Customer Reviews

Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from the Dog: 101 Stories about Life, Love, and Lessons

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everything you wanted to know about dogs and the people who love them can be found in this wonderful book. There are many great chapters, such as Learning About Family, Learning to Have Courage, Learning to Listen, Learning to Overcome Adversity, Learning to Heal, Learning to Put Things in Perspective, Learning to Be Kinder, and Learning about Unconditional Love. All of them are well-written and worth reading over and over. My favorite chapter was Learning to Say Goodbye. This is a book that will truly warm your heart and soul. Inspirational from cover to cover, and not just for people who own dogs. "Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I learned from the Dog" is a book for the entire family. It's a must read!

Admittedly I'm a biased reviewer. This is the first Chicken Soup book I've been fortunate enough to be part of. My story "Brandy" is included and begins on page 195 and tells the true tale of the night our dear dog died. It's a touching story and a bit of a miracle actually, and evidence that God's creatures, even dogs, move on to a better existance after this life. I got my advance copies as a contributor last weekend and I must say the entire book is great, one of the best Chicken Soup books I've read and I've read maybe 25 of them in the past. If you love animals, particularly dogs (and who doesn't?), do yourself a favor and order up this book! Or at the very least put it on your Christmas gift list and have Uncle Harry buy it for you. It has it all; dramatic pieces, humorous pieces, police dogs, small dogs and big dogs. Get the book!

God bless...

David Michael Smith

This book shares real life problems and demonstrates ways to deal with them. Just sharing this helps all of to see that there is always help, or/and understanding from others who go through these and similar problems. A wonderful help!

What an incredible book! Whether you are a dog lover or a lover of all animals you will love this book!

Dogs are such incredible creatures. Yes, we have all come upon a first timer one who just doesn't get it and acts like a 2 year old their entire doggie life, but most of us dog lovers know how special dogs are. They really are amazing animals. You can see the intelligence in their eyes and I am always amazed at how smart they are. They really are like people.

I have never understood people who say they don't love dogs/animals? How can you not? What is there not to love? I think if you can actually say, you don't like dogs, it says a lot about your character.

What I Learned from the Dog is a compilation of stores from people like you and me who absolutely love their dogs.

Some of the stories are funny and made me chuckle, smile, and remember my little dog Zoe who was my 4.5 pound baby bf (before kids).

Some of the stories just made me sob! Especially the stories by Ann Sheridan called My Chemo Hero. Ann adopted an 8 week old puppy who was rescued after being sealed in a box in a snow bank (who does things like this?). After hearing that the puppy would be put down if not adopted Ann took that puppy home and fell in love. 10 years later that puppy Bimbo was diagnosed with lymphoma. Ann and her husband opted to give Bimbo chemo. Bimbo was a perfect patient, fearless and optimistic. A few months later Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Helping Bimbo through chemo Ann was ready and aware of what would happen to her. She was educated and optimistic. She and Bimbo journeyed through chemo together. Bimbo took her last breath in her 3rd remission.

Ann wanted to share her experience and wrote a book for children called Dogs Get Cancer Too where Bimbo teaches the youngest of cancer patients to discuss their fears. She also founded an organization called Bimbo's Buddies. What a loving tribute to an amazing dog who helped it's owner as much as they rescued her.

This is just one of the 101 stories you will find in this book that will affect you in ways you can't imagine.

I loved this book; lots of encouraging heart warming stories of for and about our furry friends. I especially liked Heaven Sent; a story of how rejuvenating a dog's unconditional love can be. I highly recommend this book.

I grew up with lots of animals - dogs, cats, birds - and think I owe of lot of my character to my yellow lab growing up. In fact, I tell all my friends having kids that they should get a dog for their kids to grow up with. Maybe I should just hand out one of these books to them, instead. The stories here show that befriending animals can help us get through our own difficult times (often when other people can't help), and teach us compassion, among other things.

In fact, I think it's even more important for non-animal people than it is for dog owners. If you want a good example, Natalia Lusinski's story "Peanut" is from the perspective of a non-animal person. It's not about praising dog lovers and patting themselves on the back like they're a little club. It's about not knowing how to deal with dogs at all, and then coming to understand what it's really like to take care of one and how that makes us more thoughtful and happier people.

I like this book because it's for everyone. "Peanut" is a great example of what dog ownership can do for non-dog owners. And I look forward to reading Natalia's stories in other Chicken Soup books, because I think she sets a good example, dog stories aside.

So buy this book and set yourself and your friends on a path towards adopting a needy pet, becoming a happier person, and reducing animal cruelty in the world.

From all the books that I have reviewed* for the Chicken Soup Series this has to be my favorite by far.

The stories made me cry, laugh, dream and remember.

They were beautifully written, orchestrated and thought provoking. I have been blessed to have a dog or two that has truly touched my life. To read story after story regarding amazing animals and relationships wasinspirational

I enjoyed the fact that this was a book that my twins and I could enjoy together. They absolutely adore animals especially dogs so being able to share the stories with them was a fun way to teach them about the love, care and concern for animal a pet owner must have.

This will definitely become a family favorite and one that will remain on your shelves for long time.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned from the Dog: 101 Stories about Life, Love and Lessons

I love the Chicken Soup books based on pets - Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul are two of my favorites, and I read them over and over. This one was a real disappointment - some nice stories, but I definitely wouldn't read it over again or recommend it.

This book is really good if you're a dog lover. It has some very heartwarming stories, but beware, it has some very heart breaking stories also. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because some of the stories were too sad, parts of this book are not for the stoic.

This is a fantastic book! Since I love dogs, the book has made me laugh, cry, and sigh - a lot. It's a keeper!