A Farnival Book Recommendation

Last week, I had a hard time reading (and writing) about animals. With Dessie dying, it was just too much. I’d close any Internet page with dog stories and shelved a memoir I started about Barney, a lab-rott mutt. Finally, last night, I dove back into Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance. I didn’t put it down until I finished. It’s a story about a woman that rediscovers her world (and self) because of daily walks with Barney. I’m telling y’all, walking dogs is medicine for the soul, and Gary proves it in her compelling story.

I have to warn you, I cried reading this book. But it wasn’t bad crying. It was the kind that comes from finding someone who understands exactly how you feel. When Barney reaches that last stage of life, Janice Gary writes, “I want to breathe him in, fill myself to the core with all he is and all he has been so when the time comes that my hand reaches out to him, and he’s not there, I’ll still have something to hold on to.” Shit. I lose it every time I read that sentence. I can’t tell you how many times during Dessie’s last few days I stuck my face in her shaggy fur and inhaled.

If you like reading about animals, Short Leash: A Memoir of Dog Walking and Deliverance is worth every word.