It's one of those books you pick up thinking 'well, let's just have a small taste and then I'll see where to schedule it in my reading plans' and the next thing you know, you've finished the entire thing in almost one sitting, and you emerge hungry and thirsty, and with a flat butt.
It's the story of how the author, already involved in Search and Rescue, and already a dog lover and owner, decided to put the two together & get her own puppy to raise for SAR.
I enjoyed reading about the challenges this puppy presented, the training methods, the camraderie of the SAR team. Throughout the training, the author continues to volunteer on searches, assisting other teams & gradually, as she and her dog learn the required skills, handling her own dog. Many of the searches have happy endings, some are recovery missions, some are movingly tragic.
The book is frequently hilarious, sometimes sad, and always so wonderfully rooted in a deep appreciation for not only this special skill that dogs have, but also their willingness to work for us and with us. Trust the dog becomes an important echoing phrase. And the dog in turn, has to trust the handler.
I love her dog's name: Puzzle, & she dedicated the book to her dog - which tells you pretty much what you need know about the bond between them. "For Puzzle. Good dog. Find more."
And you don't need to take my word for how good this book is. Patricia McConnell is blurbed on the back with this lovely endorsement:
Scent of the Missing is not only a “stay up too late at night” story, it’s a brilliantly written book that should be on every dog lover’s bed stand. Her descriptions of her dogs are laugh out loud funny, and her use of language is so rich I’m not sure if I want to read her book or eat it.
Patricia B. McConnell, author of The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog
So there you go. Read it - you'll like it.
Also check out the Scent of the Missing Website
4 comments:
This must be a great book! I put it on hold at my library and there were already 39 waiting holds for 18 copies of the book. Jeesh!
Thanks for the recommendation - my name came up at the library at last, so I picked this up a couple of days ago and it had the same effect on me. I devoured the entire book in less than a day. I hope she writes another book telling about her work *with* Puzzle because I'm sure that will be wonderful to read.
Don't you just love it that you can share books with your daughter now? I'm reading Reaching the Animal MInd right now, and for sure it'll interest Leila too. She's just finishing Bright Sided, another mother-daughter combo.
Our little library has no waiting list for this one!
Thank you SO much for your blog entry and encouragement for 'Scent of the Missing.' It means a great deal to me that you read the book -- and enjoyed it!
Approaching seven years old, Puzzle is still very much alive and searching. Many of the Pomeranians in 'Scent' are still alive, though we have lost a few, as noted at the end of the book.
We have moved from the city to a country town outside Dallas, and just months after we did, a neighbor brought a dying stray puppy to the porch and asked if we could help. It was a four-day vet stay and a rocky start for the little guy, but he came back to us ready to eat, gain strength and, he revealed to us, take on a job. His story and other rescued dogs who become rescuers will be in the next book -- 'The Possibility Dogs' -- as will Puzzle. Due 2013, which seems far away and very close all at once (this process goes fast when you're at the keyboard every day).
By the way, I love sailing too! I'm linking to follow your blog, as well. All best, and thank you!
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