Customer Reviews

Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing : Based on a True Story

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

 

 

Sonny Brewer dedicates his heartwarming and heart-rending novel, which is based on real events, to his beloved dogs, Rex and Cormac. The cover art, a full-color photograph of Cormac, is in itself a testimony to the nature of his relationship with his pet. CORMAC took more than three years to be written, so gut-wrenching it was for Brewer to accomplish. He introduces us to his dog in this manner: "Now I think about the world's handsomest and sweetest Golden Retriever, as smart as any four-year-old child, who answers to the name, Cormac..." He goes on to describe Cormac's home in an aging farmhouse on the outskirts of Fairhope, Alabama.

But Brewer's agony begins upon receiving a phone call from his house-sitter while on an extended business trip. The voice rings in his ear: "Man, your dog is missing. I can't find Cormac anywhere."

Stunned by the unwelcome news, Brewer is emotionally unglued. What on earth has happened back in the sleepy town of 12,000 in Alabama? He adores his wife and two children, but Cormac has found a comfort space in his heart that deepens with each passing day. Anguish now fills that void with the realization that the dog may be dead, stolen, a runaway stray and lost to him forever.

Cormac's entry into the Brewer household had been a story in itself. Having promised his wife and children a puppy, they embark on a trip to see a litter of Golden Retriever puppies. The dog's sire was known as "Rock" and the grandfather was "Bear." A reddish-brown pup had shadowed Brewer from the moment he stepped from his vehicle. As he related, "The adoption seemed fated...a ball of fur the color of Ann-Margaret's hair...between red and auburn." The family agrees on the name "King," but Brewer holds out for his favored author, Cormac McCarthy. Cormac becomes king of the household.

The founder of Over the Transom Bookstore in Fairhope, Brewer spends time and money investing in rare manuscripts and first editions. The bookstore is successful, but additional funds from the sale of his debut novel will feed his family. It is well-stocked and well-known, yet sales are occasionally thin. Cormac is purchased as a family pet but becomes his master's best friend in a short time. The majority of his day is spent in quiet repose at the bookstore. Thunderstorms change quiet repose to anxious roaming. Cormac, usually docile, can turn into a terrified wanderer. The family yard has boundaries, but a young dog becomes exuberant and crosses the line. Brewer hires a company to install an electric fence, buried underground. When a line is crossed, the wire will send an impulse to shock the unwitting animal. On the fateful day that Cormac disappears, the shock waves do not work.

CORMAC is a story written by a deeply artistic soul. Brewer's personal anguish over the loss of his dog runs throughout his written pages. The reader feels his pain, panic and depression when his real trial begins: the business of recovering Cormac, if possible. He is a man with a mission. We cheer him with each step he takes to find his lost canine friend. CORMAC is a short book that is lengthy in warmth, a written testimony to the strength of a bond between man and his pet.

--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad

I don't agree with the 1 star review.Having just read Mr Brewers book about his wonderful loving dog Cormac and his un-needed adventure thanks to a unkind neighbor who was the cause for all the trouble not the owner( I would have left a flamming bag of Cormac poo for the old bat at her door step.) This book show a true love of a dog for the owner and, a true love of a owner for the dog. Mr Brewer went to the ends of the earth for Cormac to get him back. I'm sure Cormac is glad to be home.

As a life long dog lover and volunteer involved in golden retriever rescue, I was very disappointed in this book. I am mostly concerned about the message that Sonny Brewer sends his readers about shelters and rescue groups. His book implies that those involved in rescue work are over zealous thieves of dogs. In reality, rescue groups are a tireless group of people who give hope to dogs of irresponsible and sometimes cruel owners. My rescue group saves around 200 dogs a year. These dogs come to us through owner relinquishments, shelters, and as strays. The atrocities that we see with these dogs does make us somewhat zealous, but all in the best interests of the dogs. Had Mr. Brewer installed an appropriate fence (electronic fences are unreliable and unfair means of containment), neutered his beloved dog, and spent time with him, rather than just turn him out to his own devices, he would not have lost his dog (not once, but multiple times). But alas, that would not have allowed him to write a book with a golden retriever on the cover so that he could cash in on his irresponsibility as a dog owner. Mr. Brewer professes his love for his dog and I do not doubt that he does love his dog, but his irresponsibility with his dog and with the telling of this story leave a bad taste in my mouth. Its about time someone wrote a good book about the work of rescue organizations. The money made would be well spent in the continued rescue of needy dogs. Perhaps Mr. Brewer will see fit to send some of the proceeds of this book to the Connecticut rescue that took such wonderful care of his dog.

Having recently lost (and found) a cat who went missing for 21 days, I can relate to the anguish the author felt when his dog, Cormac went missing. It was especially endearing to listen to the book read by the author with his engaging southern accent. I felt transported to Fairhope, Alabama and the Over the Transom Bookstore as the author recounted his heartbreaking experience of losing his beloved pet and his struggle to reclaim him.

The author has been criticized for not having his pet neutered and for not keeping it fenced in (he did however have an electronic fence). How about a neighbor who would knowingly take someone's pet to the pound after removing his identification, potentially making it difficult for him to be reunited with his owner? That should be criminal!

"CORMAC, the tale of a dog gone missing," is a truly great book for anyone who has owned or been around a special dog and friend. Author Sonny Brewer writes with love and honesty about his special Golden Retriever whom he named Cormac. His descriptions of his companion poignantly and accurately convey the close relationship between a man and man's-best-friend. Highly recommended for all dog lovers!
--Ron Howe (aka Toby Martin II) / Erskine, Minnesota

As an author, I seldom have time to write reviews for other books but I LOVED this book! Sonny Brewer did a great job of presenting his story while helping readers fall in love with Cormac. I was never bored and the chapters were well rounded. As a pet detective, this book is a perfect example of why so many lost companion animals are displaced and never reunited with their families. Shelter workers wonder why many of the stray dogs who pass through their shelters don't have families showing up to look for them. I read a previous review where someone was blaming Sonny for what happened to Cormac. The shelter workers, the rescue group volunteers, and Sonny Brewer are not to blame for what happened in this story! We need to stop blaming, LEARN from this story, and just start developing lost pet services and shelter programs that help people like Sonny when they have lost a dog, cat, or other companion animal that they love! This book will be required reading for all the Pet Detectives who take our (Missing Pet Partnership's) certification course! Well done Sonny!

So let me get this straight:

The author arbitrarily gives away his family's Jack Russell Terrier to a customer at his book store because he was annoyed when the dog urinated inside the store. He didn't consult his wife, didn't prepare his kids. He was angry, and just dumped the dog on a customer who happened to be in his store when the accident happened.

He never housetrained the JRT, but thought it would be a good idea to immediately go out and buy a Golden Retriever puppy, "Cormac". Does he make the decision to be a responsible pet owner by bringing Cormac into his home and letting him live as part of the family, housetraining him, teaching him basic obedience? No. He promptly installs an electric fence and puts Cormac outside. Cormac's only shelter is access to the porch. Bored and ignored, Cormac frequently escapes the electric fence, to the annoyance of his neighbors. Cormac is not micro chipped, and the author doesn't bother getting Cormac neutered either. The author explains he might want puppies from Cormac someday.

The author knows Cormac is extremely fearful of thunder, but when he and his family leave the state for several WEEKS to go on a book tour, they think it's appropriate to leave Cormac outside, left to his own devices, with only a pet sitter checking in. When, predictably, the dog jumps through the electric fence (yet again) during a thunder storm, the reader is then expected to believe that the author is absolutely devastated that his dog has gone missing.

Because his dog was not microchipped, and he never physically visited the animal shelter to look for his dog, reunification takes several months. Poor Cormac sat at the pound until his holding time expired. He could have been put to sleep, but thankfully, shelter staff contacted a Golden Retriever Rescue, who took him in, and attempted to train him, and find him a new home. The author is not grateful to the shelter staff and Golden Retriever Rescue Organization for caring for his dog when he was so irresponsible. Unbelieveably, this guy has the audacity to demonize THEM for not doing more to reunite him with his dog!

Cormac is a terrible book. The author put an adorable picture of a Golden Retriever on the cover, and is cashing in. There is no story. Just a guy describing what an irresponsible pet owner he was, with absolutely no sense of self awareness. I can't help feeling that a happier ending would have been that Cormac found a new, more responsible owner through the rescue group.

Sonny Brewer does not deserve Cormac. People who really love their dogs would go to all extremes for them. I'm not sure that Sonny has learned this. He exploited his golden retriever to sell books. I found myself very angry with the author. If he had any decency, he would donate all the proceeds from this book to animal shelters.

I am saving this book to take on vacation with me, I have looked through it and it looks great.

I completely agree with the reviewer that says the author is irresponsible and I worry that people will get the wrong message from reading this book. In addition, I did not find the writing style conducive to gaining my sympathy or compassion for either dog or owner. I would not recommend the book either for its style, nor its message.

****SPOILERS BELOW****
1. The dog was unneutered. The excuse that the author's mother "might want a puppy someday" is not sufficient to keep an unneutered dog around. Everyone believes their dog is special but the fact is, their dog is no more special to the world than any other dog and this fallacy is the reason we have so many unwanted pets in shelters.

2. The dog was left unattended with an electronic fence. I also use electronic fences for my dogs, and I do believe they can be used successfully. However, in this case a dog that has, multiple times, run through the fence and a dog that is known to be terrified by thunder, was left unattended. This is irresponsible on the owner's part. It is NOT the fault of the friend who was taking care of the dog, it is the fault of the owner for not finding a solution to the problem or kenneling the dog when he was out of town. This was a tragedy waiting to happen, and indeed it did.

3. The author blames the neighbor for taking the dog to the shelter. The dog had previously been on the neighbor's property multiple times and the owner had not dealt with the problem. This is not the neighbor's fault. One would hope that a neighbor would call the owner, however in this case the neighbor reached her limit. Again, I am a dog owner and dog lover, but I respect the rights of others and I do not allow my dogs to encroach on others' territory, certainly not multiple times.

4. The owner called shelters. If one researches appropriate measures to take when a dog is missing, they are always advised to GO TO the shelter, not to call. A dog (or cat) cannot be accurately enough described on the phone and the shelter cannot always know if they have the animal or not. The author should have personally gone to local shelters every few days.

Perhaps the author is simply naive about pet ownership, but in my opinion he would have done a much greater service to animals if he had written this book from the angle of "I did these things wrong and I was fortunate to get my dog back, please learn from my mistakes and don't repeat them".