic.
Mediumistic: Having the medium’s ability to communicate with the dead.
Precognition: A seer or precog has the ability to correctly predict future events.
Psychometric: The ability to pick up impressions or information from touching objects.
Regenerative: The ability to heal one’s own injuries/illnesses, even those considered by medical experts to be lethal or fatal. (A classification unique to one SCU operative and considered separate from a healer’s abilities.)
Spider sense: The ability to enhance one’s normal senses (sight, hearing, smell, etc.) through concentration and the focusing of one’s own mental and physical energy.
Telekinesis: The ability to move objects with the mind.
Telepathic mind control: The ability to influence/control others through mental focus and effort; an extremely rare ability.
Telepathy (touch and non-touch or open): The ability to pick up thoughts from others. Some telepaths only receive, while others have the ability to send thoughts. A few are capable of both, usually due to an emotional connection with the other person.
UNNAMED ABILITIES INCLUDE:
The ability to see into time, to view events in the past, present, and future without being or having been there physically while the events transpired.
The ability to see another person’s aura, or energy field.
The ability to channel energy usefully as either a defensive or an offensive tool or weapon.
BISHOP/SPECIAL CRIMES UNIT TIMELINE
For those readers who wish to “place” each of these stories in time, I should explain that—in order to not age my characters too quickly—I have not set these books in real time, but in “story” time. Roughly speaking, each trilogy within the series takes place within the space of a year or a bit less.
In simple terms, if you look at the information offered below, you’ll see that from the time the Special Crimes Unit was formally introduced in Out of the Shadows until the events in this story, Haunted, only about four years have passed within the series. (The Special Crimes Unit was being built and developed by Bishop for about three or four years prior to that, but in Out of the Shadows, the story of the unit, of Bishop and his team, really begins.)
Stealing Shadows—February
Hiding in the Shadows—October/November
YEAR ONE:
Out of the Shadows—January (SCU formally introduced)
Touching Evil—November
YEAR TWO:
Whisper of Evil—March
Sense of Evil—June
Hunting Fear—September
YEAR THREE:
Chill of Fear—April
Sleeping with Fear—July
Blood Dreams—October
YEAR FOUR:
Blood Sins—January
Blood Ties—April
Haven—July
Hostage—October
YEAR FIVE:
Haunted—February
1 Hostage
2 Blood Ties
3 Blood Sins
4 Blood Sins
5 Blood Ties
6 Blood Ties
Kay Hooper, Haunted
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