#110: The real story behind Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge
I don't want to lose these words. I'd like for them to live on and be shared here in this newsletter, even if it's just for the future me.
Since sharing the new cover and sneak peek of Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge in my last post, I have received so many wonderful words of encouragement and well wishes from both family and friends of the original book. As we inch closer and closer to a launch date (looking like end of May/June), there are a few loose ends that I need to attend to; one of which is my website.
Reader, there are so many hats a writer needs to wear going the indie/self-publishing route. The writer and story hats I feel quite comfortable wearing, but it's the marketer, designer, producer, social media influencer, and webmaster that throw me for a loop. The last one in particular is one of these loose ends. Over the years, I have found this platform (Substack) as not only a great place to write, but one of the last vestiges online to cultivate a little community and share. Not everyone, however, has a Substack account nor wants to visit a newsletter to find out information about a book. That is why my author site Chris Likes Writing, found at either chrislikeswriting.com or christoffolo.com, needs a bit of a revamp, and as a result older information is going by the wayside. Before my author site was focused on me and my writing, its main purpose was to act as a landing page for Mr. Ace's original version. And, on one of those pages was a feature about the story behind the book.
Reader, this little feature is still at the bottom of my "About Me" page, but it won't be forever. I am moving my website off of Squarespace where it currently is to something a little more minimal. (Squarespace, please know you are pricing out the little guys like me!) This collection of words is a little insight into what we experienced with the real Mr. Ace, the one my wife and I lovingly lived with for six months. The new version of Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge pulls out some of the exposition that only deepens the gap between the real and the fictional. But, I don't want to lose these words. I'd like for them to live on and be shared here in this newsletter, even if it's just for the future me.
I always want to remember.
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Mr. Ace's story started long before he ever met us. From what we know, Ace lived between ten and twelve years somewhere in or around South Carolina before being surrendered, along with his sister, to a local shelter. Based on his scars, hairless patches, and teeth (or lack thereof), we believe Ace was used as some sort of bait dog in fighting circles. While we never found out what happened to his sister, Ace eventually made it all the way up to Ruff House Rescue in New York.
For over a decade, Ruff House Rescue has pulled dogs from high-kill shelters around the US and acted as a stopgap on their way to forever homes. In their care, Ace became a favorite amongst the volunteer staff at the kennel, then located in Island Park, NY. Everyone there would give him extra treats and express how he was such a good boy. However, being a senior dog and a pit bull can work against you. Not to mention, Ace had some severe skin and allergy issues that came along with him.
In June of 2018, Meg, my future wife, and I had just moved in together, and we were looking to try and foster a dog. Fostering is when you take a dog into your home, care for them, and then help get them adopted. Meg had seen a posting in January of the same year about Ace on Ruff House's Instagram. When we were all moved in, she set up a meeting so we could meet him. I wasn't too keen on taking care of an older dog, but I trusted Meg, and we went for it. We quickly learned that taking care of a dog is a life-changing decision and a huge responsibility, but once we let him in, we were hooked. We continued taking care of his skin and allergies, and Ace seemed very appreciative to be in a nice home with warm blankets everywhere.
As a foster parent, it's understood that you are not the final destination for a dog. However, every time the conversation came up about finding Ace another home, our hearts would start to break. We knew that we would eventually fail as foster parents and adopt him. We just needed to figure out his allergies and medical issues first.
Across the six months we had him, Ace was loved. We'd play with him, take him on long walks, and drive him all over Long Island to specialized veterinarians. We desperately wanted to figure out what was wrong with him. Unfortunately, in December of 2018, Ace became very sick, and Meg and I had to make one of the most difficult decisions of our lives. The time had come for us to say goodbye, but just before he went, we officially adopted Ace. He left our world as part of our family, but he was part of it from the moment we met him.
Losing a pet (or anyone) is extremely difficult. Those who have gone through it know this too well. To cope with his loss, we started volunteering with Ruff House Rescue as a way to give back, and I took to writing as I always do in difficult times. This ultimately led to the creation of my first book, Mr. Ace and the Rainbow Bridge. Writing a book had always been a dream of mine, and the whole experience with Ace inspired me. When we first took him in, I never could have predicted how profoundly Ace would change us. What began as an act of kindness toward a struggling senior dog evolved into a journey that transformed our priorities, deepened our compassion, and ultimately inspired my long-held dream of writing. This book emerged from our grief, but also from our gratitude. The whole time I thought we were changing his life; Ace was, in fact, changing ours.
Thank you, Ace. We will see each other again.
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Thanks for reading.
PS: In preparation for the new version, the original version is no longer in production. If you want to purchase a copy, please head over to the current version of my website to order directly from me.