Dog Days

Relax during the dog days of summer by reading one (or all three) of these books about man’s (and woman’s) best friend.

Last Dog on the Hill: the Extraordinary Life of Lou is written by Steve Duno, a pet behaviorist. After Duno rescued a Rottweiler mix feral puppy from a marijuana farm, the dog who he named Lou was trained to be a rehabilitation animal, working with hearing-impaired children, war veterans, gang members, Alzheimer patients, and others. A heartwarming story!

Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl about Love is written by Justine van der Leun. This is a combination of love story, both male-female and human-dog, and travel book. An American woman vacations in Umbria, Italy, and falls in love with a native. She lives with him and his family for a year, in the meantime acquiring a mistreated dog as her pet. When the romance sours Justine continues her stay in Umbria with the dog.

One Dog at a Time: Saving the Strays of Afghanistan is written by Pen Farthing. In between frequent fighting against the Taliban in Now Zad, Afghanistan, Sergeant Farthing and his troop of Royal Marines rescue first one and then several stray dogs. They are kept in a makeshift pound on base. Eventually, when Farthing’s military assignment comes to an end, he develops a way to rescue thousands of homeless dogs.