Great Dane Club of Greater Kansas City, Inc.

Book Reviews For Animal Lovers

Tell Me Where it Hurts

By Dr. Nick Trout

Reviewed by Dr. Dan Lloyd - Sunflower K.C. Newsletter

Dr. Trout is a veterinarian surgeon at Angel Animal Medical Center in Boston.

It is billed as a day of humor, healing and hope in the life of one of America's leading vets, but it is far more than that. It chronicles this remarkable man's love affair with dogs and other small animals over the past 25 years. Dr. Trout is a James Harriot with modern equipment, techniques and training. After reading this book you will have a greater appreciation for your vet, the difficult situations he/she faces on a daily basis

and the compassion that is a necessary part of this profession.

Year of the Dog

by Shelby Hearon

This novel is about a woman named Janey whose heart is broken when she finds out her husband has been unfaithful. Taking a year’s sabbatical from her life, she leaves her small town in South Carolina where everyone knows her business and heads to Vermont where she becomes a foster parent to a yellow lab puppy named Beulah. Janey’s job is to prepare Beulah for the life of a Seeing Eye dog. As her broken heart heals, it risks being broken all over again when she ultimately has to give Beulah up when she’s accepted into the more intensive training program. In addition to the storyline, this novel provides insight into how assistance dogs are reared and trained and the various hurdles that must be passed in order to determine which dogs are suitable for the program. The people who do this work are true heroes to pour their hearts and souls into raising these adorable puppies into calm, devoted dogs, knowing they’re going to have to give up their dogs to new homes at the end of that year.

Tell Me Where It Hurts

by Dr. Nick Trout

The author is a veterinarian surgeon at Angel Animal Medical Center in Boston; the book “chronicles this remarkable man’s love affair with dogs and other small animals as he navigates his way through a hectic day of crisis solving, comforting owners and reflecting on his experiences of the past 25 years” per the review in the Sunflower Kennel Club’s newsletter.

SIT, STAY, SLAY

by Linda O. Johnston

Kendra is a high-powered civil litigator until her career is derailed by an ethics scandal and her license is suspended. Needing to support herself during the suspension, she and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lexie, move in to housesit for an Akita named Odin and she develops additional petsitting clients. When two of those clients are murdered, all evidence points to Kendra. Since the police aren’t looking for other suspects, Kendra begins her own investigation to clear her name. This is the first installment in this mystery series and all the animals play a major part in the story.

Excerpts from The Animal's Bookshelf by Sally Rosenthal permission to reprint from Best Friends Magazine.

FALL GUY
by Carol Lea Benjamin. William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2004 Hardcover

The latest installment in the Rachel Alexander series, this novel about a New York policeman's death and buried secrets from the past took me by surprise - literally and figuratively. I was not familiar with Benjamin's series about a Greenwich Village private investigator and her pit-bull partner. Benjamin's characters, plots, and settings are realistic and gritty.

I was truly impressed by the author's portrayal of her female detective and her dog Dashiell who, besides being her partner in crime solution, does pet therapy and is a search-and-rescue trainee. Dashiell is all dog, and the way he fits seamlessly into the novel is the best reason for dog lovers to get acquainted with Benjamin, who is also a dog trainer and service-dog handler.

MY THERAPIST'S DOG
by Diana Wells. Algonquin Books 2004 Hardcover

In My Therapist's Dog, Wells tells how, in the midst of unbearable bereavement, she was nurtured and comforted by a black Labrador retriever named Luggs, a dog who came into her life for a time to help her reconnect with the world. Inherently skeptical of therapy, the English-born author found herself clinically depressed following her son's suicide and the deaths of her remaining close relatives in England. Unable to afford therapy, she strikes a bargain with her counselor: pet sitting Luggs in return for the cost of sessions. I won't give anything away, but I will highly recommend this book, not just for Lab lovers, but for all readers. No one gets through life without experiencing loss, and My Therapist's Dog is one of the best grief-work books around.

THE DOGS OF BEDLAM FARM
by Jon Katz. Villard, 2004 Hardcover

Post 9/11 contemplations made Katz purchase a small farm in upstate New York and spend the winter there with a few donkeys, a herd of sheep, and, most importantly, his trio of Border Collies. While the author was realistic enough not to expect a carefree winter, he and the animals in his care encounter many seasonal trials and emotional turmoil's as they face bitter weather, lambing, and the unexpected lessons of family renewal. Katz's writing is his ability
to draw readers into his world and help us consider things from his point of view, making us feel like fellow travelers rather than manipulated. Katz shares some painful lessons about farm life and survival as well as making the right choices for the animals we love. But, there is also more joy and connection with others in The Dogs of Bedlam Farm as Katz heals some personal and family wounds.

Many new volumes are hailed as classics, but The Dogs of Bedlam Farm just might be that rare breed of book.

A COUNTRY PRACTICE
by Doulgas Whynott. North Point Press, 2004 Hardcover

If your introduction to books about veterinarians were those by the beloved veterinary surgeon James Herriot, you will enjoy this book. None manage to capture so lovingly the mixture of people, animals, and sense of place as Herriot did ... until A Country Practice came along. Whynott is a keen observer of vets and the animals for whom they provide care amid a changing way of life for farmers and an expanding base of professional knowledge.

SONGS OF THE GORILLA NATION: My Journey Through Autism
by Dawn Prince-Hughs. Harmony Books, 2004 Hardcover

In Songs of the Gorilla Nation Dawn Prince-Hughes recounts in often heart-rending detail her early life as someone with undiagnosed autism and the interspecies connection that saved her. Several years of studying a group of captive gorillas helped Prince-Hughes gain insight into social skills and bonds she had never known as an autistic child and young adult who had spent years lost in alcohol and sex. Taking clues from the creatures she recognized as teachers, the author found the strength to earn a Ph.D., enter a loving relationship and become a passionate crusader on behalf of primate rights. The themes of autism and gorillas are so unusually intertwined that Price-Hughes' story will equally speak to animal lovers.

WHERE THE TRAIL GROWS FAINT: A year in the life of a therapy dog team
by Lynne Hugo. Nebraska Press 2005 Hardcover

Lynne Hugo chronicles the work and how it intertwines with her personal life. From a journal Hugo kept while taking Hannah on her pet therapy rounds. With exquisite insight, the author examines the lonely and difficult lives of the residents Hannah greets each wee and reflects on the very basic human need for nurture. Where the Trail Grows Faint is not a depressing book - far from it. At its core, it is a life - affirming meditation on what is truly essential.

WORKING AS A THERAPY DOG
by Breeze Stanart as told by Lorna Stanart. Hispan Books 2002 Softcover

If after reading Where the Trail Grows Faint you feel drawn to pet therapy, you might want to pick up a copy of this one. Although there have been a lot of books about animal-assisted therapy published in the last few years, this little volume is my favorite for a number of reasons. Stanart packs a wealth of pertinent information in this handy inexpensive manual. Stanart covers all the basics of Pet Therapy 101 and does so in a text that is readily accessible to beginners.

THE HORSES OF PROUD SPIRIT
by Melanie Sue Bowles. Pineapple Press 2003 Hardcover

Melanie Sue Bowles is a champion of forgotten and neglected horses. In The Horses of Proud Spirit a finely crafted collection of equine tales, this modern-day horse whisper profiles the horses she has come into contact with in her life and humane work. A firefighter and EMT the author knew little about horses when she felt a longing to find one for the few acres she and her husband inhabited. Her first horse, Cody, taught her a new way of interaction, a method of communication the author instinctively knew to be true. Strengthened by a growing sense of compassion, Bowles embarked on rescuing horses that were in need of a loving haven. Today, the fruits of her labor of love can be seen in the sanctuary she runs, and are reflected in the
deeply moving stories in her book.

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