The Dog Who Saved Me

The Dog Who Saved Me, by Susan Wilson

As usual, Susan Wilson does not disappoint. I’ve really enjoyed the author’s foray into “dog books” in recent years. She has a way of telling familiar stories, with an interesting, and slightly different, twist. With each of her books, her skill and talent as a storyteller improves and while The Dog Who Danced is probably still my favorite of hers, The Dog Who Saved Me is her best work yet.

Our story begins with former K-9 officer, Cooper Harrison, struggling to reconcile his life after the loss of his partner, and watching it all fall apart, instead. As our hero goes through the motions of getting it together, moving on, readers are introduced to other characters in Cooper’s outlying circle, each one struggling to cope with losses of their own.

Cooper returns to his hometown and assumes the role of local animal control officer. Suddenly, life is all about  navigating common issues such as nuisance complaints, repeat escapees, hoarding, rescue work and so on… Eventually, he becomes tasked with the responsibility of nursing an ailing and abandoned dog back to health, while also trying to maintain emotional distance- not only from the suffering, struggling animal, but also his estranged family members. Despite his best efforts at avoidance, bringing the dog’s abuser to task results in bonding with the dog, which also allows Cooper to finally process his own grief and also reconcile with issues from his distant past.

The tale that unfolds is one of steady courage, and hesitant hope. I applaud the author for a job well done.

 When she isn’t reading more books to review for Leash Your Fitness, Jennifer Casula enjoys teaching a variety of group exercise classes, or hanging out with her three dogs, two cats and two turtles.