Book Reviews For Animal Lovers

Part of the Andy Carpenter mystery series. Andy is an independently wealthy defense attorney who lives with his golden retriever, Tara. His new case is a custody dispute over a Bernese mountain puppy named Waggy, whose previous owner was murdered and the two prime suspects, the victim’s new wife and his estranged son, both want the dog. It seems straightforward enough, until the widow is also murdered and the son is arrested for both murders. Andy takes on the son’s defense, while also maintaining custody of the dog and learns the first murder victim was the subject of an FBI investigation because of a groundbreaking scientific discovery which the FBI wanted to ensure did not fall into the wrong hands. Plus, there’s a professional hitman shooting people, or is he shooting at the dog? All these threads tie together for another entertaining installment in this series.

I learned a lot from this book—not only about our companion animals (dogs, cats and horses), but also about humane treatment of livestock and the positive changes brought about in that industry through the clout of the fast food giants—McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s--and their audits and inspections of their meat and poultry suppliers. Those audits currently impact about 90% of beef and pork suppliers, but only about 20% of poultry suppliers, so much more needs to be done. I highly recommend this book.

Schettler was just a rookie police officer in the Oakland area in California when he saw a TV program about bloodhounds and knew instantly that being a K-9 officer with a bloodhound was his destiny. He purchased a bloodhound puppy with his own funds and spent all his spare time training the dog with no help from his department. This book is a non-fiction account of a dozen or so of the hundreds of manhunting missions he undertook with his bloodhound, Ronin, including being involved in the search for Eric Rudolph, the bomber of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as well as a string of abortion clinic bombings in 1997 and 1998. Schettler makes a distinction between tracking and trailing; he says tracking involves following the exact path of the target person, keeping the dog’s nose to the ground and following the scent from one footprint to the next until the dog catches up to the target or the scent peters out. Trailing is more complex; there may be no footprint, such as on asphalt or concrete, or weather conditions may wash or blow the scent off the original track and it may pool on vegetation or other surfaces close by. When trailing, the dog must be able to follow the scent wherever it pools, including raising it’s head up into the wind to catch the scent. If the target has made a loop, the dog can smell the fresher scent in the air and go off the track to shortcut to where the target currently is. Schettler describes how he collects a scent article, even if it’s been handled by other people, and how he teaches the dog to ignore those other scents and focus only on the correct one. Ronin is gone now and Schettler has retired from the police force, but he has founded a company in Georgia that trains bloodhound and other K-9 units; he also trains Basenjis in narcotics and explosives detection. This is a fascinating book; my only complaint is that I wish it had included many more stories of other missions.

This is the second installment of the delightful Chet and Bernie mystery series in which the story is narrated from Chet’s (the dog) point of view. In this one, Chet and Bernie are hired to act as bodyguards to Princess, a fluffy show dog; unfortunately, they are soon fired, due to some inappropriate behavior on Chet’s part. The plot thickens when Princess and her owner are kidnapped and then Bernie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend disappears. Chet and Bernie get separated during an encounter in the desert with the bad guys, but Chet manages to rescue Princess on his own and they both, in turn, are rescued by a couple of aging hippies who then sell Chet to another bad guy. Chet and Bernie are eventually reunited and solve the case (was there ever any doubt?). Chet is adorable and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Stella Is A Star, about a pit bull who thinks no one likes her, so she masquerades as a pig (this will be released in April 2010).

Hannah Garvey, the manager of a retirement community located in the Ozark hills, sets out to prove the hunky local sheriff innocent of murder. She’s assisted in this endeavor by her posse of eccentric senior citizens--garishly mis-dressed Delbert and marijuana growing IdaClare, among others. Along the way she acquires a loveable but unusual looking mutt named Malcolm, which she describes as a looking like a cross between an Airedale and a wildebeest; Malcolm requires frequent bathing because his favorite pastime is finding stinky messes to roll in. At one point, when Hannah and her posse are in a cow pasture with metal detectors looking for a spent bullet (which they find under a fresh cow patty), Malcolm comes to the rescue when they’re charged by the offended bull and yes, after this episode, he did require another bath. This book is the second in a series (the first is called East of Peculiar) and I expect Malcolm will play an even greater role in the next book, North of Clever. The author lives in Nixa, Missouri.

The author is an attorney who lives here locally in the Kansas City area. This book was made into a Hallmark channel movie and shown just before Christmas; it’s a novel about a farming family in Kansas which includes a developmentally disabled young man named Todd. The local animal shelter runs a promotion to foster a shelter dog for Christmas and Todd lobbies his father to participate in the program. His dad reluctantly gives in and they bring home a big black Lab mix that Todd names “Christmas”, with the strict understanding that the dog will be returned to the shelter after the holiday. Todd becomes very involved in the program and personally enlists the help of the entire community which results in the shelter being emptied out for Christmas; this project gives Todd a purpose and helps his dad come to terms with some old heartaches. This is a very heart-warming tale and perfectly conveys the sense of giving that is so important to celebrating Christmas.

An incredibly moving tribute by the best-selling suspense author to his very special golden retriever, Trixie. After several decades of marriage, Dean and his wife Gerda decided it was finally time to get their first dog. The Koontzes had been long-time supporters of an organization called Canine Companions for Independence, which trains dogs to assist people with disabilities. Trixie had been a CCI dog, but was retired from the program when she required surgery and was no longer physically able to handle her rigorous responsibilities; she was three years old when she came to live with the Koontzes and they were immediately smitten with her. Dean chronicles the close bond that is forged between them in the ensuing nine years and the deep level of understanding they achieve. He insists that both he and his wife distinctly heard Trixie say “baw” on several occasions, which they interpreted to mean “ball” as it happened when they were trying to shorten her daily walk by avoiding the tennis courts they generally explored on their walks and she expressed her wish to be allowed to collect tennis balls as usual. He details how, although extremely friendly with most people, she showed marked aversion, even fear, upon first meeting someone who later alarmed the Koontzes themselves by displaying some potentially violent stalker-type behavior. And, he credits Trixie with bringing a whole new level of joy and wonder to their lives. This is an inspiring love story and a must-read for every dog lover.

A non-fiction account of the author’s study of her eight dog pack, as well as several other dogs. One of the other dogs, a husky named Misha, would jump his fence every night and show up at her house waiting for her to emerge and go out adventuring with him; she observed his interactions with other dogs and watched him cross busy highways and engage in other risky behaviors and ultimately decided his wanderings had no point other than to exchange sniffs and posturing with other dogs. She anthropomorphizes to an extreme degree, referring to Misha and her husky Maria as well as her pugs Bingo and Violet as “husband” and “wife”, and their puppies as “children”. She did no training whatsoever, preferring that the dogs establish their own rules so as to observe their natural dogness. And, if the dogs wanted to wander far afield, she was game for the adventure as well. In the end, her dogs were content with themselves and her presence was superfluous. The dogs’ behavior is very interesting, but her attitude towards the dogs definitely falls into the “eccentric” category.

Bestselling author Dean Koontz’s golden retriever, Trixie, was the canine love of his life and he has incorporated homage's to her memory in several of his recent books. In this book, Trixie gives a doggie perspective on the secrets to living a blissful life, such as learning to calm yourself, finding beauty in the small things, learning to have fun, achieving wisdom, finding the meaning for your life, consideration and compassion for others, learning humility, accepting loss and learning gratitude. These are all important life lessons and we’ve probably read about some or all of them in other self-help books, but it’s interesting to read about them in the context of a dog’s life. For instance, in the first chapter “Calm”, Trixie writes that dogs live most of their lives in a place called “Quiet Heart”, while humans “mostly live next door in Desperate Heart” and we would do well to visit the Quiet Heart “zip code” from time to time by finding a quiet place with no electronic devices where we can banish our anger, still our busy minds and find some serenity. In the chapter about loss, she writes that pain and loss are crucial to achieving compassion—“Empathy for others comes from understanding their suffering.” A quick and thought-provoking read.

A wonderful compilation of stories about our beloved breed by people you know, including Club members Linda Kosar-Cain, Joyce Guthrie, Renee Tiepelman, and Neal and Sandy Dickens. The book has dozens of stories of varying lengths, lots of photos and drawings and is organized into topics: The Dreaded Loose Dog, Dane Angels, Hors d’oeuvres, Anyone?, North, South & Across the Big Water, Nighty-Night!, Auck-e-poo,poo…It Happens!, Talk to the Animals…, The Demolition Crew (not for the faint of heart), Are You My Mother?, Living With A Dane, Bred-By? and finally, Life…and Dog Shows. I highly recommend you buy this book, which is being sold at Dane Specialties and will most likely be available at the National. Susan Oslund and Marshall Stoner of the Heart of Illinois Great Dane Club can also be contacted at countrysq1@yahoo.com and lostcrk@dpc.net, respectively.

then ends up in an even worse fix. Bernie manages to get into a few jams of his own and Chet runs to the rescue. I found this book very entertaining and highly recommend it.

This is the sixth in the “Outfoxed” mystery series featuring Jane Arnold and the Jefferson Hunt Club in Virginia. In this story, Jane and a friend discover a murdered woman, naked, sitting on a horse statue. It’s quickly dubbed “the Lady Godiva murder;” before long, there’s another similar murder and then Jane herself starts receiving sinister packages leading her to believe she’s next. In between gathering clues, Jane is caught up in the foxhunting season and the book details several foxhunts with the members of the hunt club astride their horses jumping fences and thundering across fields following the hounds. This look into an ancient dog/horse sport is quite informative and very interesting. I’d read a couple of books from this series before and was put off by the talking animals (the foxes talk, the horses talk, the dogs talk, and birds and cats, etc.); there was very little of that in this book, which I considered a big plus.

If you like romance novels, this should be your cup of tea. George is a harlequin Great Dane who lives with Brad, a busy restaurant owner who’s still reeling from his messy divorce and also trying to deal with his teenage son’s behavioral problems. George, feeling neglected, has taken to running away from home and heading towards the local dog grooming shop where he gets pampered and fussed over. The owner of the dog grooming business, Kara, is dealing with problems of her own juggling her growing business and her 5 year old twin daughters. George brings Brad and Kara together and keeps bringing them together with every subsequent escape. Eventually, of course, it finally dawns on Brad and Kara that George has the right idea and they all live happily ever after. I’m a fan of mysteries myself, but I enjoyed this story and George is more than just a temporary plot device—he plays a huge part throughout the entire book, along with assorted cats, bunnies and a turtle.

The fourth in a mystery series set in Harlem featuring former cop Mali Anderson who, though off the force, can’t seem to stop investigating crimes, mainly by tapping into the “word on the street” network. Mali lives with her father, nephew and their harlequin Great Dane, Ruffin. Although this in an interesting series, it’s disappointing in how underutilized Ruffin is in the storyline. Mali takes Ruffin for frequent walks throughout the neighborhood while gathering information, but other than the occasional comment about her “horse” and Ruffin occasionally alerting her to danger or pouncing on the odd attacker, he just doesn’t figure into the plot development much. Still, it’s the only mystery series I’ve found thus far that even has a Great Dane in it, so I’ll be waiting for the next in the series (if there is one) and hope he’ll be featured more prominently.

Is part of the “Dead-end Job Mystery” series featuring fugitive Helen Hawthorne. Helen used to be a high-powered executive living in a mansion in St. Louis, but chucked that for a life on the run when the divorce judge ordered her to pay alimony to her cheating, perpetually “successfully unemployed” ex-husband. Now she hides out in Florida working minimum-wage cash-under-the-table jobs. In this selection, she’s working in a pet grooming salon when two of the clients are murdered and a celebrity canine is dognapped; suspected of all three crimes, she has to clear her name before she’s formally charged and fingerprinted and her past comes to light.

A personal memoir of Lee, her boyfriend, Ted, and their first dog, Rex—all squeezed into a 300 square foot New York apartment. Lee and Ted rescued Rex from a Long Island shelter when he was about 6 months old; he spent the first month snarling, biting and running away. After a lot of missteps where they further terrify the poor dog with punitive dominance training, they eventually lighten up and learn to enjoy their dog and Rex, in turn, learns to trust and love. This is a breezy, light-hearted and self-deprecating story of two people and a dog head over heels in love with each other.

The most recent Oprah Book Club selection and currently high on the bestseller lists. It’s the story of a young boy and the extraordinary dogs his family has bred for generations—the Sawtelle dogs—prized for their intelligence, heart and loyalty. When tragedy strikes his family, Edgar flees into the Wisconsin wilderness with three of his pups and begins a several months long odyssey towards Canada. Nearly starving at times, they learn to fend for themselves and all mature in the process. Eventually coming to the realization that it’s time to quit running and desperately missing Almondine, the dog who was his constant companion from birth, Edgar turns back towards home, leading to the final confrontation and the story’s climax. I highly recommend this remarkable book, but be prepared to shed some tears. Although Edgar is the focus of the story, all the Sawtelle dogs play a huge role and I found the discussions of their breeding and training fascinating. This would be a great gift for the booklover on your gift list.

The first in a new mystery series starring private investigator wannabe Jane Kelly. Jane is hired by the ex-wife of a reclusive millionaire to learn if he knows the whereabouts of their son who vanished four years earlier after committing a horrific crime. In the midst of her investigation, she inherits a dog, a little pug named Binkster, from an aunt she’d never even heard of. When she finally solves the case, the dog she didn’t want and had no intention of keeping ends up saving her life. In the second book in the series, Electric Blue, Binkster plays an even greater role.

This classic training manual was updated in 2002. The monks are renowned for their fine German Shepherd Dogs and espouse a philosophy of fully integrating the dogs into their lives. Proponents of the pack theory of dog behavior, they believe most behavioral problems being experienced by dog owners result from dogs being left alone for long stretches of time and then receiving little attention when the owners are home. Full of a variety of useful information from picking a dog to caring for your dog to specific instructions on teaching basic commands, this book was interesting, informative and very easy to read. The monks starred on Animal Planet’s series “Divine Canine.”

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

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.

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.

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.