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Contacts |
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Corresponding Secretary:
Doris Hynes, dorishynes @sbcglobal.net
Rescue Contact: Janet Quick,
roch4d @earthlink.net or
816-250-2574
Breeder Referral: Joy
Lobato, jjlobato @earthlink.net |
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Book Reviews
For Animal Lovers |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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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When purchasing
merchandise from AMAZON.COM, if you order through our website, Great
Dane Rescue will receive 5% of your order. Just click on the Amazon
logo below and it will take you directly to Amazon.com to place your
order. Amazon will do the rest. Note: The item you
purchase must be an Amazon product for our club to be credited.

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Rescue News |
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The GDCGKC Rescue Committee
placed 26 Great Danes in new homes in 2007!!! |
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