Summer Reading

As we’re in the midst of hot summer days perfect for relaxing with a book, I’ve compiled an admittedly small and woefully incomplete list of authors who are dog lovers, whose plots include responsible dog care, or who advocate adopting shelter pets. Although this short list does not even begin to touch on the many non-fiction books about dogs, it includes some fiction authors of various genres who support rescue, as well as some of their books that feature well-loved animals. I confess I was not familiar with some of these authors’ work before I started searching for animal lovers, which lead to reading their websites and the author descriptions in their books. A few of these were recommended by library patrons. Ivan and Dasa prefer to spend their summer napping, but feel free to add your favorite dog-loving authors to this list.

Authors who advocate adopting rescue pets and loving your dog:

Shana Abe – Is involved in pet rabbit rescue, and urges readers to adopt rescue pets.

Heidi Betts –A section of her website is devoted to animal rescue, and she advocates adopting shelter pets.

Bruce Cameron A Dog's Purpose: A novel for humans
On the subject of animals, his bio says only that he loves dogs, so I guess we’ll see what happens in his subsequent books.

Maya Gottfried - Supporter of Farm Sanctuary shelters (Good Dog and Our Farm: By the Animals of Farm Sanctuary)

Kay Hooper - http://www.kayhooper.com/pets.html Advocates spaying and neutering and adopting rescue animals. Is involved in building a community pet center in her area.

Kincaid, Gregory –Is an advocate for animal shelters (A dog Named Christmas and Christmas with Tucker)

Dean Koontz – Has written a series of books, featuring his dog Trixie, about dogs’ positive impact on our lives, encourages adopting retired service dogs, and supports Canine Companions for Independence

Norah Roberts - Her book The Search deals with compassionate, positive dog training. (It also has a couple of serial killers, but what really matters is the dogs are all well-treated.)

David Rosenfelt - Started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of his Golden Retriever Tara. He has rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. His home is a sanctuary for the rescued dogs that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. (His Andy Carpenter series is very pro-dog.)