Book #24: Our Lives Have Gone To The Dogs by Audrey Spilker Hagar and Eldad Hagar

"Our Lives Have Gone To The Dogs" is a lovely coffee table book full of uplifting stories about dogs (and other critters) that have been rescued, rehabilitated, and rehomed by the book's authors Audrey Spilker Hagar and Eldad Hagar.

Although some of the stories start out sad, describing abandoned or abused animals, the ending is always uplifting. The stories are brief; a synopsis of the time they spent with the animal. The book is full of before and after color photos of the animals that have been in and out of their lives.

The book is self-published, but you would never know it from the quality of it. There are some editing mistakes, but I really enjoyed reading the true voice of the rescuers. I felt like I was sitting down with them and going through photo albums of all of their success stories.

The book is available on their website: www.hopeforpaws.org. It would make a wonderful gift for dog lovers, rescuers, vets or shelter volunteers. The purchase of a book helps to support their cause so even more pets can be rescued and adopted.

Some Doggy Inspiration

Book #27 of 2010 was Main Line Animal Rescue's "Dog Blessed: Puppy Mill Survivor Stories" by Lisa Fischer, published by Happy Tails Books. It is a compilation of stories told by dog owners who adopted their pooches from Main Line Animal Rescue in Pennsylvania and are members of MLAR's rehabilitation group called "Over The Mill".

The stories are heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. These dogs were all rescued by MLAR from puppy mills and came to the rescue group (and eventually their forever homes) with varying degrees of physical and emotional issues. Many of us know what goes on in puppy mills, but it is still saddening to hear these very personal stories of what an individual dog goes through in these horrid living conditions. To then read about the people who bring these dogs into loving homes and the patience they show in teaching the dogs that it is okay to be loved is enormously uplifting.

I admire each and every person who has rescued, rehabilitated and adopted these dogs. I hope that these stories reach people far and wide so that puppy mills will one day be a thing of the past and we can enjoy responsible breeders and the dogs they produce. Remember when shopping at a pet store that you don't know the conditions of the place the puppies came from and what you may be supporting by purchasing one of these dogs. ADOPT, DON'T SHOP!

I will put other Happy Tails Books on my to-read list after reading this one. They not only look like enjoyable books, but Happy Tails Books donates at least 25% of their profits to rescue groups. It's wonderful to see what people are doing for our animal friends and I hope you will pick this book up as well!

I received my copy of this book at no cost to me from the publisher. This in no way influenced my review of the book.