Published by John F. Blair, copies of "Ghost Dogs of the South" will be available during the authors' book signing 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.
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A dog's companionable devotion to its human does not always end at the grave.
That's according to research by authors Randy Russell and Janet Barnett, who recently completed "Ghost Dogs of the South." The Western North Carolina couple will autograph copies of their book at City Lights Bookstore Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. Their research started when their companion, Desdemona, a black Great Dane, continued to guard the landing at the top of their stairs for weeks after her death. "When someone came to the door, her ghost clambered down the wooden staircase to greet the visitor. The sound of a Great Dane rushing down oak steps is not easily mistaken or easily ignored," the couple agreed. When they shared their experience, others, in turn, shared theirs. Like the story of Mike, an Airedale whose prognosticating powers on both sides of the grave saved the lives of many miners in the Star Co.'s Number Seven coal mine. Another story is that of a mutt named Lanier and the ghost of Ambrose Mills. Ambrose picked the losing side in the Revolutionary War and lost his head for his poor choice. Doomed to wander country back roads, Ambrose was finally set free as a result of Lanier's dogged persistence, but freedom had a price.
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Walking the ghost dogs, Randy Russell and Janet Barnett previously collaborated on "Mountain Ghost Stores and Curious Tales of Western North Carolina."