Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

The Underdogs, children, dogs, and the power of unconditional love, Melissa Fay Greene

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [323]-336) and index

contains biographical information

illustrationsphotographs

index present

non fiction

The Underdogs

bibliography

Melissa Fay Greene

children, dogs, and the power of unconditional love

The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age twenty-four by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was too disabled. Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life. How many people are stranded like I was, she wondered, who would lead productive lives if only they had a dog? A thousand state-of-the-art dogs later, Karen Shirk’s service dog academy, 4 Paws for Ability, is restoring broken children and their families to life. Author Melissa Fay Greene weaves the latest scientific discoveries about our co-evolution with dogs with Karen’s story and a few exquisitely rendered stories of suffering children and their heartbroken families. Written with characteristic insight, humanity, humor, and irrepressible joy, the book is a compassionate exploration into our attachment to dogs, what constitutes a productive life, and what can be accomplished with unconditional love

adult

Children, dogs, and the power of unconditional love