Miracle Dogs: Rescue Stories

by Liz Stavrinides

78 million dogs live as pets in the USA. These are the lucky ones. Five to seven million companion animals enter shelters every year, and more than half are euthanized due to the lack of space.
Miracle Dogs celebrates and honors the rescuers and the dogs whose lives they've saved. It features wonderful stories and photographs of dog rescuers, dog trainers, and rescue organizations such as The Gentle Barn and Tamar Geller's Operation Heroes and Hounds, along with celebrity pet owners such as Chevy Chase, Hoda Kotb, Bob Einstein, Amanda Hearst, Jamie Lynn Siegler, and Lance Bass. Each story includes portraits of the dog and its new family, followed by a concise, compelling narrative detailing the dog's journey to its new home.
A professional pet photographer, Liz Stavrinides spends much of her time on projects related to animal rescue. Miracle Dogs was born out of her desire to collect and share the stories of the dogs she's met over the years, showcasing the incredible bravery and compassion of both canines and owners. Readers will be moved by stories like that of Wyatt, an assistance dog who helped a young boy with autism communicate with the outside world, or Fiona, who was found blind and starving and is now in a loving family. All of them have finally found their furever homes. Stavrinides' portraits are heartwarming―a loving and poignant tribute to man's best friend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs, Short Stories

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading most of the stories of the rescued dogs in this book. However, there were a few broad generalizations I didn't appreciate, such as, "The Dog in the Gilded Cage," which described how a former champion show dog was rescued. This story generalized that all show dogs are not petted, just groomed, and spend hour upon hour in shipping crates, and are poked and prodded by unemotional judges.
I have been to dog shows, and personally know breeders who treat their show dogs lovingly, and when they are home treat their dogs as good or better than most pet owners. They are members of their family.
So, other than a few inaccuracies and broad generalizations, the book was an enjoyable read.

[Rosanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Like really really enjoyed it. It was really heartwarming. To hear about all the different dogs and their stories as well as how they were saved from a life of abuse or worse, left at a kill shelter waiting until their day was up. It makes you have a little faith in the world. There are good people out there.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cute stories. A few really tugged at your heartstrings, but most were pretty run-of-the-mill. I didn't find it to be particularly well-written (the Constantine story repeats a paragraph almost verbatim) or engaging. Any book that calls attention to the need to rescue animals is worthwhile, though!

[Pogue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not what I was hoping for at all. I was looking for stories about dogs and how they saved people or people saved them.

I am grateful that this book was written and brings into focus how many dogs there are to be rescued. I was just looking for a different kind of book.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love animals, but this book didn’t need to happen. There wasn’t anything special about the vast majority of the stories. Mostly “the dog was had a bad life, then I adopted it!”

They had less emotional content than even those short Facebook videos.

[LeslieandJoe LaCava · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book piqued my interest as an animal lover. Unfortunately it seemed that the focus was on the people rather than the animals. I agree with another reviewer - the writing was often confusing.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish the book had been longer and loved all the rescue dog stories. A great gift for any dog lover.

[Linda G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compilation of dog rescue stories. I liked the stories.

[Nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully light read that easily placed down and easy to pick up again. Each story is about 2 or 3 pages and has at least 1 adorable picture. The writing was a bit sporadic in the way that I loved one, and then was annoyed by the next. I think there were some stories that were written by the people they were about? There was a lot of playing around with the perspective - first to third person. Slightly confusing, but I am on vacation so my brain is working at half speed.

The only other think that distracted me was the Christian/spiritual overtones to some of the stories. I'm perfectly happy/respectful with other people practicing religion but personally I'm not too religious so it detracted a little for me, but probably added some for others so meh. To each their own :)

Most of these stories ended in me going to hug my own rescue puppy, Cyclone. She was taken off the streets, and was so very timid when we first adopted her. She was also terrified of the garage and loud noises; we're fairly certain she was abused before she was abandoned. She had many nightmares when we first welcomed her into our family, and every so often they'll come back. But now she's got 3 people who adore her to death to comfort her.

Basically, if you're in the mood for doggy true happy ending stories that restore a little bit of faith in humanity, this is a really cute read.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading stories about animals and I loved this book because it was about dogs who had been rescued. And not only were there stories but there were beautiful photos of the dogs taken by Liz Stavrinides.

The stories include dogs that have been adopted by celebrities such as Chevy Chase, Lance Bass, Peter Marshall and Shirley Jones but also by people who run rescues and regular folk like you and I. There were stories of people who had lost their pets and these rescue dogs came along at the right time. Some dogs had had homes in the past and had been cast aside while others had never been in a house before. Regardless they all found a new home and love.

The one thing that bugged me was in the story about Priscilla and her puppies (one of the puppies is on the cover of the book) ... "Priscilla and her pups were going on the next mission flight to Calgary and Alberta, Canada." Hello! Calgary is IN Alberta!

Reading this book made me want to rush out and get a rescue dog!

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/04...

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should be used to raise $$ for animal rescues. Some stories tug at your heart strings, others, not so much. The stories all seem to be written by 'famous' people who have rescued dogs and that's a great endorsement. I believe we, as a people, do need to take care of our animals, and abuser should be severely punished. One story, however, I didn't much think fit in the book as the writer of that story tells how they let their cat out every night to roam the neighborhood, and were somewhat surprised to find one morning that it had not returned. They got a younger cat, let it out to fend for itself, and while the older one came home not so good condition, the younger one never did. So much for rescuing.

[Grey853 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dogs and the idea that our country kills millions every year in what are called "shelters" is shameful. This book, however, focuses on the success stories, how dogs have been saved by caring and loving people. More importantly, it shows how dramatic an impact a dog, or in some cases multiple dogs, can have on people. I particularly liked the ones where the story is written by the actual owners of the dogs rather than the ones written about the owners or the dogs.

I also thought the photography was excellent and many of the shots certainly showcased the beauty of dogs, purebred, mixed, all shapes, sizes, and colors.

I enjoyed it very much.

[Sally Labonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could remember the wonderful person that gave me this book as a gift, but I can’t. I would have liked to personally thank the individual for such a thoughtful gift. I loved each story of the rescued dogs and their loved ones. They have inspired me to do as much as I can for these beautiful animals that do not have a voice. A great read to understand how a small amount of kindness can go along way and change the life for the dog as well as the individuals who love these animals. The photographs are beautiful and show some of the most beautiful dogs come from the streets instead of a breeder.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a gift from a coworker of mine, Christmas pick a name thing. The photos are great. Some of the essays are better written than others. I have been volunteering at my local shelter for more than ten years, so the stories ring true to me. The south does have a high kill rate over 99%. They also talk about the high kill areas of LA etc. I live in NH and I can proudly say we have one of the lowest kill rates in the country. We bring dogs up from the south so I know the kill rate down there. This is a book for your rescue loving friends.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Misleading title. This book is mostly rich, d-list celebrities and the dogs they didn't purchase from a breeder. And nearly every dog featured was "severely neglected and abused." Everyone wants to think they have a dog that is horribly damaged in some way to feel better about themselves, and to either make excuses for that dog's behavior, or as a way to say "see how I healed him?" C'mon, really? While I don't doubt that a few of these dogs were abused, the majority were most likely not socialized well, if at all.
A few grammatical errors, but some cute stories as well.

[Judith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a concern about the validity of a story in this book. This story, 'Angels Who Walk Among Us' found on page 87 in particular which creates a credibility problem for this book, the author and the publisher. It is a shame that a book that if focused on something so important contains a story based in fiction. I would love to recommend this book but I am forced to question the validity of all of the stories given the lack of fact checking done on this one.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of real life stories about rescue dogs and the people who take them home to love.
As you can imagine, the stories are very much the same.....poor abused or neglected dog lives in shelter and likely to be euthanised...is rescued by humans who take them home where they become star pets. Best not to read right through it...dipping in from time to time is recommended.

[Brigid · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book full of wonderful photos and stories of rescued dogs; however, BE FOREWARNED that the author describes the situations that the dogs are rescued from and I had to put it down several times to cry. It was stupendous to know that there are people out there rescuing dogs, but heartbreaking to read about how horrible other people treat these loving, furry beings.

[Elina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this book because I work in animal rescue, and I love that it's helping to spread the word about adoption. Some of the stories were so sweet, some could use a little editing, others were just weird (like the one about a guy who predicted his rescue dog [eye roll]). Beautiful photography, I think some before & after pics would have been nice too.

[Jhenna Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRULY AMAZING.
I loved loved loved reading the many different stories about rescues! It inspires me to rescue dogs of my own! i loved the way Liz Stavrinides portrayed the beloved dogs of this earth and how they impacted their future families! A must read.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like celebrities? And do you like dogs? If your answer to both is yes, then this is the book for you. Personally I am not impressed by all the celebrities presented in this volume. I wanted true stories about dogs and normal people.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift and I really enjoyed it. The stories are quick reads and makes me happy other people feel the same about rescues as I do - helps get the word out too!! Rescues make GREAT pets.

[Sheree · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were cute, even though the writing was horrible. And I love the message--go adopt shelter animals!

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars only because of the book being about rescue dogs, hopefully people will be inspired by the message :) Adopt, don't shop

[Dyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could read stories of anyone rescuing pups...doesn't have to be "stars" ....
heartwarming stories, though.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy read. Enjoyable short stories about dogs rescued and the gifts they give to their humans. A real feel good book for animal lovers.

[Jiaparker1997gmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

just ok, wouldn't read again. more photos than stories.