Most self-help books on marriage suggest you try raising animals before having that first child. Our first year of marriage, we decided to do just that and found two kennel cuties. We both had pets before as children, but they were more of a shared affair. In code that means the parents fed, bathed, and took cuties to the veterinarian. We basked in the ownership without the maintenance.
Owning and allowing a pet to come into your home has its rewards. They become part of the family, and one can get extremely attached. Remember the Peanuts cartoon book, Happiness is a Warm Puppy? Well, I think that applies to all pets, um, maybe even snakes?!?
In the course of ownership, one can count on a certainty; the beloved pet will go missing. It’s a sinking feeling to stand on the back porch and call a name with no response. To look in the backyard and not see Spot, but find a freshly dug escape route is unsettling. This is the premise of Sonny Brewer’s new book Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing.Author Brewer begins his story reflecting on his first pet, Rex. It is a sad tale and would discourage anyone from owning a pet, for Rex gets sick and his father must put him down. Why does he choose this story? Is he preparing us for further hardships within the next pages?
His next tale is a little less bleak. It involves a very bad Jack Russell named Zebbie. This little guy is more trouble than he is worth, with jumping out of moving vehicles and chewing on hundred-year-old books. Zebbie is pure hazard in Brewer’s Over the Transom bookstore, and he needs to go.
After Zebbie waters the lower book shelf, Brewer prepares the family for a frank dissuasion. Upon hearing little Zeb has been given to another family, his own family seems unaffected. Apparently, the Zebmeister has been a bad dog to them all. The next dog, they all agree, will have to complement their family.
Enter Cormac and his red, Golden Retriever, good looks. As Brewer and his family interact with the dogs for sale, it is obvious Cormac has found his master. As the others play, Cormac walks in the shadow of Brewer waiting for affection from above. The seller points this out to Brewer and the family agrees this redhead is the one.Akin to Marley and Me, this true story offers the reader who loves dogs a happy ending.
5 comments:
I think I'd rather walk on glass than read true life animal stories. :<) Same with stories of abused or troubled kids. They break my heart and I just don't need 'em.
That's good Nan! You can skip the first chapter and have a very enjoyable read. Many readers are like yourself, that is why I included the happy ending in the last sentence.
Happiness is a warm gun - Beatles lyric. :-)
Aww...this is definitely going on my TBR list. I'm a sucker for the animals. But I might skip the first chapter, too. :)
Thanks Paul! I can count on you to put a song in my head - that I just can't shake - for hours. ;)
Thanks Tiffany! Hope Halloween went well with little Fred. I bet they were giving him chocolate left and right, but we all know it is no good for dogs and should be eaten by owners. ;D
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