Reviewed by Patricia Reding for Readers' Favorite

Rarely does a book come along that so positively mesmerizes me that I read it from start to finish in a single sitting. Yet that is exactly what I did with Embracing the Wild in Your Dog by Bryan Bailey. Bailey opens the story with a reminder that with man’s domestication of the wolf to today’s “dog,” he changed the environment of the creature. Even so, dogs have retained the same base instincts that nature originally provided the wolf. Buttressing his approach to his theory of dog owning and training, Bailey tells of his childhood mentor, a U.S. Army Green Beret. A tough man, he was challenged by his mentor to solve problems on his own, to rise to overcome the stresses that life was sure to put in his path, and to learn from the nature that surrounded him. With heartfelt stories of his mentor woven throughout, Bailey instills upon his readers the same life lessons if they will but hear.

With a daughter involved in the dog training world, I’ve been introduced to a wide variety of training theories, concepts, tools, and approaches. But Bailey reassured me that some of my deepest instincts about our own family pet are completely valid and that I ought to pay careful attention to them. In this way, Embracing the Wild in Your Dog provides pertinent information to all dog owners. In telling his story, it is almost as though Bailey inhabits the body of the creature he teaches us about. He guides readers to an understanding of a dog’s most basic needs, and he explains how our domesticated “wolves” behave in a manner intended to meet those needs.

Bailey used what I would call a “creative non-fiction” approach to the work. That is to say, although his main intent is to provide information, he does it in a way that paints a picture of the world he wants his readers to see. That picture becomes a living, breathing canvas of color, sound, and even feelings. Bailey’s work is truly worthy of the attention of others and, in my estimation, of an award or two! If you are a dog owner, this one is definitely worth your while, so wait no longer to get your copy!

Reviewed by Tracy Slowiak for Readers' Favorite

In an absolutely amazing piece of work, debut author Jacki Skole brings us Dogland: A Journey to the Heart of America's Dog Problem. In a wonderful piece of investigation into the supply of dogs in our country, Jacki Skole has taken her heartfelt interest in the origins of her family pet, which she and her family adopted from a rescue as an eight-week-old puppy, and turned it into a work that any lover of dogs, or of animals in general absolutely must read. She spent time interviewing people involved in rescuing canines, from animal rights activists to shelter managers throughout the country, and presents their stories in a beautiful and empathetic manner.

I simply could not recommend Dogland any more highly. This is not only an incredibly well-written and engrossing read, but it is an important and thought provoking work that challenges each of us to evaluate how companion animals are treated and traded in this country. Author Jacki Skole has done an absolutely masterful job at presenting the information she obviously spent a huge amount of time in gathering, all in what is also quite clearly a labor of love for her. Reading the personal stories of both her own family and the many she meets along her research path, one truly appreciates the work that good people are doing in the world of dogs. But for every good work, there are so many more that are the diametric opposite, and can cause irreparable damage to the very creatures that many profess to love. Any reader who loves dogs, loves great investigative work, or loves memoirs should absolutely read this book. It is an A+, five star read, and a book that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Just Another Race Horse is an animal story written by Marion N. Seidel, based on true events as told from the viewpoint of a horse named Sonny. Sonny was not one of the small, elite minority of racehorses that were born to be great and had sterling pedigrees to their name. He was just another race horse; though, as far as he was concerned, Sonny did his utmost to be the best possible horse and couldn't see what more he could be. Since he was not considered a candidate for greatness and had no bloodline worth passing on, he was gelded, and the operation occurred before his body had finished developing properly. Sonny spent his early years as a racehorse. While he tried his best, he wasn't suited for the intensive schedule his owners set for him, and the lack of rest and recuperative time between races made his life one filled with pain, injections of painkillers, and abuse by his trainer and some jockeys. It wasn't until the man who called him Handsome and saw through the misery to the horse inside, that Sunny had a shot at a full and meaningful equine existence.

Marion N. Seidel's Just Another Race Horse exposes the harsh and unfeeling attitudes that are all too prevalent in the horse racing industry where owners care more about the profits to be made from racing than their horses' well-being. I was saddened to see how the spirited and willing young horse was transformed through neglect, cruelty and malnutrition into one who feared all human contact and felt the need to defend his food. This is a well-written and knowledgeable story that was penned by someone who was all too familiar with the problems endemic in horse racing and has been part of the solution, at least for those horses lucky enough to be found, rescued and given new lives and homes. While I had been aware that racehorses lived in brutal circumstances, I had known very little about the actual particulars of the situation and appreciated learning more about it from this book. However, what I liked most about Just Another Race Horse was getting to know Sonny and getting a feel for how horses interact with each other and with the humans they encounter. I feel privileged to now have a deeper understanding of these magnificent beings thanks to Sonny's story. Just Another Race Horse is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Jane Goodall didn’t have the usual pedigree, the high levels of academic education, to qualify as an animal specialist, but she did have the ability to sit back and observe closely. Her work with chimpanzees in Gombe, Africa encouraged many people around the world to look at the animal kingdom in a very different light. As Anna Blake writes in her book, Stable Relation, “It’s the human curse of putting intellect above instinct.” Jane showed us the ability to use instinct. Anna, following her idol’s example, explores the power of the animal kingdom even further, following the instinct to sit back and listen to her animals, but, in Anna’s case, she does so in the simplicity of a small farm on the Colorado prairie.

Experts often talk and write about the ability of animals to communicate with humans and with each other, as well as the ability of animals to console and heal. Anna doesn’t need complicated degrees to understand her animals. In fact, going through a difficult mid-life crisis, she contradicts the norm of what most people might do in similar situations. Anna leaves the mad rush of urban living and retreats to a very run-down fixer-upper farm and brings her dogs and horses, only to add cats, llamas and goats to the mix as well. As she writes in Stable Relation, she discovers that it’s not her, Anna, who is running the farm and leading the herd, but rather it’s the animals around her, particular her special horse, Spirit who, as he ages, becomes the grandfather of not just her menagerie of animals, but her as well. There is magic in her animals, a healing magic. “To ride the quicksilver magic of animals involves shutting up and opening to possibility past our own mental limitations. We have to let them be magic – it’s who they all are, if we get our egos out of the way.”

Stable Relation is a memoir of sorts. It tells Anna’s story, not just as she rescues an old farmstead, not just as she accumulates more animals, not just as she teaches others and shares the therapeutic wholeness of her animal experience - it’s her story from beginning to present. Anna’s story is one of childhood abuse, neglect, bullying and how one woman could recover from this, and a failed marriage as well, by communing with horses and dogs and cats and llamas and goats. “While some might have sought sanctuary in a church, I found a spiritual safe-haven in the barn. I was made welcome in the herd, like the other lost girls before me. To this day, a deep, slow whisper of a nicker, barely audible, is a balm to my soul.”

A psychic once told Anna that she would commune with aliens. Perhaps those aliens were the spiritual essence of her animal kingdom, past, present and future. “And in this conditional world, it’s only dogs who believe in free love. Friendships naturally ebb and flow, the circle of life can’t be controlled or altered much, but dog love is eternal. Let there always be dogs.”

This is an inspirational and insightfully consoling story, one that will touch the heart strings of animal lovers everywhere.

Reviewed by April Gilly for Readers' Favorite

Old Dog Haven: Every Old Dog Has A Story To Tell by Ardeth De Vries is about a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing homes for older dogs in Washington state that find themselves in need of a new home for a variety of reasons. Old Dog Haven tells about the work that the organization does and then tells stories about the dogs that have been helped. From old puppy mill dogs to neglected and abandoned dogs in poor shape, Old Dog Haven helps them all and shares the inspiring stories of the dogs and the people that cared for those dogs in their time of need. Three articles at the end help one plan and deal with the grief when the end has come for their beloved dog.

Old Dog Haven is an amazing book that tells the inspiring stories of some of the dogs helped by Old Dog Haven. This is a heartwarming book that tears at your heartstrings while showing that some humans have absolutely no compassion for their animals. However, there are people who care when the rest of society turns its back because the dogs are old, disabled, or just ugly. Old Dog Haven brought me to tears but made me smile through those tears, knowing that there are people willing to help older dogs that nobody else cares about. The stories are amazing and heartwarming, even though most end with the dog passing over the Rainbow Bridge.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Angel in Disguise by Violeta Barrett is a heartwarming story that revolves around love, bonding and relationships. Violeta never liked cats. She always considered herself to be a dog lover. She sees Cat one afternoon, clawing at the screen door to her summer kitchen. She observes him for a while and suddenly realizes that he looks good. She slowly gets used to having him around her, and Cat slowly becomes an important part of her life. Cat helps her overcome the sadness in her life, and he makes her laugh and smile, always waiting for her return from outside. This story of bonding is a must-read for all cat lovers.

The book highlights the beauty of love and relationships. In this book, readers will find the presence of Cat soothing as he helps Violeta overcome the sadness and loss in her life. The narration is descriptive, making the scenes very visual. The road trip undertaken by Cat and Violeta is also interesting to read. It's the type of story that will make readers reflect on their own life and relationships.

Kids will enjoy reading this book and they will find Cat adorable. The therapeutic qualities of pets are reiterated throughout this story. The book also has tips to overcome sadness and loss in the best way possible, instead of giving in to them. It's a book with a positive message to readers on loving and bonding. The simplicity of the plot is touching and all pet owners will be able to connect well with the themes. A beautiful story of bonding and companionship between a human and a cat.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

Puffy & Blue: The Chronicles of Nine Lives Together by Kayla Fioravanti contains stories from the author’s life during Puffy’s twenty-one-year life span. This book is about Kayla, fondly known as Blue, her family, her furry family members, and their travels. It’s an inspiring true story of a friendship between a cat and her girl, who grew together with laughter and joy as well as grief and hard times. Blue’s mother battles with cancer, their times in Japan, a short-lived rabbit that they never got to name, and other family antics fill the pages.

The story when Puffy had to hang onto the family’s car roof is a comical moment for me – of course I pitied Puffy at the same time. Blue and her family were rushing to pick her father up from the airport and they failed to notice Puffy was sun-bathing and sleeping on their 1972 Plymouth Scamp’s roof. “Outside, the wind whipped Puffy’s face as she clung for life, using up the first of her nine lives. As we came to a stoplight just before my mom pulled onto a busy road, Puffy pulled her body forward, peered her frantic face down to the windshield and let out a loud distinct meow. Once Puffy made her presence known, my mom immediately pulled over and rescued Puffy, placing her into safety on the inside of our car.”

Kayla’s warm, intimate and candid portrayal of her beloved Puffy and her family are written with skill, along with sensitivity. Puffy & Blue is an excellent read and will appeal to all readers, and they don’t need to be cat lovers.

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Who would have thought that a dog would enjoy eating lemons? In spite of the mouth-puckering sensation, would any dog actually want to go back for more? Who would have thought that a dog would make missiles out of rolled socks, throwing them into the bathroom to garner the much desired attention of his owner? This was Barkley and he was much more. Barkley is a black lab that entered author L.B. Johnson's life at a time when relationships, family and friends, job choices and career moves were all a complicating puzzle. But there was nothing puzzling about this adorable black lab. He was difficult, he had his challenges, he had a sensitive stomach (although he would devour anything and everything in sight, only to release it in an unsavory manner in an unwelcome location shortly after). But Barkley was, pure and simple, pure love. He was that shining light that revealed himself at the end of his life: "I will remember him, standing there in the light with the reconciled luminosity of angels in stained glass, their form, a four-legged one, lacking wings, but not their saving Grace."

L.B. Johnson has written a compassionate and heart-warming story - The Book of Barkley - about more than just a dog. Anyone who has ever owned a pet will understand the compelling bond that develops between the pet and its owner. It's a bond that opens up thoughts and memories and expands the owner's human perspective of the world and the life that he/she has lived and is living. This is a story about that bond, the relationship that opens up the heart and reveals an understanding, a comprehension of the overall meaning of life. Well done!

Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Isis is a female German Shepherd. Often bred as guard dogs, these dogs can also be great pets, if consistently trained and well cared-for. German Shepherds have boundless energy, but given the right environment, they can demonstrate boundless love. Isis was full of love. It is evident in her story. However, she was a difficult dog to train, one that was labeled by countless trainers who crossed her path as aggressive. But was she aggressive? Or was there something genetically wrong with her that caused her to react unpredictably and uncontrollably when least expected?

Kari Neumeyer is a writer and a journalist. When Isis entered her family, she opened her heart to this wonderful dog. She tried everything, every possible trainer in her geographic area, to alleviate the trauma that Isis was causing, although perhaps it wasn't really Isis's fault. No one will ever know. What we do know is the love that formed a bond between Kari and Isis is so profound. This once-in-a-lifetime dog, who was all heart and died too young from an enlarged heart, captured her owner's heart, but also captures the hearts of the readers who follow this story. Leo, who came home to Kari's house before Isis departed, is just as loving, but in a different, more subtle way.

Isis is the story. Her story demonstrates love and dedication to a purpose, the purpose of being a family and, in Kari's case, a dog family. While Isis struggles from one training debacle to another, so too does her trainer and owner, Kari. Isis is a survivor, though, and when she's behaved her worst, she can still put on a pretty face with a big smile (hence her nickname, Smilely Bird) as if to ask her owner, "Are you coming out with me or not?" This was a heart-warming read. Well done!

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Charm: An Amazing Story of a Little Black Cat is a memoir and tribute to a special cat written and illustrated by Leyla Atke. When she first saw Charm, he was huddled in the middle of heavy traffic. During a brief lull in the traffic, Atke rescued the dirty little kitten and carried him to a safe place. Then she realized he would probably wander off into traffic again and took him home. She bathed him and found, after all the dirt had washed away, that he was a lovely, blue-eyed kitten with sleek, black fur, who grew up into a magnificent black cat.

Leyla Atke's Charm: An Amazing Story of a Little Black Cat is a lovely and evocative tribute to a beloved pet. The story is beautifully told, and the illustrations are masterful; sometimes primitive, sometimes very reminiscent of folk art, but always very powerful. Memoirs of this type can be overblown and excessively sentimental; however, Atke's narrative remains clear and calm, and engaged this reader from the first lines to the concluding words. Atke shows her gift of being first and foremost a storyteller. Her words and art are simple yet imbued with love and expression. This is a special book, and one I would not hesitate to recommend to those who are privileged to share their lives with animal companions as well as those who haven't been...yet. It's really quite a remarkable work and a story I won't be forgetting any time soon.