Since the author is a writing instructor, I was surprised that the actual writing wasn't better, but i enjoyed his stories about the dogs in his life. Pit bulls and pit mixes get such a bad rap, but the two I have known (not owned) have been sweet dogs. Although I grew up with dogs, I have chosen not to own them in my adulthood, due to my lifestyle. I don't think I would be able to be a responsible owner. That being said, some of the owners in this book shouldn't be allowed to own pets of any kind.

Good for Ken Foster for being such an advocate and rescuing all the dogs he sees...and he sees a lot of them! ( )

This book starts in New York City in August of 2001 and ends in New Orleans in the summer of 2005, which should give you an idea of how uplifting it is. It will also teach you more than you want to know about heart worms.

I enjoyed this book tremendously, but it's not a feel-good tale about rescuing dogs and leading them to happy lives. Some parts are quite sad.

What I've learned from pets who were

I had mixed feelings about this book. Some good information and interesting tales, but some contradictions as well. Though officially he advocates for trying to find a dog's former owner when rescuing it, there were several examples of people assuming that the dog was not cared for and had been abandoned, when the circumstances could have been just that... odd circumstances. They then placed the dog without trying to find the former owner (or if they did it wasn't mentioned) There is an obligation to try to find the owner before placing any dog.
The author makes comments about dogs running away and getting lost being due to uncaring owners and then provides many examples of when HIS dogs got out. Bad things can happen to even the best of dog owners. And the comment about dogs tasting human blood and a) knowing it's bad and b) getting a taste for it just blew me away. Really? I listened to the book on CD so can't go back to the page for a direct quote, but it was something fairly ludicrous. Despite these complaints, the reader for the book on CD was good, and the story was interesting enough, with enough good facts to outweigh the questionable information. ( )

I have to find more words to describe a "fun" read...

Anyway, someone recommended this book to me, and I was thoroughly entertained by the anecdotes of this author. Some of the chapters are nothing more than short topics such as "How To Let Go" (he experienced "foster fail", that is, keeping the dog he was fostering), and a list of what one of his dogs did to get his attention. He isn't all gaiety, though, but includes short articles about the paradox of a "no-kill" shelter, etc.

A satisfying read for dog lovers, or animal lovers in general, and even for some animal-ambivalent types. ( )