A Rhododendron woman has published a children's book inspired by her grandchildren and golden retriever Daisy, 'the protector dog'

As she talked on the phone with her granddaughter from Nevada, Heather Nelson found Daisy was a wonderful conversation topic.

Maria doesn’t have a dog and loved hearing about the golden retriever’s adventures.

“I thought, ‘How do you connect the kids who are faraway with a pet?’” Nelson says. “How do you find a protector for those kids who don’t have pets?”

This spring, Nelson, a Rhododendron resident, released her children’s book “Daisy the Protector Dog,” a story with lessons about protection, safety and friendship.

“It’s a heartwarming story kids can really relate to,” Sandra Palmer of Wy’East Book Shoppe says. “The colorful illustrations (by Kurt Jones with cover and interior design by Glori Alexander) add charm to her story.”

The book already has been advertised in the United Kingdom and Australia on Amazon, and introduced across the country.

Nelson did a reading at an elementary school and preschool and held a book signing at Imaginary Books in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, while she was visiting for her older grandson’s college graduation last spring.

“I love to get my little book out to children, especially children who don’t have pets,” Nelson says.

Most recently, she participated in the Corbett Fun Fest for Fourth of July. She’s also interested in partnering with libraries, book stores, schools and other community outlets to share her book with children.

Her personal goal is to place her book with hospitals to bring comfort to children who are going through stressful situations.

Nelson’s book is dedicated to her young grandchildren — Maria, Evan, Dylan and Bradley, Daisy’s best friend. Bradley, who lives in the area and visits regularly, calls Nelson Mema and his grandfather Brian Bepa.

Nelson’s older grandson, Aaron, received the book as a present for his graduation from New Mexico State University.

“I don’t know that they’re any more impressed with it being published than when it wasn’t published,” Nelson says, laughing.

Before becoming published, Nelson wrote stories about her adventures with grandchildren and Daisy, printing them with photos.

Nelson always had story ideas while she spent 25 years in hospital work, but she didn’t start writing until she retired from Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in July 2010.

The lessons from “Daisy the Protector Dog” — manners, dealing with unfamiliar places and overcoming fears — are timeless.

Nelson describes Daisy as an icon for the golden retriever breed and says she’s the only golden retriever she’s had. She’s named Daisy Mae after the “Li’l Abner” cartoon.

Nelson has called the Mount Hood region home for decades. She celebrated her eighth birthday in Oregon and moved to the Boring area prior to starting high school. It was then that she finally got her first horse and “felt like life truly began.”

She and her husband, Brian, met at Sandy High School; he graduated in 1963 and she in 1965.

Outside of book writing, Nelson is a Mount Hood chapter member of the Oregon Equestrian Trails, a nonprofit group that assists the Forest Service with maintaining horse camps and trails. She also knits, crochets and tends to the garden on the 24-acre Rhododendron farm she and Brian share.

She plans to publish a story about two horse-crazy girls who finally get a horse — “The First Summer with Horses,” geared toward teenagers — and has a slew of other stories up her sleeve.

While Nelson still lives far from some of her grandchildren, she always ends her calls by telling them love can travel through the telephone line.