I got an e-mail from Connie Brooks around 2 p.m. Monday,  she was a little shell-shocked, 1,000 copies of my book “Talking To Animals: How We Can Understand Them And They Can Understand Us,” arrived on a giant UPS tractor trailer that was the talk of the town.

It took the driver an hour to haul all the boxes into the store, and I know where Red and I and Maria will be spending much of our weekend.

The book is going on sale on May 5, Connie has already taken 600 pre-orders, which I will sign and personalize. Each person who orders or pre-orders my book will also receive a classy custom designed tote-bag made for the literary owners of classy dogs.

The book is personal, anecdotal and a bit controversial, there is a long chapter on the New York Carriage Horses and one or two dog-centric publications (the Bark Magazine being one) has refused in protest to review it. “Absolutely not!,” they said.

No one has tried to ban me for at least a year or two.

The book is a very personal account of my life with animals, starting with my first dog Lucky, who I won in a lottery at an elementary school after getting my head nearly knocked off by the schoolyard bully. Lucky died after just a few weeks.  It continues through the deaths of Rocky, our pony and Simon, our much loved donkey.

I mean for the book to be an answer in part to Henry Beston’s beloved century-old call (“Outermost House”) for a new and wiser understanding of animals. I write about my use of emotions, food, body language and visualizations to talk to my animals and listen to them. If animals are to survive in our world, we must learn to understand their real needs and welfare, not our own needs and fantasies.

Working animals need to work. It is neither cruel nor abusive for them to do so. The book is an account of my 15 years of research into animal communications.

If you pre-order it, you will be supporting me, my work, the survival of animals in our world and a great independent bookstore. You can also call the store to order the book, 518 677- 2515. They take Paypal and major credit cards and are shockingly nice to deal with.

Connie has already sold 600 of these books, we would love to get to 1,000 before pub-date for several reasons. One, it’s good for the book. Two, Connie reports to the New York Times bestseller list and 1,000 books looks good there, and I want her to sell all of these books and order some more.

My hand and spirit are strong, and oh yes, I think people who have animals or who live with an animal or who love animals could find it interesting and timely. I believe it is a call to help keep animals in our world. You really can talk to animals, you really can understand them. It’s about what they need, not what we need.

I hope the book will make people think about animals in a new way,  and I hope you feel the same way when you read. You can also save books as a Christmas gift for dog and cat and animal lovers you know, farmers too. And thanks, you can order or pre-order the book here.

Every year, Connie sets up a  table and a blanket for Red and my own pen case and we sign books for days on end. There is nothing like it. Maria helps me plow through it and not screw up.

We’re getting close and I’m getting excited. This part never gets old.