Rescue and Adoption Book Reviews

By Sarah Dahnke


Max, The Shelter Dog
By Nicole Rivera
(Self-published by Nicole Rivera)

Pit Bulls often get a bad reputation. In this children’s book, self-taught writer and artist Nicole Rivera writes through the eyes of a loving, yet misunderstood Pit Bull named Max, who has been surrendered to a shelter after he becomes full grown and intimidating to his family. The book aims to reverse the negative image of these dogs and also to raise awareness about volunteering at shelters and adopting from them as well. For adults, the back of the book contains a resource guide about the Pit Bull breed and responsible guardianship.

Rescued Animals Are Smarter Than Jack
81 Amazing True Stories
By Jenny Campbell
(Smarter Than Jack)

Rescued animals always astound their guardians with their strength, wit, and talent. This book brings together 81 stories, submitted by people all over the world, that tell firsthand accounts of rescued dogs, cats, rats, goats, birds, and more performing heroic acts, overcoming adversity, and outwitting humans over and over again. As an added bonus for the animal-rescue aficionado, profits from all sales of Smarter Than Jack books go toward animal charities across the world.

DogSense
99 Relationship Tips from Your Canine Companion
By Carla Genender and Amy Hill
(Health Communications)

Frustrated that her dog’s ability to listen to her woes was better than her husband’s, author Carla Genender became intrigued with the idea that humans could learn relationship skills from animals. Each of the 99 dogs in the book, with pictures by wedding photographer Amy Hill, represents a single piece of relationship or marital advice. It deliberately features a wide variety of dogs, including many mixed breeds and rescues, which have found a way to form the perfect relationship with their guardians.

Making Burros Fly
Cleveland Amory: Animal Rescue Pioneer
By Julie Hoffman Marshall
(Johnson Books)

Animal-rescue pioneer Cleveland Amory, author of The Cat Who Came for Christmas and founder of the Fund for Animals, is known for his significant contributions to the animal-rights movement and his devotion to all animals. Marshall’s biography highlights this trailblazer’s life through vivid storytelling and borrowed photographs from the Cleveland Amory collection. Amory’s life is chronicled as he saves hundreds of burros from sharpshooters and spray-paints baby seals to prevent them from being hunted, all the while creating an “army” of animal-rights soldiers who carry on his legacy today.

The Dog Behavior Answer Book
Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Canine Questions
By Arden Moore
(Storey Publishing)

While many dog-behavior books tend to focus on step-by-step instructions on how to train a puppy to adulthood, pet expert Arden Moore takes a different route, answering hundreds of questions she compiled while making appearances on television and radio and writing a pet column for Prevention magazine. They’re categorized into six parts, ranging from “Why Does My Dog Do That?” to “Unleashing a Dash of Doggy Discipline,” making sure to address many questions that pertain to adopting an adult dog and introducing a new adoptee into your home.

Urban Tails
Inside the Hidden World of Alley Cats
By Knox and Sara Neeley
(New World Library)

When photographer Knox began observing a colony of cats living behind his Atlanta music studio, he fell into a world of feral cat families with unique personalities who desperately needed his help. He named them, fed them, photographed them, and eventually began a trap-neuter-release (TNR) program along with author Sara Neeley. Mostly through photos, the book chronicles the lives of some of the most notable members of their feral cat community, some who have been adopted to good homes, some who are survivors against all odds, and others who just didn’t make it, while highlighting the importance of TNR programs in feral cat colonies.

Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster
By Allen & Linda Anderson
(New World Library)

After Hurricane Katrina, a survey found that 44 percent of those who stayed behind did so in order to avoid abandoning their pets. Husband and wife writing team Allen and Linda Anderson were inspired by this statistic and created this book in order to create awareness about how to quickly and safely evacuate with animals in emergency situations. The book tells about the rescue organizations that helped save animals and chronicles the reunions of pets with their families, while providing valuable information on how to save animals’ lives.