Waukegan Public Library - dogs

Have You Heard About... Thunder Dog

Fran J — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 07:22:05 +0000

… a man who was born premature and became blind after they put him in a sealed incubator and pumped in pure oxygen until his lungs matured? That was the procedure used in the 1940s for premature babies.

In Michael Hingson’s memoir, Thunder Dog, you learn about his past and also about his guide dogs, particularly his guide dog Roselle. This story takes place on 9/11. Michael describes how he and Roselle survived such a horrible tragedy and how Roselle remained calm all the time even though people were screaming and panicking. Roselle guided Michael from the 78th floor through the stairs of the Word Trade Center with 12 floors above them already leaning to one side. You will learn about the strong bond between a blind person and a Seeing Eye dog. After reading this wonderful true story, people will have many different points of views and opinions of this story. Some people might focus on the blindness, others might focus more on the dog’s braveness, and others maybe only will be focus in how the events of 9/11 played out.

Reviewed by Esmeralda (staff)

Have You Heard About... Bailey

Fran J — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:01:00 +0000

… the rewards and challenges of elementary school? Harry Bliss’s Bailey takes us through a normal day for one student, who just happens to be a dog. Bailey may be the only dog in a school full of humans, but he has the same problems as everyone else. Will he miss the bus? What if he gets stuck on the slide? Being a dog adds a few problems, too – most students don’t eat their own homework or get in trouble for painting with their tails in art class. However, Bailey also has fun at school. He loves math and is a great dancer.

This is a sweet book with low-key humor. It would be particularly good for children who are nervous about starting school or a new grade. Bailey goes through a normal day, with some good times and some problems. The teachers and other students have a nice mix of reactions to Bailey and his sometimes odd ways of dealing with everyday activities.

Reviewed by Fran (staff)

Have You Heard About... Scent of the Missing

Fran J — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:09:04 +0000

… the dogs and people who work together in search and rescue? In Scent of the Missing, Susannah Charleson describes her experiences working with Puzzle, a Golden Retriever she trained to do search and rescue. In addition to talking about the difficult process of training a very intelligent but strong-willed dog, she gives examples of several searches in which they participated, some successful and some not.

Although Susannah Charleson had raised and trained dogs for other work before getting Puzzle, she learned that both the dog and the training had special challenges. The process of training a dog to search for missing people is intellectually, emotionally, and physically challenging for both humans and dogs. People may go missing through mistakes, as victims of crimes, or due to disasters. The area that needs to be searched may be dangerous or difficult to get through. Also, each dog has a different personality and skills, so search-and-rescue dogs may have specialties such as working in urban areas or on water.

Humans need to learn to work closely with their canine partners to recognize the often-subtle cues that a dog has found something or is getting frustrated. Both humans and dogs can become frustrated and even depressed after searching for long hours without success, and the owners need to find ways to combat burn-out in themselves and their dogs.

This is a great book for dog-lovers, as well as for those interested in true crimes or disaster recovery.

Reviewed by Fran (staff)