Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories from a Wildlife Sanctuary [Paperback]

Lynn Marie Cuny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

A Book-of-the-Month Club, Quality Paperback Book Club, and One Spirit Selection. "The day we met [Cuny] was feeding five beautiful yearlings intravenously, who surely would have died from dehydration, while she simultaneously supervised the feeding of skunks, possums, squirrels-you name it. She is selfless and dauntless in her battle to rescue and rehabilitate animals. I feel privileged to know her and serve on her board. There are few better qualified to look through the eyes of an animal. It is a beautiful, touching book." Loretta Swit, actress "Heartwarming tales of rescued creatures are presented in this collection of vignettes from a large wildlife rehabilitation center . . . Cuny's love for her charges shines through in her stories." -- Booklist "Her brief stories are often touching, such as when she describes a young raccoon, rescued from a fire, self-medicating its burned paws with aloe vera plants; or two crab-eating macaques, confined inside a research facility for eighteen years, experiencing the outdoors for the first time." -- Natural History "This book deserves a spot on every library shelf along with such nonfiction animal story classics as Adamson's Born Free, North's Rascal, and the work of Jane Goodall . . . Cuny's achievement is in her ability to present the animals' experiences in a factual, sympathetic, but unsentimental tone."-- Appraisal: Science Books for Young People Lynn's stories from Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR) range from the humorous to the tragic, from the surprising to the inevitable. The animals she describes range from the day-old field mouse to the three-legged coyote; from a fox-loving hen to the exotic and abused mountain lions, macaque monkeys and black bears. Always, she reveals the dignity of each animal, trying to survive in a world made cruel and dangerous by the thoughtlessness of humans.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Inmate stories from an animal rescue sanctuary, heartening but also scolding and righteous, from sanctuary director Cuny. Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, founded in Texas 20 years ago by Cuny, tends for and hopefully returns to the wild ``injured, orphaned, abused and displaced wild animals.'' If the injuries are severe enough, the animals stay at the sanctuary for the rest of their lives. It is a rare and profoundly humanitarian operation, and one certainly deserving of our appreciation. Cuny includes here 31 vignettes of animals or animal groups that have found their way, for the short or long term, to the sanctuary. They are almost all animals victimized by human malfeasance, with Cuny charging in to save the creature and the day. Of the 5,000 animals the sanctuary ministers to annually, a few are exoticsmacaques and bobcats and mountain lionsbut by far the greatest number are raccoons, ducks, birds, fox, deer, coyote, even mice; all are welcome, from squirrel to timber wolf. All have a story, of being tormented in roadside zoos, caught in steel-jaw traps and fishing lines, rescues from the trade in unusual animals and from research institutions; and all exhibit a wonderful will to live. Unfortunately, Cuny's writing is schmaltzy and frequently over the top, as when she refers to one cat as ``this beautiful animal, this precious, mysterious, secretive, misunderstood, irreplaceable and majestic cat.'' Even worse, her tone exudes a pious superiority (``I was willing to do whatever it took''; ``I returned faithfully each night''); it isn't long before readers inexplicably begins to sense a guilty finger being pointed in their direction. There is an annoying aura of self-promotion at play, which detracts from the good deeds and alienates those who otherwise might have been inspired by the sanctuary's achievements. (88 b&w photos, not seen) (Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selection) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

One Spirit Book Club has chosen Through Animals' Eyes as a featured selection in their April issue. We hope that the added publicity will encourage more people to read and enjoy Through Animals' Eyes. The paragraph that follows is the text of the book club feature:

When a bewildered, pregnant doe soared through the plateglass window of a real estate office in San Antonio, Texas, the people inside knew whom to call. For over 17 years, Lynn Marie Cuny and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, the organization she founded, have helped to save injured or abused wild animals. In this case, thanks to Lynn and her group, the doe and her fawn (delivered by C-section) both survived. Their story is representative of 29 others found in Through Animals' Eyes, a book of hope and recovery that surprises as often as it moves us. (Would you have guessed that vultures love to play and can be quite picky about what they eat?) The account of a mockingbird that, having lost her brood, raises an orphan sparrow as her own, is beautiful, even to those hesitant about attributing emotion to animals. In the end, it's hard to know which to admire more: the animals' amazing strength and will to survive or the caring human beings like Lynn Cuny who made their stories possible. -- One Spirit Book Club, Featured Selection, April 1999 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574411306
• ISBN-13: 978-1574411300
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down, February 10, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories from a Wildlife Sanctuary (Hardcover)

This book was given to me as a gift and I couldn't put it down. This heartwarming book takes you into the emotions and thoughts of wild animals. They come alive and you see them as the caring, loving and intelligent beings they are. This book will make you never able to look at a wild animal as a "dumb" animal or expendable resource again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended for all animal lovers, August 9, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories from a Wildlife Sanctuary (Paperback)

Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories From A Wildlife Sanctuary is an anthology about the creatures cared for by Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation (WRR). Founded by the author in 1977, WRR provides sanctuary for orphaned, injured, or displaced wildlife, rehabilitating them for eventual release - or providing them with permanent care in large natural habitats if they are deemed nonreleasable. WWR also gives permanent care to exotic wild animals that have suffered from the pet trade, roadside zoos, or research facilities. From the raccoon with burned feet who perseveres to survive, to an abandoned emu who makes friends with a one-winged vulture in a game of pick-up sticks, these tales put one in the skin, fur, or feathers of the creatures who have paid the price of man's expansion. Through Animals' Eyes is strongly recommended for all animal lovers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Read, April 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Through Animals' Eyes: True Stories from a Wildlife Sanctuary (Hardcover)

This charming vignette of stories will leave you with a new and wonderful perspective of wildlife, as well as a great deal of respect for the people at Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Boerne, TX. This book is a must read for anyone with a love for the wildlife of these United States.