Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2013), 272 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Pets. Nonfiction. HTML: From the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, Scent of the Missing, comes a heartwarming and inspiring story that shows how dogs can be rescued and can rescue in return. For her first book, Susannah Charleson was praised for her unique insight into the kinship between humans and dogs, as revealed through canine search and rescue. In The Possibility Dogs Charleson chronicles her journey into the world of psychiatric-service and therapy dogs trained to serve the human mind, a journey that began as a personal one. After a particularly grisly search led to a struggle with PTSD, Charleson credits healing to her partnership with search dog Puzzle. Inspired by that experience and having met dogs formally trained to assist in such crises, Charleson learns to identify abandoned dogs with service potential, often plucking them from shelters at the last minute, and to train them for work beside hurting partners, to whom these second-chance dogs bring intelligence, comfort, and hope. From black Lab puppy Merlin, once cast away in a garbage bag, who stabilizes his partner's panic attacks to Ollie, the blind and deaf terrier who soothes anxious children, to Jake Piper, the starving pit bull mix who goes from abandoned to irreplaceable, The Possibility Dogs illuminates a whole new world of canine potential..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Carolee888
The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of "Unadoptables " Taught Me About Service, Hope, and Healing by Susannah Charleston is a keeper. I will always keep it on my bookshelf so I can go back again and again.
The author saw the need for training dogs as psychiatric and therapy dogs. I have read about
All of the stories in this book are very moving and inspiring. But there is one that stands out. A white shepherd pit bull mix was adopted. He had been found in a rat infested shed behind an abandoned house. He was left by a family with no food or water. It is an amazing that he was still alive when he was found. All skinny and starved for food, he quickly adapted to her home and pets. He is on the cover. Jake did take to the training and gave back so many times in so many ways. You won't believe how perceptive and friendly this dog is.
You will be quickly immersed into this book and be amazed at how these dogs add to people's lives in so many ways.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs and people who are interested in training therapy dogs.
Although I received this book from the Amazon Vine program, that in no way influenced my review.
The author saw the need for training dogs as psychiatric and therapy dogs. I have read about
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therapy dogs before but this is something broader and much better. She had PTSD and a critical incident experience herself. She had been a search and rescue worker before but now she discovered a need that was not being taken care of. She wanted to take animals from death row at the pounds and train them to help people with these problems. Unfortunately only one dog in thirty has the personality, intelligence and aptitude to become this type of dog. She relates how the dogs were picked out and how heartbreaking it was to leave the others at the pound. Also, she tested her own dogs to see if they could learn to be psychiatric or therapy dogs. There are photos of the dogs in the middle of the book. For each dog that was adopted from the pound the difference of before and after is so dramatic. She also details the training. Some times the dogs improve upon the training with their own ideas.All of the stories in this book are very moving and inspiring. But there is one that stands out. A white shepherd pit bull mix was adopted. He had been found in a rat infested shed behind an abandoned house. He was left by a family with no food or water. It is an amazing that he was still alive when he was found. All skinny and starved for food, he quickly adapted to her home and pets. He is on the cover. Jake did take to the training and gave back so many times in so many ways. You won't believe how perceptive and friendly this dog is.
You will be quickly immersed into this book and be amazed at how these dogs add to people's lives in so many ways.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dogs and people who are interested in training therapy dogs.
Although I received this book from the Amazon Vine program, that in no way influenced my review.
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LibraryThing member BrendaRT20
Very inspirational and informative book about training dogs for psychiatric service, especially PTSD. The really interesting part was that she takes dogs from shelters to train. One in thirty make it. Found myself considering doing it after reading the book.
LibraryThing member PortM
Definitely a three hanky read. I listened to the Overdrive version, read by the author, and she does a fantastic job. You can feel the emotion in her voice, and her imitations of her dogs' vocalizations is hysterical. I learned about psychiatric service dogs, which was entirely new to me, and was
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touched and entertained by the stories of many animals and their partners, as well as her own animals and her own journey. Highly recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member marshapetry
Wow, I wrote a whole review and it disappeared. I'm not writing it again, darnit. I'm just gonna short it to
1. be careful reading this book if you can't handle depictions of dog abuse and
2. once it got past those depictions it was a good book.
1. be careful reading this book if you can't handle depictions of dog abuse and
2. once it got past those depictions it was a good book.
LibraryThing member olevia
Beautifully written; beautifully read by the author.
LibraryThing member mirrani
I listened to the audio version of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
This book goes beyond the typical "this dog rescued me" kind of storytelling and focuses also on how people can rescue the dogs. The author tells many stories of people who have had their lives changed by therapy dogs or dogs
This book goes beyond the typical "this dog rescued me" kind of storytelling and focuses also on how people can rescue the dogs. The author tells many stories of people who have had their lives changed by therapy dogs or dogs
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trained to help with psychiatric issues, but she tells her own story along with these others. It sounds jumbled, but it really is a pleasant read that not only makes you happy inside, but also shows the importance of therapy dogs and giving all animals a second chance. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisCarey
Susannah Charleson is best known for a previous book, Scent of the Missing, about her experiences in search & rescue, and working with a search dog, the Golden Retriever, Puzzle. Over the years of her search & rescue work, though, she began to experience health problems, both physical, and
Charleston recounts a little of that stress, but focuses mainly on her discovery of "psych dogs" and their work, and her own growing interest in training rescue dogs as service dogs. She had a plan to search for a dog in need of rescue whom she could train for service dog work, though she knew that could be a heartbreaking task.
Along the way, she also had a friend dying of cancer, who asked her to take in her two Pomeranians. One of those dogs had crippled hind legs, but a sweet and sunny disposition. The other was so focused on his owner, and devoted to her, he had real difficulty being separated from his owner when the time came.
Both of these dogs proved to have untapped potential.
Another unexpected addition was a puppy found, in rough shape, by her neighbors. They were allergic to dogs, so they brought it to her...
The puppy needed extensive vet care, but survived, and became the first dog she seriously tried to train as a service dog. Training Jack became a key part of how she worked on her own difficulties with OCD.
We meet some fascinating people in her story, people who regained independence and confidence through working with the right service dog. We also meet some amazing dogs.
It's a moving story and a great listen.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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reactions to the stress and trauma often involved in such searches. She also began to meet a new kind of working dog: psychiatric service dogs.Charleston recounts a little of that stress, but focuses mainly on her discovery of "psych dogs" and their work, and her own growing interest in training rescue dogs as service dogs. She had a plan to search for a dog in need of rescue whom she could train for service dog work, though she knew that could be a heartbreaking task.
Along the way, she also had a friend dying of cancer, who asked her to take in her two Pomeranians. One of those dogs had crippled hind legs, but a sweet and sunny disposition. The other was so focused on his owner, and devoted to her, he had real difficulty being separated from his owner when the time came.
Both of these dogs proved to have untapped potential.
Another unexpected addition was a puppy found, in rough shape, by her neighbors. They were allergic to dogs, so they brought it to her...
The puppy needed extensive vet care, but survived, and became the first dog she seriously tried to train as a service dog. Training Jack became a key part of how she worked on her own difficulties with OCD.
We meet some fascinating people in her story, people who regained independence and confidence through working with the right service dog. We also meet some amazing dogs.
It's a moving story and a great listen.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
Show Less
LibraryThing member autumnesf
Working with rescued dogs and training rescue dogs.
Original language
English
Physical description
260 p.; 6 inches
ISBN
054773493X / 9780547734934