{read: A dog book} One Good Dog by Susan Wilson

I read this for a book discussion and would caution animal and dog lovers that it was (at least for me)  a tearjerker. The book is told from the perspective of a self-made man who loses everything and is forced to reevaluate his life and priorities and, in alternate chapters, from the perspective of a pit bull who is forced to fight. The dog's chapters were hard for me to read throughout much of the book, especially in the beginning and in the end. He talks about what it's like to be in dog fights and what his life is like. It's a quick read, but I found it upsetting because it's realistic. So many pit bulls are bred and raised as fighters, and even if they make it to the shelters, they are often the first to be euthanized simply because of their breed, regardless of their nature.

One Good Dog by Susan Wilson (St. Martin's Press, 2010)
My rating: 3 stars

{read: through a dog's eyes} The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

I read this for a book club and am glad that I picked it up again. I had tried it a few years ago but couldn't make it through the heartbreaking first chapter. This time, I skipped chapter one and while the ending chapter and epilogue were sad and perhaps predictable, the book was worth the read.

Enzo the dog wants nothing more than to be human and a race car driver in his next incarnation, and he spends his days observing humans and preparing for his next life as his owner, Denny, applies the lessons of the race track to his own challenges with his wife, daughter, and a resulting legal situation. Enzo wonders at the end of the book if he's wasted his life by not enjoying his dogness and spending all of his time anticipating the future, but I don't think that he did. Part of what makes dogs themselves, in my opinion, is their acute interest in humans and our activities.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (Harper Collins Canada, 2008)
My rating: 4 stars