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Animals - Pet Loss books

Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Susan Richards. By Harvest Books. The regular list price is $13.00. Sells new for $1.91. There are some available for $1.20.
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5 comments about Chosen by a Horse.

  1. Very heart warming. The effect this horse has on her is just what they needed. Highly recommended.


  2. This book was an amazingly beautiful story about the love and courage a pet owner shares with their pet. I loved the simplicity of the story. It was very engaging. I laughed, I cried, and I found myself wishing I could own a horse. Animals are amazing. It's a story of love for animals, for yourself and others. Loved it.


  3. It is a good book. Not great by any means. I was not aware it had a sad ending, so it loses lots of points with me for that reason alone. I don't like to cry when I finish a book, thank you.


  4. A wonderful story abut the impact that "Lay Me Down", a formerly abused horse has on the book's heroine and the other people and creatures that "Lay Me Down" interacts with. Be prepared for tears,but definitely a worthwhile read.


  5. This book is a gutsy look at a hard life, and at the same time a moving story of a horse/owner relationship most of us will only dream of. Definitely a book for adults (not for horse-loving teens), it describes coming to terms with a difficult life in middle years, and how the past can be overcome, no matter how tough. It's a lovely story, told with honesty and courage. Susan Richards' horses are described so vividly as to seem like human characters. A book to be read alongside a box of Kleenex.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Mark R. Levin. By Pocket Books. The regular list price is $22.00. Sells new for $1.98. There are some available for $0.74.
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5 comments about Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish.

  1. I bought this book as I am a dog lover. This book will make you cry and laugh. I have read other dog books and this one is not the best of the best, but is a good one


  2. As an owner of an older dog, this book had me in tears the entire time. While it's not eloquently written and rather short, it just hit me in the heart. The love this man has for this little dog is one that any true dog lover can relate to. The way he had to face Sprite's fate was very real. It's a process to face the mortality of someone you love so much. While it was a sad goodbye to Sprite, you are able to see the healing process begin for the author.


  3. I love dogs, I love a good cry, I was ready to enjoy this book. I downloaded it on my Kindle. The book was self indulgent, self serving, ridiculous and corny. The author seems to have been insulated from life to such a degree that he is absurd. Parts of the book are all about bragging that he knows Rush Limbaugh, who he presents as Mr. Sensitive and the rest is just such a weak presentation of what could have been a lovely story. It was a surprise to me that someone in the business of writing could do such a bad job.


  4. I purchased the book after losing my favorite of three Labradors to a disease that took her in less than three days after my initial visit to our vet. I had just done an agility match with her less than a month earlier. I had no idea she was ill. Losing Tara so unexpectedly fast, had a very hard impact on me and I couldn't seem to come to terms with all that had happened. A friend recommended the book because he had listened to the radio broadcaster and had heard about the response by so many other grieving pet owners. He thought it might help me cope. I read and cried and read and cried my way through the book. As bad as my lose was, my neighbor across the street lost his dog seven days after mine. After I was through, with tears in my eyes I took the book to him and he thanked me because, even though he cried all through the book, it helped him with his grief. Thank you Mark Levin for writing a book that made me realize that, My grief was not so far out in left field that I was different from other people that lose their best "friend".

    Pamela Bishop


  5. I'm not much of a book reader...........but after hearing favorable reviews on Shawn Hannity's radio talk show, I decided to purchase Mark Levin's "Rescuing Sprite" hoping that it would help my wife and I to deal with the recent loss of our beloved cat Cheyenne. The book was all that Shawn spoke of and more. Mark wrote this book from the heart and as any animal lover can attest to..........losing a beloved pet is one of the most difficult things in life to go thru. If you love your pet, or have recently have had to deal with the loss of one.........you must read this book.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff. By Workman Publishing Company. The regular list price is $10.95. Sells new for $6.16. There are some available for $4.08.
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5 comments about Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale.

  1. The writing style was a bit tedious at the beginning, but it improved and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It is a good story of not about the dog only, but also how you can turn your life around to what you want it to be by simply not giving up and putting in whatever it takes to get it. And, let us not forget the fact that it took a dog to do it. Animals are truly great partners because they need us and inspire us with their unconditional love.


  2. This is another wonderful story told with a lot of love. Right up there with Marley and Me and Merle's Door. You can read this more than once. I just wish the book was longer because there were so many great tales of this dog and her owners. They really loved their dog.


  3. Great story about Gracie and her "family"! Having a German Shepherd who is partially deaf, blind in one eye, and dumped in a trash can at 10 weeks old, I can certainly relate to Dan (and Mark) and their quest to raise a "special needs" dog. It's a wonderful [true] story for anyone who is a dog lover!


  4. This book is a really great tribute to Gracie. It also gives me tons of respect for these guys and the lengths they went thru to make her life better.
    I am also impressed by Three Dog Bakery and think it was such a great idea, the American dream for dog lovers. :)


  5. The books came in and it was like brand new....in fact if I hadn't known I ordered it used I would never have known. It was a great gift and the seller is another I would use again. The book came sooner than promised and was in even better shape than described.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Ted Kerasote. By Harcourt. The regular list price is $25.00. Sells new for $2.00. There are some available for $0.66.
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5 comments about Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog.

  1. The brilliance and vulnerability of the author's writing challenged me to be a better human to my canine friends. Thank you, Ted. Thank you, Merle. Every time I hear Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, I'll remember you fondly and lift my heart in joyful appreciation for noble characters like you. Truly,


  2. From page one, I envied Ted not only for finding a dog like Merle, but for living a life that is so well suited to a dog. What an amazing life Merle had, and all the way to the end! If only all of our dogs could have the freedom that Merle did...neurotic dogs would be an endangered species.

    I cannot count on two hands the number of times I laughed out loud at Merle's antics, and at Ted's interpretations of them, while reading this book. And then, toward the end, I cried. I cried until my eyes were puffy and red, until my husband begged me to put down the book. The lives of the dogs in this book, as well as their humans' lives, are touching. This is a must read.


  3. Did I love this book? Yes. But it is two books in one and one of the sections I found too long and of minimal interest. In fact, I purchased this book for my dog loving wife to read on the plane and she found the book too boring? Solution? Don't read the boring section if you find it as such.

    The story of Merle and Ted is brillant, loving, caring, and of great interest that will leave you in tears at the end of the book. In fact, poor timing put me 100 pages away from finished at 11:00 at night which meant it was a 2:00 bedtime that night. Ted's relationship with his dog Merle is simple but complex and he does an excellent job describing how they communicate. Merle's life is much more rewarding than most dogs in a small town in the wilderness able to live without leash laws. As good as this book is in describing the relationship between dog and owner, the bonus is Ted's one long-standing female relationship with a younger, much taller woman who buys a similar dog.

    The part of the book that is less enjoyable is when Ted discusses the theory of dog behavior. It is interwoven throughout the book and while interesting and informative, it does detract from the owner/dog relationship and pushes the book much longer than it needs to be. But this shouldn't penalize the absolute great story than any dog lover will enjoy reading. So, read it all, or I told my wife, skip the theory until you get to a paragraph that has the word "Merle" in it and you will get a great payoff.


  4. Good book but I was somewhat disapointed. I wanted to read about Merle really not interested in all other info that was included. Way to much of it. Felt like I was back in college when all I wanted to do was read about this beautiful animal. I by passed that stuff and read just about Merle.


  5. This is a wonderful tell all book which is hard to put down. Beautifully written with indepth details. Definetely a tear jerker but also makes you laugh! I totally enjoyed it and gave it a two thumbs up. Bravo for such a wonderful story about a dog!!!!


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Gary Kurz. By Citadel. The regular list price is $12.95. Sells new for $7.38. There are some available for $7.75.
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5 comments about Cold Noses At The Pearly Gates.

  1. This book brought so much comfort to me after the loss of my very best friend- little girl Ni-Ni! With so many unanswered questions and so much uncertainty when we lose our four legged companions- it was in reading this book that I found and continue to find comfort in Gary Kurtz work... Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates. For anyone who has suffered this type of loss this book will bring you peace in knowing we will meet again in heaven! I highly recommend this book!!!!!!!!!!!!


  2. Gary's book was the 3rd book I had read on pet loss, having experienced the very tragic loss of my beautiful cat Tyson (sadly hit by a car on May 18th 2008). While I am not overly religous, I found this book incredibly uplifting and helpful in coming to terms with my grief and understanding my beautiful boy's spirituality here and beyond. Gary is a very personable writer and while reading the book you feel like you are sitting on his back porch speaking with him. Of all the 'religious / Christian' pet loss books Ive read, this is by far the best.


  3. I lost one of my favorite cat's in April. This book really helped me in my time of grieving.I am so glad I found it. It did not take away the grief and sadness, but it helped a lot and made it a little easier.


  4. interesting opinions from the author, I felt some of it a "bit over the top"....but the day we had to put our beloved 15 year old "schnoodle" to sleep, I was inconsolable, and spent a fortune on line looking for books that would maybe support my ideas & thoughts, especially Scripturally, that we could see our pets again when it is OUR time to go to Heaven...


  5. I actually found this book in my bookshelf several days after my beloved little dachshund died. I don't remember buying it, but there it was! Anyway, I was terribly disappointed in it for most of the reasons that have already been cited in other reviews.

    My main complaint is that he effectively dashes the hopes of readers who are not Christians by stating that while God created us and loves all humans and all creatures, only those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior will see their pets in the afterlife. To my way of thinking, If God loves all the creatures He created (as stated in the book and the Bible), He will accept all His creatures into Heaven. To say that God will only accept Christians into Heaven is an insult not only to the billions who are not Christians but, in my opinion, to God Himself.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Gary Kowalski. By New World Library. The regular list price is $11.95. Sells new for $5.95. There are some available for $2.95.
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5 comments about Goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet.

  1. As a Christian, I knew going into this book that the author is a minister of a Unitarian "church" that is not recognized as Biblical Christianity, so I accounted for that. This church's theology rejects Christ as the Son of God and equal with God, and their faith is guided more by reason and science than by the Word of God. Hence, there is a sense of spiritual and even emotional detachment when dealing with experiences and emotions. So I'll say at the top here that many of his expressions of faith come across as 'detached', so you'll have to move on from that and consider his presentation of nature and "the circle of life" which does have some benefit.

    Kowalski's scientific approach held some value for me because it helped me to reconcile the fact that losing my dogs (I lost both within 5 months of one another) was natural, beneficial for them and an experience of life at its most natural. In other words, death is a natural part of life; so if you prefer a more scientific-type approach to these matters, his writing may appeal to you. He does express his own love for his pets, there are some quotes in the begining of each chapter that are nice, and you'll find some compassion and affirmation there, but his view is so scientific in nature that you may imagine a very composed, straight face looking at you and saying, "Friend, it's a part of life. It's the way it is. Embrace it." Personally, I like a better balance between that sort of reality and the ability to reach into one's emotional experience at the same time.

    I think I highlighted a handful of helpful thoughts as I went through the book, and overall I appreciated his writing, but it was one of those books, for me anyway, where one reading sufficed. Whereas, another book "Coping with Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet", was a much more practical, walk-with-you approach that I gained an abundance from by comparison to Kowalski's book. It was much more therapeutic for me.

    God bless you and bring peace to you as you go through this time of grief, and if you are looking to buy a book for a friend who is going through it, I personally would recommend the above-mentioned book by Moira Anderson before this one.


  2. I don't know, I guess I didn't care for the religion part, but it didn't really help. But then again, maybe nothing helps when you lose your dog. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like it at all.


  3. I sent this and the other Kowalski book to my brother after his best friend, Smokey, died in his arms. He told me that it was helpful as he was grieving.


  4. After loosing my two girls aged 11 and 12 just 40 days apart, I could not deal with my grief of one much less two. Then after my wonderful Angie crossed over, I was devastated. Both had to be "put down". Our Jessie had a fusing back and went to pee, and collapsed, back breaking and nothing able to be done neither several years ago when x-rays were taken nor when she eventually collapsed.

    My Angie, who made me Hers, could not live without her "sister", and I had to let her go was my twelve year old, and I was owned by since she was about four weeks old and rescued. She had her kidneys shutting down and no longer eating. That by far was the most difficult thing I had ever had to do in my life.

    After all this grief, I had emergency surgery two days later. I saw them in a field playing together, and did not want to come back. I considered very seriously suicide for over a year just to be with them, as they were my ONLY fiends - for a very hurtful difficult subject. This book helped me deal with my feelings after a year and a half of pain and deep, deep depression.

    After reading this book, it helped me deal with the euthanasia, and the fact that I already knew - of seeing them again. It is still very hard and always will be and I know that too. I am no longer suicidal - thank G-D. I will be OK, and I will be reunited with them both, along with all the others I have lost- it just helped me reassure knowing that.

    I recommend this book highly for anyone who has lost ANY kind of pet.


  5. Loosing a pet is never an easy experience. This book helps us all to realize that we are not alone as we travel down the bumpy road of sad feelings mixed with happy memories.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Anna Quindlen. By Random House. The regular list price is $14.95. Sells new for $3.26. There are some available for $0.09.
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5 comments about Good Dog. Stay..

  1. I liked this short book, but felt that more details would have been nice. My favorite dog book is Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog.That book went into such detail and it did not leave you hanging and wanting more.


  2. To even call this a book is an unimaginable stretch.
    I love dogs and thoroughly enjoy reading almost any book having to do with them and their exploits.
    This "Book??" is 83 tiny pages composed of 53 pages of photos of various dogs...cute... and 30 miniature pages of Fluff. And all this from a supposed #1 selling New York Times Bestselling Author!!!!!..And all for ONLY $14.95!!!!
    When was the last time you paid $.50 per page for this kind of exploitation?
    Anna Quindlen ought to be ashamed of herself


  3. It's true - I must admit: I just don't like books about animals. Until I read this one! This is a sweet, short honest book about the love of a dog. It's not necessarily about sweet Beau (though really it is), but about how Beau completes a family. And very nice touches about how it completes a woman! A wonderful read that can be read in one sitting - on the sofa with your own Beau sitting beside you. Enjoy.


  4. Short and oh so sweet!

    Yes this is more of an essay than a full blown novel, but the writing is worth every dime. There are so many phrases in the book that I read and re-read. Spend the money and keep this book for revisiting over and over.


  5. This is a 45 minute short story about Anna's dog, Beau. I am not a fan of animal stories as they usually either end up getting hurt or dying. The same is true in this one. It is the life story of Beau and as all life stories, the end is death. That brings tears to me which is why I don't like these types of stories.

    I believe Anna wrote this as a way to heal from her lost of Beau more than trying to tell a readable story. This is not to say the story doesn't make sense. It does. I just hear in Anna's own words how much she and her family cared for Beau and how much his loss meant to them.

    As with all stories, there are the good times and the "bad dog" times, laughs and tears and general day-to-day life. If you want to hear about a good dog's life, this CD will provide that.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Niki Behrikis Shanahan. By Pete Publishing. The regular list price is $13.99. Sells new for $10.20. There are some available for $9.89.
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5 comments about The Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss Is Heaven's Gain.

  1. This book was such a great comfort and confirmation in regards to the reuniting of all my beloved pets I have had. I miss the ones I have lost and this book gave me that extra comfort knowing I will be back with my pets...forever. I loved the first book "There is Eternal Life for Animals". It was such a great reference with Bible Scriptures to back up how God loves all his creatures and they will not be forgotten. Then "Animal Prayer Guide" was a great follow up for praying over my pets I now have. This newest book has so many famous and reliable people backing up the scriptures and also confirming what I always believed in my heart that my pets will be in heaven with me.It is great to know I am not alone in believing this. Thanks to Niki for gathering up the information in a third book. The Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss Is Heaven's Gain This is a must to own and a real comfort to share with others. Bless you, Niki for taking the time to write another great book.


  2. This book bought me much needed comfort and compassion after the loss of my cat "Thumpy". I was amazed at how many times animals are mentioned in the Bible and they are truly part of are after life. I also enjoyed reading about the near death and out of body experiences. The author Niki Behrilis Shanahan writes from her own experience of loss with much compassion.All her books are wonderful reading, I have bought a few for friends. Thank you Niki for writing this book and God Bless you! We will see our fur babies again!!


  3. Wow...I"m so glad I purchased this book! I searched and searched (and read many reviews) to find the perfect one, and I'm so glad I purchased this one. I also purchased another one, but I immediatley started to read this one first. She has such a way with writing and totally eased my heavy, painful heart after loosing my 15 year old beagle. I struggled with would I ever see her again, because my mother told me years ago that since dogs do not have souls, that they would not be in heaven. This truly tortured me and I desperately wanted to know the truth. Look no further...this book put my concerns to rest. I now know that my sweet beagle has her eyesight in heaven and is doing one of her very favorite things right at this very moment...chasing those silly squirels and lovin' her life as she once knew it here on earth. I"ll see you again my sweet Mudsey...but until then...I miss you so much.


  4. This book and it's author, Niki Berakis Shanahan, are truly the gain of all who have ever lost a beloved animal companion. I have read her other books ("There IS Eternal Life for Animals" and "Animal Prayer Guide") as well and they are all wonderfully uplifting and inspirational. "Rainbow Bridge: Pet Loss is Heaven's Gain" was especially so to me, particularly the section dealing with coping with grief and depression. Ms. Shanahan offers very helpful insights and ways of reconciling our moving forward with our lives while keeping our little ones in our hearts and memories. As she states, to recover from mourning does not mean we are forgetting or being disloyal to our animal companions. In a gentle and eloquent writing style, she encourages us to focus our thoughts on Heaven and the positive future God promises all of His creation--including animals.

    Ms. Shanahan's work is blessed and her books are a must-read for all pet owners and animal lovers. I very highly recommend them all!!!


  5. Niki Behrikis Shanahan's gentle and beautiful book is soothing balm to those who have lost pets they love. I like the way she comforts grieving owners with the assurance their beloved pets are waiting for them on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge and that God is watching over them with tender loving care.

    In addition to the beautiful Biblical tone/theme of this book, Ms. Shanahan discusses domesticated animals throughout history and how pets are an important part of countless people's lives. Each such account warmed my heart and added cheer to my day.

    Each chapter includes information from the Bible and how it applies to pets and people who love them. This book tackles relevant topics such as depression and how to cope with the loss of a beloved pet. I like the way Ms. Shanahan paints an optimistic face on the future. It IS extremely comforting to think of the pets one has loved and lost awaiting a joyous reunion across the Rainbow Bridge.

    Her chapter about conducting a Memorial Service for pets is another way of providing a sense of closure and acceptance.

    I salute Ms. Shanahan and would like to join in with another reviewer in giving her a standing ovation. Pets ARE part of life's circle - they are waiting for their owners to join them in a loving reunion across the Rainbow Bridge. Her perceptiveness and loving awareness are to be commended. I say this with tears in my eyes, a heartfelt thank you to Niki Behrikis Shanahan. Thank you and bless you, Ms. Shanahan on behalf of everybody who has loved and lost pets and thanks to this wonderful book countless people can take comfort in the thought of seeing their beloved pets once again. Please read this and share it with somebody. You will be very glad that you did.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Mark Doty. By Harper Perennial. The regular list price is $13.95. Sells new for $6.45. There are some available for $3.11.
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5 comments about Dog Years: A Memoir (P.S.).

  1. As an owner of two dachshunds, Dog Years struck a deep chord within me. Doty touches deeply on the uniqueness of each beloved animal, and does so with grace and sensitivity. To me, the book was largely a metaphor for life, which is surrounded by both love and pain, both of which are amplified as we grow older. In this sense, Dog Years was very much a memoir about Doty's life following the death of his partner, Wally. Dog Years is more poetic than his earlier memoirs, possibly because the challenges of advancing years are not as concrete as surviving a difficult childhood (Firebird) or the death of a spouse (Heaven's Coast). But this format works well for me, and it seemed to work well for Doty. Thank you, Mark, for sharing this new phase of your life with us.


  2. I was really looking forward to Doty's so-called memoir, Dog Years, but it just didn't deliver. While there are some fine and moving passages here and there about loss and loving an animal, this book doesn't really qualify as a true "memoir," and it's not much of a "dog book" either. If you want to read a good dog book/memoir, try Hal Borland's classic, The Dog Who Came to Stay. It's great. Doty's effort simply strays too far afield from either genre to suit my apparently plebian tastes. There are sections here, littered with quotes from Emily Dickinson and Doty's ruminations on same, or references to Cezanne or Heraclitus, which could have been lifted from his Freshman poetry lectures, which is not what I expected - or wanted. Maybe there is so little about Doty because he's already written two memoirs. Well, okay; but don't call this a memoir, because it's not. I'm tempted to read his first memoir; maybe that would be a real one, but this book is sub-titled under false pretenses. The narrative meanders here and there and sometimes I wondered where the hell he was going with it. It was a struggle just to finish it. Sorry, Mark. Write a memoir or write poetry, but don't try to do both at once. - Tim Bazzett, author of Pinhead: A Love Story


  3. Mark Doty has penned an absolute gem of a memoir that touches not only on our umbreakable bonds with our animals, but also with our mates and the many places that we will call "home" throughout our lives - and the grief that we all must embrace and learn from in the loss of all of these. His story of Wally, Arden and Beau is a masterpiece of the heartfelt thoughts and feelings that all dog owners will experience if they are lucky enough to be loved unconditionally by one, or more, beloved human beings and furry angels.
    In Chapter 15, after the recent death of his mate, Wally, and one of his dogs, Beau, Doty tells us of an abandoned dog that he befriends on Calle Canal in San Miquel de Allende, a hill town north of Mexico City.
    He tries to rescue her and is heartbroken to have to leave her behind, writing, "I am grateful to have felt even this sharp sadness. The dog on Calle Canal awakens me; she shows me that I have come through something now. I write to bless her delicate head, the paw raised in hope. How should we know ourselves, except in the clarifying mirror of some other gaze?"
    I finished the book in one day. And if you aren't into full throttle tears by Chapter 16 & 17 (the final chapters), then you have never known the joy and anticipation of there being "someone at home, waiting to go for a walk."


  4. The poet shares the relationship he had between his dogs and himself in "Dog Years: A Memoir". Mark Doty (born 1953 in Maryville, Tennessee) is the only American poet to have received the T.S. Eliot Prize in the U.K. He received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont. Doty, who is gay, has written about his struggle with coming to terms with his sexual identity, and with the impact on AIDS on the gay community. In 1989, his partner Wally Roberts tested positive for HIV, which drastically changed his writing. Wally died in 1994. Doty is currently the John and Rebecca Moores Professor in the graduate program at the University of Houston.
    Mark Doty relates his experiences of his time with his two dogs, Arden the black retriever, and Beau the gold one. Mark also shares the passing of his long time partner Wally who was diagnosed and died of AIDS. Arden kept Mark alive, uplifted his soul and gave him will to live by its comforting gestures and by giving joy in his little ways. Arden and Beau became his true friends, became part of the household, and played a big part in Mark Doty's life. The dogs were his companions during his lowest moments, shared his grievances, and happiness as well.

    Mark starts a happy new life with his dogs and Paul, also a writer. But a time came when his dogs starts to decline because of illness. Beau developed a kidney disease, while Arden is having a high fever and showing unusual signs. Along with this is the devastating 9/11 where Mark continues to differentiate despair and depression. According to Mark: "Depression is always the consequence of despair, a despair one cannot feel one's way through in order to emerge from the other side, a despair will not be moved".

    The dogs' everyday struggle reminds Mark of how hard Wally's gradual passing was. In Mark's recollection of the years he spent with the dogs, Arden and Beau gave him unconditional love and companionship throughout their lives.
    Dog Years is one beautiful way of giving tribute to all dogs in the world, who are loyal and ready to accompany their masters until their dying day. The book depicts an unforgettable experience between a man and a pet. At first, I got confused between his dogs and his boyfriend, because he describes his dogs like human beings. I love the poems he puts after every chapter, it makes the book more interesting although I don't really understand some of them. I'll admit some of the chapters in the book were boring and depressing, but I was moved when his dogs became really ill and helpless. They really are like humans. I have a Shih-Tzu named Bruno, and I can't imagine losing him too when the time comes.

    On a scale of 1-10, I would give it an eight. The book failed to get my attention in the first few chapters, but the book helped me a lot in understanding my dog's feelings, and the last chapter was very moving that I almost cry. I would definitely read another book by Mark Doty, I'm planning to get the Firebird when I'm not busy. I'm recommending this book not only to dog lovers or owners, but also to anyone who has experienced attachment and loss.


  5. This book moved me to write a review here, my first. I can hardly express how touching this book was for me. Sad in nature but told with such exquisite elegance it took me months to finish because though I enjoyed it throughly, reading it was an intense emotional experience, not unlike grieving. There are single lines and sections in this book that when thinking of them later, tears snap to my eyes. I am a true dog lover who can relate to the deep devotion and attachment to our dogs as expressed in this book. Mark has used language beautifully to tell his story.


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Posted in Animals (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)

Written by Kim Sheridan. By Hay House. The regular list price is $16.95. Sells new for $9.99. There are some available for $9.34.
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5 comments about Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends' Journey Beyond Death.

  1. I cannot begin to say what a wonderful book this is! Having lost a precious companion (Tyson my cat - tragically hit by a car), Ive read a lot of books on pet loss. This book was by far the most helpful. Kim Sheridan is a talented heartfelt writer and her collection of theories and stories are reassuring and heartwarming. I was incredibly lost before reading this book, and since reading it my life is forever changed - for the better! My heart, body, mind and soul have been transformed and I now know that there really is no such thing as death because the afterlife is very real. I am so grateful for Kim to share her experiences and to write this wonderful book, and I have even bought more copies to share with people that have also lost a beloved creature. I cannot say enough good things about this book. If you or someone you know has lost someone special, this book is an absolute MUST READ! 5+ stars to Kim Sheridan!!!


  2. I absolutely loved this book. It was a great help to me during my time of grief. This book would make a wonderful gift to anyone who has recently or ever lost a pet. I look forward to future books by this author.


  3. Interesting reading. Many stories to make you wonder if there may really be an afterlife, and which can contact this life. Very helpful to read about other's experiences after losing one's one pets.


  4. This is a comforting book for someone who has lost a beloved pet. The author believes wholeheartedly that pets also have souls and that often they are able to return and comfort us after they die. This book was given to me after the death of an animal and I purchased this copy for my sister when she experienced a loss.


  5. This book was not only healing but an inspiration that led my husband and I to animal rescue work. Working with local shelters and rescue groups, we provide a final home and end-of-life care for small animals that are too emotionally or physically ill to be successfully adopted into the average household. Our current "furry crew" consists of rabbits, chinchillas, fancy rats, gerbils, a mouse, a dwarf hamster, as well as the resident matriarch, our white-face cockatiel Pheonix.


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Last updated: Tue Oct 7 18:51:46 EDT 2008