Mary lives on farm in Clear Creek, Ontario, with her husband, Larry, three dogs and two of their three children. If you haven’t read the Sam novels, you can meet Sam, the dog detective, in a new series of graphic novels called the Sam and Friends mysteries. Sam: Dog Detective thinks there's a mystery brewing right next door Three very odd women have moved in with a house full of caged animals. Mary took the idea and created Sam, the dog detective. Jennie Levinsky can hear what her neighbors' sheepdog, Sam, is thinking and the junk-food-loving dog detective is thinking up more misadventures in this fast-paced, funny mystery. Sam used to stare to get her own way and she was insatiably curious. Sam was Mary’s very eccentric, very nosy Old English Sheepdog. Mary’s Sam books were based on a real dog. Mary has said she is never happier than when little fat puppies are running all over the yard. In the picture Mary is shown with two of her collie mothers, Annabel and Chloe. People who read Mary’s children’s books will readily see that she loves dogs, so it is natural that she and her family live on a farm and raise dogs. After they are born, Elizabeth helps Elsie care for them. She breeds and raises champion rough collies and Welsh Springer Spaniels, which were imported from Wales. Her grandmother shows her exactly how to make the den for the dog and how to be ready when the puppies come out.

Now that her family is older, Mary devotes the rest of her time to writing for children and raising dogs. In addition to freelance editing, Mary teaches a week-long course every summer on how to write for children. Mary has been honored for her contribution to education with the prestigious Greer award and has been made a Fellow of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. She is also the author of a history of women teachers in Ontario, called Always a Journey. Mary was the founding editor of the FWTAO Newsletter, a magazine for women teachers, that she edited for 14 years. A graduate of York University, Mary has published many educational briefs, position papers and articles on reading, the effects of poverty on learning, drug awareness, language arts, violence, the needs of adolescents and special education. Mary Labatt is an award-winning editor and a writer.

A Puppy Is for Loving by Mary Labatt