The Adventures of Zooming Zip

By B. Daniel Fitzgerald

The Unleashed Series takes readers on an amazing journey through the adventurous lives of a gifted pack of rescued dogs. The dogswhich each have their own unique stories of survival and spiritual growthuse their God-given talents to entertain crowds of people by day and fight evil by night. The series mixes fiction with Christs teachings to not only amuse and delight readers, but also help them become triumphant in the spiritual warfare that people face each day.

The first book in The Unleashed Series, The Adventures of Zooming Zip, is the tall tale of a small, wayward dog that discovers himself, God, and his true purpose in life. With the help of some unlikely friends, the little dog learns to walk with the Lord and fight for all humankind against Satan and his demons.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512772302

B. Daniel Fitzgerald

Author B. Daniel Fitzgerald is a lifelong storyteller and faithful follower of Christ. He has written The Unleashed Series to show readers the greatness that God has for them. Fitzgerald’s hope is that his writings will build dreams and visions into the hearts and souls of readers, so they will know that God has created them to do good works.

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Copyright © 2017 B. Daniel Fitzgerald.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7229-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7231-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7230-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017900784

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/23/2017

Contents

Prologue

1   The Gift

2   Puppyville

3   No Name’s Revenge

4   Life on the Farm

5   The Conversation

6   Fixing Fences

7   Hank Returns

8   Dogs Unleashed

9   Welcome to the Show

10   The Pup’s New Name

11   Practice Makes Perfect

12   A Story of Salvation

13   The Shining Light

14   The War between Good and Evil

15   A New Day Has Dawned

This book is

dedicated to the glory of God in memory of my father, Brian Fitzgerald.

To my best friend and the love of my life, my beautiful wife Trisha.

To our crazy dogs, the stars of the show that made this amazing story possible.

To my mom, Rebecca, who has always been there for me.

And to all my family and friends, I am lucky to have you in my life.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

—Psalm 28:7

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the following individuals; without their contributions and support this book would not have been published: WestBow Press, Trisha Fitzgerald, LeeAnn Chase, Leslie Cooksy, Rebecca Fitzgerald, Eileen Finnan, Hennie McIntire, Amy O’Connor, George Rivera, Jan Robinson, David Robinson, Tommy and Patsy Robinson, Todd and Janelle Trebuna, and John David Berdahl.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right path for his name’s sake.

—Psalm 23:1-3

Prologue

It was the year of the four Blood Moons. As the world began to darken, God sent an angel from heaven to bring the people of Earth a gift.

Completely unforeseen, even by the wisest of prophets, the gift the angel carried was light. It wasn’t your normal, everyday light, like sunlight. It was God’s light.

To protect the Lord’s gift, the angel hid it from humankind by placing it within a select few of his most trusted creatures. Discarded by their owners and labeled as mongrels and outcasts, the keepers of God’s gift were a handpicked group of wayward dogs.

The dogs would seem to be the least likely choice of all God’s creations for such an important gift. However, they were the best choice; not only because the dog is man’s best friend, but also because dog spelled backward is God.

Traveling from different places and overcoming harsh conditions, the chosen dogs would come together one by one to form a pack. Their mission: to share God’s light with lost souls, saving them from darkness and preparing them for the return of the one true King.

The pack would be the final hope for humanity. This is their story.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

—John 1:5

1

The Gift

It was fifteen degrees below zero and snowing in Kansas City, Missouri, as a homeless Welsh corgi was wandering the streets. Pregnant with a litter of puppies and an empty belly, the dog was trying to find food. She should have been seeking shelter, given the harsh conditions, but her growling belly wouldn’t let her rest. She needed to find nourishment for her unborn pups.

As she looked feverishly for food, a pain like she had never felt kicked in. Immediately, she knew what was happening. She was going to have her puppies, and there was no way to stop it.

The mother-to-be had to hurry and find cover. If she gave birth out in the cold, the puppies wouldn’t survive. She wouldn’t survive either.

After searching aimlessly for a mile or two, she found herself in a small, quiet neighborhood. She went barking door to door, hoping someone would hear her and let her in. But she had no luck. Exhausted, beaten down by the weather and lack of food, she collapsed in a ditch on the side of a lightly traveled road.

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In what seemed like seconds, but was actually two days, the homeless mother woke to the sound of puppies crying. She was in a strange room, in a big bed, with tubes and wires hooked up to her. She also had seven fat puppies nursing on her.

There she is! exclaimed an unfamiliar woman. We thought we were going to lose you, but you pulled through.

Too tired and too scared to growl, the dog’s attention quickly turned to her pups. Licking them all over and smelling each one, she blinked in disbelief of what was happening.

You’re probably wondering what happened and where you are, said the woman softly. I know you cannot understand me, but I will tell you all about it.

Unbeknownst to the woman, the dog could understand her. That is the thing about dogs; they know humans better than humans know themselves.

A man traveling through the snowstorm said a bright light came out of nowhere and distracted him; that’s when he saw you, continued the woman. He picked you up from a ditch, wrapped you in his jacket, and rushed you here to the animal hospital. It is a miracle you were found, really.

The momma dog breathed a sigh of relief and continued cleaning her puppies. She had four boys and three girls.

I’m the vet who helped save you and your puppies, and I’m going to make sure you all stay safe and healthy, the woman said cheerfully as she went to check on some of the other animals at the hospital. This storm is really keeping us busy, but I’ll be back to check on you.

All of the puppies had survived the ordeal, and boy, they sure were some funny-looking creatures—half Welsh corgi and half rat terrier. They were the final reminder of their father, who had been locked up in the pound for trying to borrow a ham sandwich from someone’s lunch box. That someone just so happened to be the local dogcatcher, and he locked the thieving dog up for good.

Without tags or a microchip, the momma dog and her pups were soon put up for adoption. The vet hospital could not afford to keep feeding all the homeless, hungry mouths that came its way, but the staff waited the eight weeks necessary to be sure the pups were healthy and strong.

As the days went by, each of the pups were adopted—all except for one. Some went as pairs, and some as singles. Even the momma dog found a home with one of