The events I report in Hey, Harriet! are entirely factual. The book is much like a documentary, recording a little piece of Fairfield Glade, Tennessee, history. I took that approach because I didn't want it to be "based on" or "inspired by" a true story. I felt this was a story that needed to be told without the facts of her saga getting lost in or confused with any fictional elements.
Harriet's story captures a moment in time that was special for how she drew out the best in so many people as they tracked her comings and goings through a golf course and its surrounding woods and neighborhoods along the forested Cumberland Plateau. They were on a mission to capture her so they could get her medical care and into a loving home.
While sightings of loose dogs are common in the community, this one attracted attention like no other and at the right time -- a bad time. As we painfully remember all too well, the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021 was still killing many of us. And the political division from the November 2020 presidential election was widening to an extent we had never experienced in our lifetimes. We were hurting in many ways.
Harriet gave us some relief from it all.
See excerpts of the book below to better appreciate the feeling of togetherness that Harriet gave us.
-- Keith Robinson, author
Explore the enchanting world of Harriet with storytelling and color photographs that bring her tale to life.
What can we say about a cute little beagle wandering a golf course for months while being fed by residents who leave food out for her in their driveways and backyards and by golfers who toss her pieces of hamburgers, hotdogs, and other morsels of treats they have in their carts?
Lucky dog, you.
Hey, Harriet! Excerpts
“This world can be so mean and cruel these days. Being able to follow the ‘Adventures of Harriet’ has brought a lot of hope and light into my daily life.”
“I just want to add what a gift it is to see SO MANY reaching out to help Harriet. With all the awful stuff going on around us, what a gift that there are still those who recognize what really matters AND step up.”
“I’m cheering and praying for Harriet.”
Beagles are alert, intelligent hounds who won’t be easily fooled. The organization Dogster, an international team of veterinarians, notes that beagles can be “clever escape artists.” The people of Fairfield Glade would soon find out this young, adorable beagle had her wits about her.
“The saga of Harriet. It’s been the best distraction story ever.”
About the Author
Keith Robinson is a journalist with more than 40 years in the profession.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he began his career as a reporter for the weekly newspaper The Review in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Two years later, he moved on to The Madison Press, a daily newspaper in London, Ohio, where he worked for four years, most of the time as editor.
He then joined The Associated Press, serving for twenty-five years in various newsroom roles in Columbus, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; and Indianapolis, including as a reporter, editor, and bureau chief.
He also worked for Purdue University in the College of Agriculture, leading a newsroom staff in reporting the college’s news in production agriculture, research, and extension programs.
Robinson continues as a journalist in retirement, covering local issues as a freelance writer for the Glade Sun weekly newspaper in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. He also writes feature stories for a Glade Sun sister magazine, the monthly Cumberland Now.
It was as a resident of Fairfield Glade that he became aware of the story of Harriet as it was unfolding. He wrote two articles about her in Cumberland Now.
His family once had a beagle, which Robinson acquired as a pup from a breeder. Rudy came with papers certifying him as purebred. He was a lovable household pet, as beagles can be. Rudy died of cancer of the lymph nodes.
