A funny, enchanting, and utterly believable story from a dog's perspective: A Dog's Purpose

A Dog's Purpose [Paperback]

by W. Bruce Cameron

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story,A Dog’s Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here?

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey’s search for his new life’s meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a beloved family pet is not the end of Bailey’s journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders—will he ever find his purpose?

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

A tail-wagging three hanky boo-hooer, this delightful fiction debut by newspaper columnist Cameron (8 Simple Rules for Marrying My Daughter) proposes that a dog's purpose might entail being reborn several times. Told in a touching, doggy first-person, this unabashedly sentimental tale introduces Toby, who's rescued by a woman without a license for her rescue operation, so, sadly, Toby ends up euthanized. He's reborn in a puppy mill and after almost dying while left in a hot car, he's saved again by a woman, and he becomes Bailey, a beloved golden retriever, who finds happiness and many adventures. His next intense incarnation is as Ellie, a female German shepherd, a heroic search and rescue dog. But the true purpose of this dog's life doesn't become totally clear until his reincarnation as Buddy, a black Lab. A book for all age groups who admire canine courage, Cameron also successfully captures the essence of a dog's amazing capacity to love and protect. And happily, unlike Marley, this dog stays around for the long haul.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Sometimes I read a book and think; "Wow, this would make a great movie;" A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron is one such story. This is a tail wagging, Kleenex blowing, delightful read; Think Tuesdays With Morrie Meets Marley & Me; except that this canine sticks around a lot longer than Marley.

Richard Bach asks in his book, Illusions; How do you know if your mission on earth is finished? If you're alive, it isn't, which is the case of Bailey, a dog, born several times over; as a mutt, a Golden Retriever, a German Shepherd and a Lab.

Told from the perspective of Bailey, in the voice of the first dog, this canine shares the wisdom gained from a journey of lifetimes, the joy, heartbreak, long and short of it. Part of the magic is in the way Bailey experiences the world underfoot; the horses, goats, cats, people, human interactions, cars; part of the magic is in the emotional joy ride that the journey takes you on; and part of the magic is in the story itself; a story of hope, inspiration, purpose and ultimately love; which, is the greatest purpose of all.

Cheers to Toby, Bailey, Ella and Buddy; one spirit in several bodies, making this book doggone amazing! - Heather Jacks "Cheers!" (New York)

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About the Author

W. Bruce Cameron is the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, which was turned into the hit ABC series. He is a nationally syndicated columnist who has twice received the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s award for Best Humor Columnist. He lives in California.

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A beautiful memoir of perseverance, courage and love: Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero [Hardcover]

by Michael Hingson

The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.

Konrad Lorenz

A blind man and his guide dog show the power of trust and courage in the midst of devastating terror.

It was 12:30 a.m. on 9/11 and Roselle whimpered at Michael's bedside. A thunderstorm was headed east, and she could sense the distant rumbles while her owners slept. As a trained guide dog, when she was "on the clock" nothing could faze her. But that morning, without her harness, she was free to be scared, and she nudged Michael's hand with her wet nose as it draped over the bedside toward the floor. She needed him to wake up.

With a busy day of meetings and an important presentation ahead, Michael slumped out of bed, headed to his home office, and started chipping away at his daunting workload. Roselle, shivering, took her normal spot at his feet and rode out the storm while he typed. By all indications it was going to be a normal day. A busy day, but normal nonetheless. Until they went into the office.

In Thunder Dog, follow Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, as their lives are changed forever by two explosions and 1,463 stairs. When the first plane struck Tower One, an enormous boom, frightening sounds, and muffled voices swept through Michael's office while shards of glass and burning scraps of paper fell outside the windows.

But in this harrowing story of trust and courage, discover how blindness and a bond between dog and man saved lives and brought hope during one of America's darkest days.

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Hands down this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I started reading and couldn't put it down. I even found myself reading while I was trying to cook dinner! I felt every emotion; I laughed, I cried, you get the picture. I usually try to stay away from books about 9/11, quite frankly it the memory is still a little to raw for me. But this book is different. When reading it I felt like I was in the stairwell, but at the same time it was strangely uplifting. Plus I gotta say, I'm a complete sucker for a good dog book! Especially one with a happy ending for the dog!

To sum it up, Michael and his dog Roselle were working in the Twin Towers on 9/11. This is the story of their descent down the stairwell and through the streets back home. Do yourself a favor and read this book! You will be so glad you did! I would give it 10 stars if I could!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." - fizzle7033

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About the Author

Michael Hingson, national ambassador for the Braille Literacy Campaign, is a miraculous survivor of 9/11. He now owns The Michael Hingson Group, Inc., a consulting firm concerning inclusiveness and diversity and a platform for engaging speaking opportunities. A graduate of the University of California (Irvine) and a cum laude graduate with a master’s degree in physics, Hingson has never let blindness stop him from achieving his goals. His life is a testimony to the power of trust, perseverance, and the amazing bond between humans and animals. Michael and his wife, Karen, live in the San Francisco Bay Area with three yellow lab guide dogs, Roselle (ret.), Africa, and Fantasia, and one cat, Sherlock.

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This book is a dog lovers delight!: A Big Little Life [Paperback]

A Big Little Life [Paperback]

by Dean Koontz

In a profound, funny, and beautifully rendered portrait of a beloved companion, bestselling novelist Dean Koontz remembers the golden retriever who changed his life. A retired service dog, Trixie was three when Dean and his wife, Gerda, welcomed her into their home. She was superbly trained, but her greatest gifts couldn’t be taught: her keen intelligence, her innate joy, and an uncanny knack for living in the moment. Whether chasing a tennis ball or protecting those she loved, Trixie gave all she had to everything she did, inspiring Dean and Gerda to trust their instincts and recapture a sense of wonder that will remain with them always. Trixie lived fewer than twelve years; in this wide world, she was a little thing. But in every way that mattered, she lived a big life.

Anyone who has read Dean Koontz’s novels (my favorite is Watchers) knows that he can tell a gripping tale while being perceptive about dogs, an insight made more noteworthy by the fact that Koontz didn’t have a dog for the longest time. Finally in 1998 he and his wife Gerda corrected this omission by adopting Trixie, a Golden Retriever and trained assistance dog, who had been forced by elbow problems to retire in her third year of service. It was the happiest forced retirement imaginable--for Trixie, for the Koontzes, and for all of us who are now privileged to read Dean Koontz’s loving memoir of this remarkable being: A Big Little Life.

Like all great writers, Koontz has the ability to transform the ordinary--his daily life with Trixie--into the funny, the moving, and the sublime. Trixie’s accidentally gashing him while they play fetch turns into one of the great set pieces of medical comedy as Koontz ends up in the emergency room with a lacerated hand. On another occasion Trixie’s saying “baw” for “ball”--straining to say it, but saying it nonetheless--becomes a memorable recounting of all of our attempts to communicate with beings from another species. And Koontz’s simply watching Trixie move, her lithe golden body shimmering and flashing in the sun, takes on the quality of the divine as he expresses what so many of us have subconsciously thought about our own dogs: “The more I watched her, the more she seemed to be an embodiment of that greatest of all graces we now and then glimpse, from which we intuitively infer the hand of God.”

It is no exaggeration to say that Trixie was the hand of God for Koontz. He recounts his difficult childhood, his dysfunctional father, and the many challenges that he had to overcome on the road to becoming a world-famous novelist. But with that fame came commercial caution: telling stories in the same old familiar way and a consequent dulling of his creativity. Then came Trixie. With “baws” and balls, with warning him of fires and intruders in the house, with humor, with stoicism, and with unflinching love, she restored his diminished sense of wonder and impelled him toward taking new risks with narratives, themes, and characters, the very ones millions of us now enjoy.

“Some dog, huh?” he says.

“Some dog, yes,” we must agree, also concurring when he adds, “The only significant measure of your life is the positive effect you have on others.”

For all of us who have had our lives made better by our dogs, or for that matter by any loving being, A Big Little Life is a welcome reminder of the power of love to turn our hearts into mirrors, reflecting compassion back into the universe--as Trixie most surely did for Koontz and Koontz now does for us.

Guest Reviewer: Ted Kerasote is the author of several books, including Out There, which won the National Outdoor Book Award; the national bestseller Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog; and Pukka: The Pup After Merle.


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I am a major dog lover. I also am a fan of Dean Koontz. This book is one of the best that I have ever read. I have a new passion for Golden Retrievers, and now I know what a nice guy Dean Koontz is. He, and his wife Gerda, adored this dog. I have been telling everyone that I know what a great book this is. - Margie

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