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The story of what might have happened to Roo, had he not been rescued, is told in "Waggit's Tale," a children's book that is being released nationally on July 1.
On Sunday, Mr. Howe will read from the book and sign copies of it at the Hickory Stick Book Shop, in tandem with the Best Dog benefit being hosted by Marty's Café at the River Walk pavilion in Washington near the primary school. The Best Dog event raises money for Marty's Fund in memory of Marty O'Brien, the cafe's namesake, who died from cancer, and it supports care and services at New Milford Hospital's Center for Cancer Care.
Mr. Howe, a British-born professional photojournalist who is the former photo editor for The New York Times Magazine and LIFE Magazine, is also a runner, and he made an effort to cover the whole of Central Park as often as he could.
While doing so, he discovered the dogs living in the northern end of the park, where there are bushes and trees and less open space. "Feral dogs like it there because it's safe," Mr. Howe said, as he explained seeing Roo in the park. "They don't look at people directly, and they don't like to be out in the open. So there were many of these kinds of dogs there."
"This was a puppy that had been abused very badly," he recalled as he described Roo. "He had cigarette burns on him, and chewing gum in his fur, and he was starving. We knew if we didn't get him out, he was going to die. So with the help of a neighbor, we got him out of the park.
"It was the kind of situation where we were going to keep him for the weekend, and we had him for 14 years," Mr. Howe continued with a laugh. "He never left."
The idea for the book came after he rescued the dog and named him after the "Winnie the Pooh" character, a baby kangaroo named "Roo," because the dog hopped and jumped constantly. "It just seemed like a good name for him at the time," Mr. Howe said. "This was 25 years ago ... when I started thinking about a book that would tell a story about what could have been, if he had stayed in the park."
"Waggit's Tale," a beautifully illustrated story with a protagonist bearing a strong resemblance to Mr. Howe's beloved dog, depicts a pack of dogs in the park that take the homeless animal into their circle and teach him how to survive. The animals have names for different types of people and take care of one another, stealing food and risking their lives to survive.
It is a charming, sometimes heartbreaking tale. Once he wrote the story, Mr. Howe took it to an agent friend, who took it around to publishers, he said.
"We almost had it published a few times," he explained of what he had put together in the mid-1980s, "and then it didn't happen, and then I went on with my life," he explained, adding that he became The New York Times Magazine photo editor after a long independent career as a photographer.
Then, two years ago, a day came when his wife told him, "We simply have to clean out the basement."
"Of course, when she said 'we' she meant 'me' ... and when you do that kind of task, it's so terribly boring that you'll read anything," he said. "That's when I found the book, and I read it and I thought, 'This isn't half bad.' I had been writing at the magazine, and for LIFE, and I had already written a couple of books about photography and I really liked it. I looked at this book, and it needed some work, but I redid it and sent it to a friend."
Mr. Howe's works include a collection of outstanding photographs taken during wartime and a documentary collection about paparazzi photographers. The children's book, he said, was a different type of writing altogether.
Although another friend in publishing, who works for Harper Collins children's publishing division, told Mr. Howe that "her heart sank" when she saw the idea, she read it anyway. She liked it, and passed it on to her editor. In the end, Harper Collins bought the book, as well as a commitment for a sequel, which will be published in 2009. He's already working on a third story, as well as a fantasy children's story called "Defenders of the Dark Kingdom."
For Mr. Howe, the book is Roo's legacy. "Roo died in 1995, but he has achieved a second life," he said with a smile.
"If he was still alive, he'd acknowledge that it is only his due," he added ruefully, as he attempted to describe his cherished pet. "Roo had a great sense of his rights."
"Waggit's Tale" is a wonderful story, filled with adventure, but Mr. Howe hopes to convey certain messages to his readers as well. "I'd like to put into the minds of children the awareness of the way we treat animals in this country," he said. "We see ourselves as an animal-loving nation, but we aren't, really ... we treat animals pretty horribly."
The dogs at Central Park's north woods are a good example of that treatment, he noted. Two of the book's characters are unwanted Christmas presents-"which is perfectly true," he said sadly. "There are animals, dogs and cats, filling up the shelters right now with the mortgage rate crisis. People can't afford a home for their families, let alone their pets. And there are so many pets that just end up in the wrong place because they're simply not wanted.
"I just want people to realize that you can't look at animals as a commodity," Mr. Howe said. "They come with responsibilities, similar to that of a child."
He recalled a friend who "fell in love" with Rocco, the Samoyed, and decided she was getting one of her own. But in time, she realized it wasn't possible. "She realized her lifestyle didn't accommodate it," he said. "She knew it wouldn't be good for her, or for the dog. That's the responsible thing to do. She did the right thing."
Sharing a life with Roo was not easy. Mr. Howe and his wife have owned other rescued dogs, and both realize the importance of accepting such animals with their faults and personalities. "Dogs never, ever forget certain things," Mr. Howe said. "They never forget if they've been abandoned, and they never forget that they've been rescued. Roo was not an easy dog-he was suspicious of humans, and of his own species. He was wonderful, and we absolutely loved him, but he couldn't be around other dogs, and you had to be very careful with him around people. But he would have died for us."
The experience with Roo doesn't overshadow Mr. Howe's work and relationship with Rocco, the gentle Samoyed, who knows when children are sick and how to attend to them. Training for aptitude and the ability to take certain commands, hospital etiquette and manners for both owner and pet are part of the process before a pet and its owner can visit the sick. Rocco learned his therapy training from his older brother, Bobby Blue, who is also now deceased. Both Mr. Howe's dogs were trained through New York City's Good Dog Foundation.
Once the training is done, a dog like Rocco puts on a special vest and bandanna, wears a nametag and goes to work. "He knows he's working," Mr. Howe said, as he sat with Rocco at his feet and stroked the big dog's soft white fur. "He's incredibly focused and very intent. It's wonderful to see."
Mr. Howe is looking forward to Sunday's book-signing at the Hickory Stick. "Writing children's books is more fun than anything else I've ever done," he said. "I can't believe people pay you to do it. What's better than telling stories to children?"
Mr. Howe's book-signing will begin at 1 p.m. For more information, call the Hickory Stick Bookshop at 860-868-0525.
