Lost and Found by Elizabeth Hess
Review by Dorothy Stewart – January 13, 2012
Lost and Found: Dogs, Cats, and Everyday Heroes at a Country Animal Shelter
I’ve had this book for a while, but put off reading it. I thought I would cry too much. I did, and got angry, but not as often as I feared. That’s due to Ms Hess’ writing. She is empathetic but analytic. She acts a camera, showing us a whole picture from her perspective. She records events and puts them in a larger framework. She tells us what she thinks about it and lets us draw our own conclusions.
One story stood out for me. A “week-ender” came into the shelter one hot summer day, saying he’d found kittens and couldn’t keep them. Elizabeth knew him from gallery events in New York City, so they chatted about new shows and gossip in the artsy crowd. Finally he remembered about the kittens and said they were in a box in his car! But the heat inside a sturdy box with only “a few pencil-sized holes” had done its job. The kittens were already nearly dead. “While Fitzgerald was chatting with me… the cats were in his car baking.” She doesn’t need to say that clearly this urbane man didn’t have the sense to come in out of the rain (or bring the cats out of the sun) or that she felt guilt for not asking the cats’ whereabouts. Both things are there, between the lines.
Continue… St. Thomas Dog Blog
The Tao of Horses by Deborah McCall
Review by Dorothy Stewart – November 6, 2011
This review is in honour of the great athelete Hickstead. The Olympic Show Jumping gold and silver medalist horse died during competition Sunday, Nov. 6 2011 in Verona, Italy. He and his riding partner Eric Lamaze knew well the way of horses and of horse and rider. To Eric and all connected to Hickstead, condolences on your loss. And to Hickstead, you are missed. Rest in peace, brave heart.
“If you knew a horse, you could depend on him and if he was going to do something bad, you could depend on him to do that too. I always understood horses better than I did people.“ This opinion on the staightforwardness of horses is from retired US Captain Thomas Stewart. His story is told in The Tao of Horses: Exploring how horses guide us on our spiritual pathby Deborah Kaye McCall. At the end of WWII, Capt. Stewart and a German army captain and veterinarian Dr. Rudolph Lessing got 200 Lipizzaners stallions and broodmares out of Czechoslovakia before it was given to Russia in the Allied division of territory.
The Lipizzaner story is in the chapter entitled ‘Peace – The unequivocal ambassador.’ This book has many such stories – individuals and breeds of horses that are particular noteworthy in the equestrian world. It’s a small book and it covers a lot of ground. Each chapter focuses on a few people and the breed of horse with which they work. You get the story of the breed, including some individual horses, the people and their philosophical musings on what horses and their particular branch of equestrian activity gives them mentally and physically. The author adds thoughts of her own, short sections at the end of each chapter with a physical or mental exercise to do, travel tips and internet search suggestions. More…St. Thomas Dog Blog.
Who’s Kitten Who by Cynthia Baxter
Review by Dorothy Stewart – September 8, 2011
I found this book by Cynthia Baxter (Bantam 2007) in the library. Felt in the mood for a fluffy book, but thought this might be a bit too fluffy just based on the cover and title. Still, give it a try.
Our amateur sleuth, Jessica, is a veterinarian who runs a mobile clinic on Long Island. She lives with her fiancé and numerous animals. She has a habit of running into murder and mystery. In this book, it involves a community theatre and the murder of the writer of their current production. The backdrop to that story is her home life and the visit of her future in-laws whom she has not yet met, and their little dog Mitzi.
The actual mystery was good – some clues given so you could feel like you were figuring it out but not enough to be too obvious. The pets and her interaction with them are well drawn and entertaining. Some LOL moments produced by her daily life with humans and animals. So fluffy? Yes. A good read? Yes.
The visit by the in-laws – good in that her fiancé’s mother is so god-awful that she gives you nightmares. The tension between Jessica, her fiancé and his parents and Mitzi is very good. It is realistic enough to any of us who have hideous memories of meeting “the fam” of a significant other. It is over the top enough to make us laugh and feel relief that nothing we experienced was ever quite this bad.
More…St. Thomas Dog Blog
Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
Review by Dorothy Stewart – June 28, 2011
This is Spencer Quinn’s first in a mystery novel series featuring Chet (dog) and Bernie (human). Set in the US Southwest, the story is told by Chet from his point of view. Chet flunked out of K-9 police school and Bernie is barely scraping by as a private detective. Bernie and Chet work together as an investigation team, but neither of them has a superior or supernatural method of communication with the other.
Chet understands human language, both verbal and body, better than Bernie realizes. But he can’t always convey what he knows to him. Unlike Randolph, say, in the Bull Moose Dog Run series, he can’t read and doesn’t know how to use human language to communicate. He does dog type communication – barking, wagging tail, bristling neck hair, growling. Bernie can misinterpret these signals as Chet wanting a toy or Chet just barking for no good reason. And Chet, being a dog, sometimes misses the significance of something in the human realm so doesn’t indicate its importance to Bernie. I found myself thinking, “come on Chet, that’s important – bark! Tell Bernie!” And Chet would just think, “hmm, that kinda reminds me of something” and go back to licking himself or having a nap.
One of the jacket blurbs says you don’t have to be a dog lover to enjoy the story. Being a dog lover, I really liked the insights into dog behaviour from a dog point of view. You get to know Bernie and other people and dogs, all through Chet’s eyes. If you didn’t particularly like dogs, I don’t know what it would be like reading a story from the perspective of the dog.
More…St. Thomas Dog Blog
Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry
Review by Dorothy Stewart – June 13, 2011
A mystery novel by Sue Henry. It’s good. Several murders – at first I thought she just wanted to use all the ways she’d thought of for murder in a dogteam race. But actually all the murders are necessary for the plot line. They’re inventive and the murder mystery part of the book is good – right to the end.
But what’s just as good is you, the reader, are going along with the teams every hard mile of the race. You get put inside it, why and how people and their dogs do this sometimes year after year. You also get some of the history and geography of Alaska – of the race itself, the gold-rush, the land and the peoples both aboriginal and white settlers.
She takes on political controversies that have been part of the Itidarod for the past few decades. Many male racers opposed women entering the competition and Henry discusses this through the plot line and a female musher who is a main character.* She also discusses the animal welfare activists who have sought to shut down the race. She addresses the issue of the dogs’ health and safety throughout as background of the actual running and the protestors as possible murder suspects.
More… St. Thomas Dog Blog
War Dogs of the Pacific DVD by Harris Done
War Dogs (46 min.) is listed on amazon.com.
Dog Tags of Courage:
Combat Infantrymen and War Dog Heroes in Vietnam by John C. Burnam, MSG (RET.)
Dog Tags of Courage is “the remarkable, little-known story of 4,000 superbly trained German shepherds and their human handlers, whose combined efforts saved countless lives in the Vietnam War. It is an authentic account, seen through the eyes of a teenage American combat infantryman who served two tours of duty as a scout-dog handler. John Burnam explores the almost mystical bond that developed between 10,000 valorous young soldiers and their extraordinary canine teammates. Burnam compassionately portrays scenes of battle and conveys the overwhelming emotions of the men who, at war’s end, were forced to abandon thousands of these greathearted animals to whatever fate might befall them.”
Always Faithfull:
A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of WWII by Capt. William W. Putney (RET.)
Always Faithful is the memoir told by retired Marine Corps captain and veterinarian, Bill Putney, who “writes a moving and heartrending account of his days as commander of the 3rd Marine War Dog Platoon, in which some 72 dogs and their handlers were his responsibility.”
Writes one reviewer: ”I was on Guam in 1994 during the 50th anniversary of Guam’s liberation. Dr. Putney came for the occasion, and for the dedication of the War Dog Memorial. Dr. Putney was instrumental in making the beautiful memorial site, with sculptor Susan Bahary Wilner’s “Always Faithful” statue of dog Kurt, a reality.”
“Yorkie Doodle Dandy” by Bill Wynne
Yorkie Doodle Dandy “is a heartwarming book that moves the reader from laughter to tears as the author recalls his World War II – and beyond – experiences with Smoky, a remarkable little Yorkshire Terrier.” We could not find one bad review of this book. And we’ve added this remarkable story on our Dogs in War page.
“Old Dogs are the Best Dogs” by Weingarten and Williamson
“Anyone who has ever loved an old dog will love Old Dogs. In this collection of profiles and photographs, Weingarten and Williamson document the unique appeal of man’s best friend in his or her last, and best, years” from Amazon.ca.
The work of Wallace Edwards
Wallace Edwards is a wonderful Canadian illustrator who lives in Ontario. He has drawn for the Metro Toronto Zoo (over 200 illustrations of fish), Environment Canada and worked with David Suzuki. While his work is not specifically about dogs, it’s a wonderful view of the animal world and nature in general. These are great children’s books. The one at the top, Cat’s Pajamas, takes a look at sayings and idioms in our language we don’t always think about. The amazon link is here.
“The Wolf in the Parlor: How the Dog Came to Share Your Brain“by Jon Franklin.
Called “a surprising view into the canine soul from somebody who clearly understands and loves dogs” the book has also been described as “part science, part history, part personal journey.” The Amazon link is here, also a review on St. Thomas Dog Blog.
“Parenting Your Dog: Develop Dog-rearing Skills for a Well-Trained Companion” by Trish King
Trish King is the Director of the Animal Behavior & Training Department at the Marin Humane Society in Marin County, California. She is a well respected author and lecturer, and we have mentioned her before on our site. Her video talks are well worth the time and can be found on youtube. The book is unique in that it applies specific human parenting techniques to ensure a happy and well-behaved family dog. The amazon link is here.
“The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and their Tales of Rescue and Redemption” by Jim Gorant
Difficult story to read about. Published Sept. 2010. The Amazon link is here, and here’s an article on the story with pictures here.
Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook by Giffin & Carlson
This is a great reference book (1999) by James Giffin, MD and Lisa Carlson, DVM. There is also a newer edition available (2007). The link is here.
One Nation Under Dog by Michael Schaffer
“What makes this book so great is that it neither preaches nor rationalizes – it just explains…. He alternates easily between research and laugh-out-loud tales of his runty St. Bernard, Murphy, and cat, Amelia. And with a historical sweep, he shows us how we got to this place. Ultimately, One Nation Under Dog is not about our pets – but about ourselves.” —The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) The amazon link is here. This book is talked about on the St. Thomas Dog Blog here.
The Dogs Who Found Me:
What I’ve Learned From Pets Who Were Left Behind by Ken Foster
After Foster adopts his first dog, Brando, from a shelter, he can’t help noticing an alarming number of stray dogs, which he had never noticed before. Once he starts looking for them, he finds strays everywhere: on the side of the road, at the dog park, at gas stations and stuck in drainage grates. But this book isn’t about Foster as much as it’s about his dogs…(from Publisher’s Weekly). The amazon link is here.
A Dog About Town by J. F. Englert
A Dog About Town: Harry is a man still mourning the loss of his beloved girlfriend, Imogen, who left him suddenly without a word. He’s also the owner of a plump, poetry-loving Lab, Randolph. Like most Manhattan dogs, Randolph spends his days sifting through a world of scents, his owner’s neuroses, and an overcrowded doggy run at the American Museum of Natural History. But now a bereft Harry has drifted into a circle of would-be occultists. Which might not be so bad if one of them wasn’t also a murderer. The amazon link is here. A Dog About Town is part of a series, shown in order above. Also, Dorothy Stewart has written about A Dog About Town on her blog stdoa.ca/stthomasdogblog/2010/04/24/lab-mysteries/.
All My Patients Have Tales:
Favorite Stories From a Vet’s Practice by Jeff Wells
“A wonderful account of the coming of age of a vet. Jeff Wells has written an honest and poignant account of vet school and his early years in practice. Dr. Wells shows equal parts compassion to both animal and human in his often humorous but always kind stories. May you be so lucky to have him as your vet and even luckier to call him your friend.”–Susan Richards, author of Chosen by A Horse and Chosen Forever. The amazon link is here.
Stephen Huneck and Dog Mountain
Steplhen Huneck was an author, artist, dog lover, and more. The author of a series of best selling children’s books featuring his Labrador, Sally, his work as an artist and woodcarver is held in both public and private collections including the Smithsonian. Stephen got his idea for a Dog Park and Dog Chapel to be on his farm in Vermont after a near death experience in the hospital in the ’90s. Stephen took his own life in January after a long bout of depression, made worse during this recession by having to lay off employees in their studio and chapel, and fear of losing the farm and his life’s work. A memorial service (above right) was held for him at the Dog Chapel on his farm this past Memorial Day weekend.
The link to Dog Mountain is here http://www.dogmt.com/, his work on amazon.ca here amazon/huneck, the CBC story cbc/huneck, and NPR coverage npr/huneck.
Sally Goes to the Beach by Stephen Huneck
Sally Goes to the Beach is the first in the series. Stephen Huneck was a prolific writer and artist. The amazon link to his collection is here, and the link to Dog Mountain is here.
Regarding Sally Goes to the Beach: ”This simple tale of a holiday adventure is perfect for any child planning–or reminiscing about–a trip to the shore. Stephen Huneck’s text is a quiet tribute to the magic of a sunny day in the sand and surf. But the indisputable wonder of this book is the artwork. Internationally known artist Huneck created every woodcut print by hand, drawing the design in crayon, then carving one block of wood for each color in the appropriate shape. The result is a stunning collection of brightly colored woodcut prints showing spry Sally diving in the ocean, riding boats, and digging holes in the sand. As in his clever My Dog’s Brain, Huneck modeled Sally after his very own Labrador retriever, also named Sally”. (Ages 3 to 7) –Emilie Coulter.
We will be adding to this page over time. If you have a favorite book or movie you can send your suggestions to books@stdoa.ca
