James Beverly

The Adventures of Seamus the Sheltie James Beverly

THE ADVENTURES OF SEAMUS THE SHELTIE is about a real dog. The adventures in this book are based on actual events in his life, but with some embellishments. Seamus, a Shetland Sheepdog, is an incredibly intelligent dog who can understand about 65 human words. His name (pronounced "shay-mus") is Scottish and means "Little James." Over the years, the author often watched his dogs, and based on their behavior, tried to imagine what they were thinking and what they would say if they could. This eventually led over the years to telling stories that were loosely based on an actual event of that day but from the point of view of the dog. Sometimes the stories would lead to a more serious discussion or a life lesson that came from one of the many adventures of the dog. To make the Seamus stories more fun to read, the author added a language for the dog that was derived from the canine physical makeup, the intelligence and language of a young child, and a large dose of humorous imagination. The way that Seamus speaks in these stories is primarily due to two causes: his actual physical structure and his mental limitations. These physical and mental limitations would be true for all dogs. Where Seamus would excel compared to the other dogs would be his very high intellect and the exceptional ability of his breed to follow human voice commands. Seamus brings a new and entertaining context to life lessons that make them fresh and engaging for the readers of all ages. Humor is a key ingredient, and a happy ending to each story underscores the important moral or basic value relevant to each story in this book, setting the stage for wonderful discussions with a child.