Dog Days of Februrary

Week Six
A Dog Named Boo by Lisa J. Edwards

Inspiring. If I had to sum up this book in one word, that would be it: inspiring. As the parent of three rescue dogs, this book made me appreciate each on an even deeper level for their uniqueness and the impact they have had on my life. Even at my darkest moments, my dogs can make me appreciate my life. Even at their worst (like when they spill a gallon of bleach on the carpet) I love them to the core. This book made me appreciate these facts more vividly than I have in the past.

Lisa Edward's memoir is about the journey she is taken on by her dogs - first Atticus, then Dante, and finally Boo. Atticus introduces Lisa to her husband, Dante shows her that her passion is for dog training and animal assisted therapy, and Boo teaches her that, while we're all different, we all have our strengths.

The book, of course, is about a dog named Boo - a puppy she adopts to the dismay of her husband. Bringing this boy into her now three dog household proves complicated; her first two dogs were potty trained very quickly, smart as whips, and trained like a dream. Not Boo. Boo has difficulty with potty training, difficulty learning simple tasks, and seems to have difficulty even with paw-eye coordination. She doesn't realize it at first, but Boo is special in more ways than she would ever have imagined.

These dogs do exactly what us dog owners know they can do - they teach her everyday, they make her a better person, they heal her wounds. In this book, Lisa overcomes many tribulations dating back to her childhood with the help of her dogs and her own personal strength. If you've owned dogs before you know how rewarding and inspiring they can be. Lisa takes the personal rewards of dog ownership to a different level by training and certifying her dogs to be therapy dogs. The difference these animals can make an a life is awe inspiring.

I would recommend this book to everyone. Unless you don't like dogs. Then I probably wouldn't be recommending anything to you...

As I'm a few days late finishing my week six book, I have no idea what I'll be reading for week seven. Hopefully I'll actually finish it before week seven ends... Fingers crossed...