Product Description

This heart-warming and humorous collection of true furry tales follows the highs and lows of Barrie and his wife as they take on the challenge of rescuing large dogs. After losing his beloved dog, Elsa, Barry can't face replacing her. But when he accepts a rescue worker's proposal to become a dog foster parent he doesn't quite realise what he is letting himself in for. With every four paws comes a story: the German Shepherd who lived in an abandoned car, the unwanted Christmas puppy, the twelve-year-old dog who's never been walked or played with...From a four-week old bundle of fluff in a peg bag to the ex-guard dog with a lion's mane, the husband and wife team welcome them all into their hearts and home.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11678 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
`heart-warming and often hilarious... Readers will laugh and cry.' --Axis Magazine, July 2009

`This is a delightful little book written with feeling and a deep understanding of the way a dog's mind works.'
--The Oxford Times, July 16, 2009

`OVERALL RATING: 10/10 - This book is wise, funny, tear-jerking and thought-provoking. It should appeal to every dog lover.' --AgilityNet website, August 12, 2009

`a heart-warming tale... sensitive and caring... It will make you laugh and it might make you cry.'
--The Derbyshire Times, August 6, 2009

`Absolutely adorable book... It's a really fun, easy read and the woofies are all great characters... heart-warming... congratulations Summersdale.'
--Sally Farmiloe-Neville, HotGossipUK website, August 2009

`A chatty and engaging memoir, packed with amusing anecdotes... Barrie Hawkin's... he's the best friend a hound could have.'
--The Cambridge Evening News Series, August 18, 2009

`warm, affectionate and gently humorous, it is a thoroughly entertaining account of one couple's chaotic year with their memorable menagerie.'
--The Lancashire Evening Post, September 14, 2009

`funny, heart-warming true tales that chart the experiences of a couple who foster large dogs.'
--Four Shires magazine, October 2009

Review
`Uplifting true story of how the author... became involved in dog rescue... plenty of tears and smiles along the way.'

Review
Featured in The Daily Mail Weekend magazine, June 27, 2009

Customer Reviews

Excellent book for anyone who loves dogs
I couldn't put this book down, it's been a long time since I finished a book in one sitting. I must admit to being a little biased as eleven years ago my husband and I rehomed one of Dorothy and Barrie's "orphans". Our lovely boy has just celebrated his twelfth birthday and is still going strong.

I started off laughing out loud in the first chapter and alternated all through the book between laughter and tears. Anyone thinking of getting a dog should read this book and seriously consider offering a home to a rescue dog. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

A "dog-fix" for a dogless reader.
Not being able to have a dog I often need "dog-fixes", and this book does it for me. So many dogs, so many stories. I too could not put the book down and read it in a day, it is so well written that you just have to go on turning the next page, and the next. I do hope Barrie writes some more books, he clearly has the knack. Thanks so very much for you book and for your work.

Entertaining, Moving and Funny

A thoroughly good read!

It was interesting to read the trials and tribulations of rescuing and rehoming dogs. Each story brought a tear to my eye, but as well as getting an insight into how badly some people treat animals, it was also uplifting to read how these dogs lives were transformed by the writer and his wife and all eventually rehomed into loving families.