Ever think that sometimes people come into your life for a reason? How about a dog? Have you ever wondered why certain dogs come into your life? Ever wonder why you hold onto a certain dog that you had no intention of doing so? I believe every person and every animal comes into our lives for a reason…….good and bad. I look at it as a learning experience. I have known some down right, no good for nothing, evil so and so’s but then again I know some outstanding people that I’m proud to be called one of their friends. Sometimes you’re not even looking for someone to come into your life, but in they march or sometimes tiptoe in and your life is forever changed. Some things and some people and some dogs are just meant to be together like the man and dog in this story.
This is a review about a story about a dog and a man that were “put” together or meant to be together. The book is called “ONE GOOD DOG.” From the cover of the book, it says…..”A wonderful novel: a moving, tender, and brilliantly crafted story about two fighters – one a man – one a dog hoping to leave the fight behind, who ultimately find their salvation in each other.
It is a story about a man that was a real snob and that had it all, the big job, the big money, the big houses and cars. On his constant on going climb to having it all; he commits an act that has legal, moral and financial consequences. Ultimately, he falls from grace and loses everything including family, friends and job. He ends up working in a homeless shelter where at the same time he ends up adopting a dog. Although the dog isn’t a German Shepherd, it doesn’t matter as it could have been any dog. His dog like him is also a cast out of society because he was a Pit Bull mix that had been raised for fighting. This is a story of how these two “down on their luck” characters find one another. Call it “karma” if you will, but they were brought together by their circumstances in life. It’s a story about resolutions and the bond that grows that opens the door for a better life for the man and his dog because of it.
It is a story about redemption and how a man and his homely dog that no one else wanted find beauty and love in their friendship. Although the man presents himself as a brave and powerfully tough person, he is emotionally damaged and scarred whereas, the dog also has the physical attributes of the man, he too is damaged by what has happened to him in his life as well as physically scarred.
Dog rescue people or those that have worked in shelters will love this book as well as all dog lovers. It shows one what really matters in the dog/human relationship. The rescue or shelter workers know all too well that a dog like the dog in this book is the one that most people will have had put to sleep without even given it another thought. It is this dog, this “societies reject” that takes an egotistical man and makes him understand what life is truly about. It is through his relationship with this dog that he discovers himself.
The emotionally and physically scared dog and the emotionally damaged man learn lessons that only they could have taught one another. Some dogs were just meant to be in your life even if you didn't understand why they were there to start with. Maybe it was to help teach us something that we needed to learn. This story is a “tug at your heart” emotional ride, but it’s one that you wish wouldn’t end!
From the book: "ONE GOOD DOG" - Fans of Marley and Me will find a new dog to cheer for in Wilson's (Beauty) insightful heart-tugger about Adam March, a Boston man recovering from the shame of a foolish crime, and Chance, a scrappy pit bull mix trying to escape the illegal dogfight circuit. Adam, 46, is a ruthless self-made millionaire married to an icy socialite living a picture-perfect existence that includes a teen princess daughter. Then he loses his job for slapping his assistant, Sophie, full across the face after she gives him a message that reads: Your sister called. Forty years ago, Adam's sister, Veronica, ran away leaving Adam with their widowed dad, who subsequently placed Adam into foster care. For his violent act, Adam is sentenced to perform community service at a homeless men's shelter where the adorable Chance teaches Adam about survival and what matters. Chance tells his story in his own words, which makes his mistreatment and return to the fighting pit powerfully disturbing. Combined with Wilson's unflinching portrayal of Adam's struggle to overcome his past, Old Yeller's got nothing on this very good man and his dog story.
My rating: "One Good Dog" - (4)
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