Runty Ralph had a hard start in life. 

The runt of the litter, he was the last to be birthed, clearly smaller and not breathing. Catherine Martell, his human mom, was by the birthing mother dog’s side when he was born and quickly sized up the situation.

But that is jumping ahead. This story is about the picture books Martell has written based on Runty Ralph and the lesson he taught her: Never give up.

That one simple idea runs through Martell and she hopes it is conveyed to the people Runty Ralph meets, both in person and through his books. 

“It is so fulfilling to use him, his reality and his real story, to mean something to somebody,” she said. “That means a lot.”

Read about Runty Ralph’s first days, his struggles and how he never gave up in Martell’s first Runty book, “Runty Ralph: How I Got My Name.” The illustrations are based on photos so it’s all true.

To meet Runty is to meet a very sweet natured, well-behaved doggo who likes everyone. He is not aggressive and doesn’t mind children, even though they can be boisterous. He is not tall, but maybe medium sized with soft hair and a scarf that says, “Runty Ralph.” It is easy to see why everyone loves him.

Here’s how he came to be so special to Martell.

One snowy night in Tucson (yes, it snowed) mama dog went into labor. 

“We knew there’d be five (pups),” Martell said.

Four were born easily enough but the fifth, that was the hard one. When Runty finally came out, his sac was purple, not a good sign.

Martell, who had prepared by taking a pet resuscitation class and buying the needed equipment,  sprang into action. Even after everyone had given up on the pup, she kept going. 

“I knew the first thing would be to get air into the lungs … but I knew I couldn’t do it if his lungs were full of fluid so I had to suction that out first because if you don’t get that fluid out no amount of air is going to work.”

It was challenging, scary work especially considering Runty’s size. He was smaller than the palm of her hand.

“You have to understand how fragile at 0.13-pounds and you could see through him and he was the runt,” Martell said. 

That was just the beginning of the work she had to do to get Runty to live. There were compressions, turning him upside down and slapping his back and masking his face and the nose.

When he finally took a breath, Martell said she was so relieved.

That wasn’t the end of the work and close attention but it was the breath that launched Martell on this journey of spreading the word about never giving up.

To understand why this way of thinking became so important to Martell, readers have to understand something about Martell. About 10 years ago she had a terrible bike accident: 18 fractures, six days on life support and months of rehab. “I was not supposed to be here,” she said. 

It was her own golden retriever Buddy who saved her life by staying right beside her all the time, helping her move again.

“In those moments when you want to give up and you’re not allowed to or you think yourself out of it, if he can help somebody, that’s what means something to me,” Martell said. “I needed it so I know what that feels like.” 

Each book in the Runty Ralph series represents an issue a kid might face, such as making friends  or facing a bully.  Every kid and those who were once kids knows how that feels. In fact, Martell said, a solid 26% to 33% of kids report getting bullied.

“Runty gets bullied at the dog park by some bullies,” she said. “He gets in the wrong crowd, he gets with a bunch of bullies. They make fun of his name, his size. They just make fun of him so how does he come out of that and how can he help others by doing that? It’s important to me for that message. He never gave up, nor should they.”

These days Martell visits schools, bookstores, anywhere people need to hear Runty Ralph’s  message.

“Whether  you weren’t picked for the soccer team, whether you can’t sit at that table in the cafeteria, never give up,” she said. “Never give up affects us all.”  

Catherine Martell

cmgolden1@msn.com