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The Dog Who Danced

by Susan Wilson (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 655 ratings · 199 reviews

From the New York Times bestselling author of One Good Dog comes a novel about a woman's cross-country journey to find her lost dog, and discover herself.

"My name is Justine Meade and in my forty-three years there have only been a handful of people that I have loved. No, that's an exaggeration. Two. Two that I lost because of stupidity and selfishness. One was my son. The...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by St. Martin's Press (first published March 1st 2012)

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Aug 05, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but don't agree it was an "emotional wringer" and didn't think it was as good as most GoodReads readers did, nor as good as One Good Dog. It is the story of Justine (her emotional past and family history and the man she meets along the way as she searches for her dog Mack. Mack is inadvertently dognapped, then abandoned by the dognapper and found by a couple who adopt him. The plot was a bit contrived, but the characters are appealing and its worth a read. A good beach book.

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Aug 18, 2012 Melissapalmer404 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Book #56 Read in 2012
The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson

Justine is heading cross country to visit her dying father. She has hooked up a ride with a trucker. Her baggage is just a few bags and her Sheltie, Mack. The truck driver ends up leaving Justine at a truck stop and he does not know at first that Mack is still in the back of his truck. He eventually figures that out and drops Mack off on the side of a major interstate. Mack is found by Alice and Ed, an older couple who have suffered a great...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

For anyone who loves dogs, the novel The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson is a sure winner! The story revolves around a Sheltie collie named Mack and 3 people all badly hurting emotionally who are involved with this dog who dances. Justine Meade has grown up believing her father didn't love her and betrayed her and has carried around a baggage of bitterness and hurt ever since he remarried when she was a teenager after her mother's death. The only being she has ever genuinely loved since then is h...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This is another rating that I have rounded up. The book was okay but it did make me cry at little at the end even though I wasn't heavily invested in or very sympathetic towards any of the characters. The characters were made up of a middle-aged woman trying to get to the east coast before her estranged father dies but she can't afford to fly and if she could she wouldn't be able to take her dog with her. The trucker who frequents the bar where she works who offers to take her and the dog. He th...more

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May 09, 2012 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Dog Who Danced is a very good book to read. This book is more than just a story about a lost dog; it encompasses mystery, sorrow, and forgiveness. Everybody will find something they like about the book. Animal lovers especially will be able to write to this book. The author, Susan Wilson, has a way of writing that keeps the reader interested throughout the duration of the story. She does this by bringing a lot of emotion into the book and thoroughly introducing the characters. The Dog Who Da...more The Dog Who Danced is a very good book to read. This book is more than just a story about a lost dog; it encompasses mystery, sorrow, and forgiveness. Everybody will find something they like about the book. Animal lovers especially will be able to write to this book. The author, Susan Wilson, has a way of writing that keeps the reader interested throughout the duration of the story. She does this by bringing a lot of emotion into the book and thoroughly introducing the characters. The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson is a very interesting, well-written book that a lot of people will be able to relate to.
Susan Wilson has the ability with her style of writing to keep the reader interested throughout the entirety of the book. You will find yourself as a reader wanting more and wanting to know what is going to happen next on the adventure to the point where you won’t want to put the book down. The book has a very good story line and that is very easy to follow. Wilson makes the transition between different characters and different viewpoints very well. This book definitely keeps your attention to the very end.
Susan Wilson is very good at developing characters. As a reader you really feel as though you know the characters and what they are feeling. You also have a good understanding of the relationships between the characters especially the main character and her dog. The author shows this relationship by describing the scene when the dog is first lost, “Mack is obedient; if he hears me, he’ll come like a shot. He’s not the type of dog to wander around; he’ll be looking for me, his nose to the ground, maybe heedless of the danger of being in this active parking lot” (Wilson 9). The reader really gets to develop a firm opinion on who the good characters and the bad characters are supposed to be.
The author brings a lot of emotion into the book. This helps the reader gain a good understanding what the characters are going through and what they are feeling. This is especially true with the main character’s troubles. A lot of people will be able to relate to this book through the emotions and problems presented in the story.
The Dog Who Danced is a great book written by Susan Wilson. It is a story with great emotion that can be enjoyed by anybody. This book will keep your attention to the end and will make you want to keep reading it.
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Mar 31, 2012 Pamela Kramer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Susan Wilson wowed the book world with her incredibly touching book 'One Good Dog.' Her second book, 'The Dog Who Danced' is the story of three people and a dog. A very special dog.

The characters in 'The Dog Who Danced' are very different from the main character in 'One Good Dog.' In her first book, the main character was a very successful (financially) man who was very unsuccessful in his personal life.

The main character in this book, Justine Meade, is unsuccessful in both her personal and busi...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

An unexpected call has Justine Meade grateful for a shotgun seat on a semi heading towards a home she hasn’t seen since she left at seventeen because it means that her dog Mack is with her. Mack has been her salvation and made her look at life in a better way than the defeatist, betrayed way she used to when all she could think of was the loss of her childhood then later the loss of her son. The dog who learned to dance with her has been much more than a mere pet which is why she’s overwrought a...more An unexpected call has Justine Meade grateful for a shotgun seat on a semi heading towards a home she hasn’t seen since she left at seventeen because it means that her dog Mack is with her. Mack has been her salvation and made her look at life in a better way than the defeatist, betrayed way she used to when all she could think of was the loss of her childhood then later the loss of her son. The dog who learned to dance with her has been much more than a mere pet which is why she’s overwrought as she finds herself abandoned and dog-less by the trucker she hitched a ride with.
Ed and Alice Parmalee have been imitating life for the seven years since the death of their only child, a child that was prayed for then delayed until neither of them thought it was ever going to happen and then took away at fifteen, it was a tragedy that shook them to the core and that has been an invisible barrier between them ever since until the day a stray dog comes into their lives and puts color and connection back into their world.
In the midst of a family crisis Justine frantically tries to find Mack with the help of a few friends and many strangers while the Parmalees are reconnecting with the help of one small furry miracle and who know nothing about the dog’s distraught owner.
There are many dog stories out there, those who heal, those who protect, those who comfort, what makes this story different is the poignant way that Susan Wilson brings it to life with her words. Her characters are all three dimensional, so realistic that I could smell the earth at Stacy’s grave and could feel the wind in my face as she takes Justine down the highway on the back of a Harley. The dialogue is a mesmerizing string of monologues that took me into the hearts and souls of the narrator, that made me a fly on the walls of their worlds and that gave me insights that I wish they would convey to each other. And then there was Mack, who Susan gave a voice to as well and who’s expertise in translating dog really shines through, it was amusing, it was touching and it was beautifully penned. This is the story of rejuvenation of forgiving of unconditional love. It’s the story of one woman’s best friend and the lengths she’ll go to get him back and it’s the unconditional love that one dog has for his human(s).
This is my first foray into the writing brilliance of Susan Wilson but I guarantee it will not be my last.
Thank you Ms. Wilson for one of the most heartwarming and inspiring stories I’ve read for a while.

Be sure and check out my Q&A with author Susan Wilson - here on my blog http://thereadingfrenzy.blogspot.com/...
and here at my book club forum at B&N.com
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t...(less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Lynn Pribus rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this one, but the narrator was such a self-interested, self-pitying woman who seemed to make all her own problems as well as huge problems for her son, I found her very annoying. The reason she "loses" her dog is that, although she is riding with a trucker who is intent on making a deadline at his destination so he won't lose his job, she not only lingers for an extra five minutes over a meal, she actually goes to take a shower for 10-15 minutes although he has said he will wait...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Candice rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who love dogs

Having liked One Good Dog a LOT, I decided to read Susan Wilson's next dog book. I didn't find it as good, probably because the plot was a fairly standard lost dog plot. Dog is loved by owner, dog gets lost, dog is loved by new owners, will original owner ever find her dog? But in Wilson's hands even a standard plot like this made a good read. The title comes from the fact that Justine's dog, Mack, enters dog dancing competitions. Justine has had a difficult life, although many of her difficulti...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, dog-cat-bird

I usually cry when reading a book about a dog. This time, tears were cascading down my face. Those were tears of happiness instead of sorrow. I don’t know how Susan Wilson did it, but she created the perfect ending!

In ‘The Dog Who Danced’, the dog, Mack has his share of telling the story but it is as the author could get inside the dog and know he perceives the world. Most importantly through the sense of smell and without the benefit of some abilities like place orientation, Susan Wilson excels...more I usually cry when reading a book about a dog. This time, tears were cascading down my face. Those were tears of happiness instead of sorrow. I don’t know how Susan Wilson did it, but she created the perfect ending!

In ‘The Dog Who Danced’, the dog, Mack has his share of telling the story but it is as the author could get inside the dog and know he perceives the world. Most importantly through the sense of smell and without the benefit of some abilities like place orientation, Susan Wilson excels at portraying a dog's thoughts.

I fell in love with Mack and wanted him to come out of the book and be my dog! I have always admired shelties. I have seen freestyle dancing with dogs in competitions but these books takes you inside what it means for the dog to do this.

This book is more than a dog book though; it is one of mystery, sorrow and forgiveness. There are two central women. Justine Meade is the first one we meet. She lost her mother at a very young age, so young that she couldn’t remember very much about her. Her father married the woman next door, the evil step mother and her life felt snuffed out from then on. She lost an emotional connection with her father; her father now loved Paul, her step brother. Paul was the son that her father always wanted and never had. Her step mother, Adele, was cold and demanding. She talked all the time but never said the important words that a step daughter craves.

Justine got married very young and had a son, Tony. She hasn’t seen him for years either. Why did this relationship fail?

When Justine gets a call that her father, who she had not seen for so long, is dying, she doesn’t want to go but her friend persuades her to go. Since she is broke, she cannot afford to fly there and pays $300 to a truck driver to go from California to her parent’s home out east. When she has to go to restroom to wash the dust out of her hair and body, the truck driver takes off. He has her dog, Mack in the back but he doesn’t realize it. Justine panics and is desperate to find her dog. Her dog is her only companion, her only close friend.

An elderly couple find Mack and though they didn’t intend that, established a bond with Mack who they called Buddy. Their marriage was lifeless. They had a daughter in the past. What happened to her? The description of their life is done through their actions and lack of actions. They really need this dog to help them learn how to continue with their lives. You will want to push this couple together as Mack/Buddy did.
Mack/Buddy is the sheltie that you will love. He is polite, gentle, intelligent and loving. He even knows how to dance.

‘The Dog Who Danced ‘is a page turner and emotional wringer, especially at the end. Who will live/love this book? Anyone who loves dogs has had a broken family relationship or enjoys a great story. This book will make you look at shelties with wonder and think about ways to heal broken relationships.

I received this book from Amazon Vine, but that in no way influenced my review.

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Jan 02, 2012 Tara Chevrestt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, dogs, vine, arc

They say some people handle grief in bad ways...I think this couple does. First, let me say this is a good story, not so much about a dog, but about handling grief and loss and a how a dog can help people heal.

Justine's dog is dog napped, basically and then abandoned. While she struggles with bitter feelings with her step family and her father dying AND searches for her dog, an older couple picks her dog up and replaces their lost daughter with the dog. The dog brings them together again. No lon...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, first-reads

This story is about a woman desperately searching for her lost dog. And, even more so, it is about the various decisions she has made and how they have affected her life. The story also follows the couple that has found the dog and how he helps them cope with past tragedies that have left them wandering through life in a daze. The author effectively tells the story through the perspective of the dog's owner, the couple, and the dog himself.

I received this book for free through Good Reads First R...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars

Anyone who loves dogs or even "a" dog must read this one. This is written from both the dog's POV and the owner's POV and was done well. It is a story of Justine who has had a really tough life and she shares much of that life with the reader in bits and peaces. And Mack a dog who has only known Justine. Justine's Dad is dying, and although he was the real reason she left home at 17 (plus the typical ugly stepmother) she attempts to cross the country with an 18 wheeler rig to be there for him at...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, dogs, suspenseful

Susan Wilson's protagonist, Justine, is no perfect person; she is REAL with a past including some good and some bad decisions--a true mix, just as it is for all of us. This alone makes this book so very personal; I doubt anyone can't find a part of themselves in Justine... And I so appreciate the fact that Mack's perceptive intuition is so well depicted. As humans, we are becoming so much more knowledgeable and appreciative of the innate abilities of our chosen "non-human" companions! This incre...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dog-books, favorites-of-2012

Susan Wilson has outdone herself with this one. I absolutely loved it, and couldn't put it down! Once I began this journey of Mack and Justine, I was loathe to stop! It grabs you from the beginning and keeps you on the verge of tears page after page! There's never a good "stopping point" - the reader gets completely caught up in Justine's plight, eager to track down that lousy trucker Artie and see that he suffers suitable consequences for his lousy behavior; completely wrapped up in the details...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dog-lovers

I won this book "THe Dog Who Danced" by Susan Wilson through a Goodreads first-reads giveaway.

I was so excited to win this book as anything dog-related is great, as I have two Labs that are like my babies. I just loved this story. It was about Justine Meade whose only real companion, Mack, her Blue merle Shetland Sheepdog, was taken unknowingly from her during a cross-country trip from Seattle to Massachusetts. When she received a call from her stepmother, letting her know that her father was d...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Mags rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have to admit from the start that my review will be highly biased by my experience. I had an 18 month old blue merle sheltie who got out of my yard when someone opened the gate. He has been missing since Easter weekend, 2007, and there was never a single sighting nor was his body discovered by anyone.
I agree with folks who say the author really nails the Sheltie personality. And the descriptions of Canine Free style were kinda fun. I compete in herding and agility with my guys and I am in awe...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Jojo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I admit that I’m not usually a big fan of pet stories of love and loss. They tend to make the dogs and cats too humanistic for my taste. However “the Dog that Danced” did a wonderful job of avoiding that. It was a unique portrayal of how a dog might see the world. Mack was a loyal shetland ruled largely by his instinct to protect and guide. The main characters were also accurately portrayed as realistically flawed human beings. Alice is too controlling, Ed runs away from his problems, and Justin...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals-dogs

Wonderful story. about a terrific dog named "mack" A sheltie that likes to dance with his owner Justine. when Justine "hitches" a ride to get to the east coast from Washington the scummy semi driver drives off with her dog { when they stop at a rest area} and tosses him out of the semi onto the interstate. Mack is found by a kindly couple going through a heart break of losing their daughter a few years ago. Mack brings happiness to their life and they call him Buddy. meanwhile Justine is trying...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Karen White rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though not as gripping as ONE GOOD DOG, I did like this book a lot. I am a sucker for any animal book, you should know, and this one also gives us some of the dog's POV.

It took me awhile to get interested in the people - and I never got completely on board with Justine. Too much of a victim, I think. But the plot that keeps us guessing how and when she will find Mack and who deserves him in the end did keep me interested. The couple that find Mack were more intriguing to me. Their story is revea...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, i-own-it, animals

***I received this book from the Goodreads First Reads program***

Just for the record, as I start off writing my review, I want it to be known that I'm giving this four and a half stars, not four (stupid Goodreads and your lack of options!)

I really, really enjoyed this book. There was really no part of the story that I disliked (apart from perhaps the numerous spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors which I WILL be emailing the publisher about, mark my word). As a pet owner myself all my...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Pauline Tilbe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Susan Wilson is brilliant!
We have all grieved through losses in our life. Justine seems to bring on some of this grief herself. The Parmalees are broken, going through their day to day existence. Mack is the common denominator.

Wilson is honest in revealing the faults of the characters in The Dog Who Danced. Like all of us, Justine is not perfect, she struggles with life decisions. She does what she thinks is best and yet it never is. Mack is anchor in her life. No story spoilers here though, I'l...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Carmela O'Hare rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good story, but pretty predictable. I like this one better than Susan Wilson's One Good Dog. There were some similarities in these two books, e.g. protagonists' mothers die before the start of the story and when protagonist is still young. Protagonists' fathers both are incapable of nurturing their children.Fathers in both stories die without resolving the bitter feelings their child has towards them. In both stories the daughters run away in late adolescence.
I most times think that authors wor...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Skybirdsmom rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just happened to be in the mood for a dog story and I found this in the new books at my library. For the third time in a year, I have discovered a wonderful author. Her story caught me on the first page and I was hooked. It's the story of a lost dog, but also of a lost person, a person on a quest but not sure what for. I confess I was a little disappointed at the ending, although you can imagine in your own thoughts what happened, and it can turn out just as you wish. I loved the intertwining...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dog-related, first-reads

I won this book through a Goodreads first-reads giveaway.

I was so excited to win this book as anything dog-related is a huge plus for me. I just loved this story. It was about a 40-something drifter, Justine Meade whose only real companion, Mack, her Blue merle Shetland Sheepdog, was taken unknowingly from her during a cross-country trip from Seattle to Massachusetts. When she received a call from her stepmother, letting her know that her father was dying, Justine took a ride with a tractor trai...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Ellen Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anyone who knows our Sheltie, Sassy, knows why the cover of this book caught my eye! Other than the fact that Sassy gets carsick just riding to the vet, this story captured the essence of the herding and loyal instincts of man's best friend. I enjoyed this compelling story of a woman's journey home to her dying father, to visit her past that she would prefer to forget. A stepmother who stepped in too quickly after the death of her mother, and the golden stepbrother who could do no wrong were ele...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 28, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

My emotions. They are all over the place. I laughed. I cried, and not just at the end. All throughout the book. It was not pretty. I want to adopt another dog. I am one of the biggest dog lovers in the world, so I knew I would enjoy this book. They are men's best friends! Ahhh.

Susan Wilson knows how to write a great book. The book switching back and forth between the human and canine stories. I love multiple narrators and points of view. I eat it up. The chapters flow and are connected, so it's...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Karen & Gerard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: relationships

This book has several story lines that are all good. Justine, who while getting a ride to go see her dying father, who she has a strained relationship with, loses her dog when the trucker she is getting a ride from takes off without her and kicks out the dog! An older couple finds and takes in the dog, but they really don't get along. Although the dog misses Justine and keeps looking for her, it tries to fit in with the couple who rescued it. On top of this, Justine and her step mom constantly g...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Pauline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heartwarming tale of Justine and Max,her dancing dog. Justine gets a call that her father is dying and with limited funds hires a trucker to take her and her dog cross country. Fed up with frequent breaks, Artie the Trucker leaves Justine at a rest stop half way cross the country not realizing that Max is in the truck with him. This begins the tale of Justine, practically broke, trying to not only get to her father who she is estranged from but also find the only companion she has. Along the way...more

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About Susan Wilson

Born in Providence, RI, raised in Middlefield (Rockfall) Connecticut. Post High School Education, Middlesex Community College, Middletown, CT and Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT.
Married, two grown daughters and a granddaughter and grandson.
Lives in Oak Bluffs, MA, on Martha's Vineyard.

Those are the stats. I am a novelist, seven published, one in progress, and a occasional co...more

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“Favorite quote from the dog: "Humans have this nee to express themselves through their mouths, and he supposes that this is because they are so poor with their noses." LOL(less) from the dog who danced” — 1 person liked it

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