Dog Lost

by Ingrid Lee

Cash is the puppy nobody wants - a pit-bull - a throwaway dog. A shivering wet bundle, Cash arrives in the life of twelve-year-old Mackenzie. And from that moment boy and dog share a love neither has ever known before. But when Cash is kicked out by Mackenzie's father, she finds herself lost and alone in a cruel world. Will she ever find her boy again?

Genres: Animals, Realistic Fiction, Dogs, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Childrens, Teen

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2008

About the author

Ingrid grew up in East York, and then moved to a northern Toronto suburb. As a young girl, she was very quiet, and she loved to read. She wanted to be like her hero, Madame Curie, so she studied very hard when she wasn't reading.

When she grew up, Ingrid became a teacher. She taught classes and designed curriculum plans for the Board of Education. While she wrote lesson plans and watched her own children grow up, she started writing fiction based on her family and life experiences. Now, her ideas pop upon her suddenly, and she has to scramble "to find a pencil before the ideas evaporate." Ingrid prefers to write about life as it is, nothing perfect but everything unique and special.

Ingrid writes whenever she has a spare moment and lives with her family in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot of Dog Lost reads like a list of clichés. Twelve-year-old Mackenzie is given a pit bull puppy by his alcoholic, abusive father, who then loses his temper with the animal and throws it out. The bewildered pup learns to live on the streets, brings a touch of magic to the lonely, falls foul of a dog-fighting ring and saves a few lives. Meanwhile, the council is voting on a motion to ban this dangerous breed from the borough...

Ingrid Lee's prose style, however, keeps the story fresh and engaging. Her descriptions of Cash the dog, based on her own pet, are particularly delightful: when the puppy lies down to sleep after a meal, her tummy spreads out 'like a jam doughnut'. There's a large cast of heroes and villains both human and animal, and even the most minor characters get a resolution to their bit of plot at the end. Tearjerking, heartwarming, satisfying reading.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and heartwarming story of love and loyalty. Too often in the news we hear that pit bulls are vicious and dangerous. What we don't hear often enough are the stories of their heroic behavior; how they've saved their owner from a burning house, protected their human from someone who was abusing them, or took a bullet that was meant for someone else. Having shared my life with a sweet pit bull named Beau, I know that their love and loyalty has no bounds, and their only desire is to please you. It was wonderful to read a story that showed this side of the breed; showed them for the sweet, silly, and lovable dogs they are.

[Calebc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading the book Dog Lost the author of this book is Ingrid Lee.The genre is realistic fiction.The main character is Mackenzie his life is okay but there is some ups and downs in his life.He mainly gets in trouble half the time or some stranger yells at him.The setting takes place in the house his school and downtown.My opinion of the book is that its a really good book so far i'm not sure about the rest of it.I give this book a four star rating because.The book is explaining about my life a little bit that's why i like this book.My main characters is the boy Mackenzie and the dog Cash.My book talks about Mackenzie and Cash's life.I think that this book is the best book that I have ever read.Because it is a little bit of my life.I think this book was predictable by the book talking about Mackenzie's life and could have been real or fake.I recommend that 10 and up should read this book it's a very good book why i think that 10 and up should because it might be a little to hard for 9 and down that's what I think.

[A.J. Llewellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My niece read this book and lent it to me. She was both touched and devastated by it. She's 14 so I had to read this so I could talk to her about it.
This is a profound and beautiful story of a boy whose dog goes missing. Both dog and boy pine for one another...with Cash, the dog winding up tossed into the unthinkable, depraved, disgusting world of dog fighting.
These scenes are graphic for a book aimed at the YA market but I can see why the author has done this.
Adults who love dog fights are probably not going to change their minds, but if we teach our children the truth of what dog fighting does to these poor, beautiful animals, maybe we can erase this cruel 'sport' once and for all. I was happy to see pit bulls portrayed in a good light and I cheered the ending. A dog and her boy...a great love story. However...please God, no movie. I couldn't bear to see it on screen as vital as I think this story is.

[Rachel Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! review to come~

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit, the cover reminded me of my dog, so I bought it. Overall, I think this was a very good book. Several important topics are brought up to the reader:
1. the somewhat blind fear that some individuals have toward
the pit bull breed;
2. the discriminatory laws that some towns/cities adopt that
ban or have the breed killed without provocation;
3. The arguments the breed's proponents have toward punishing
negligent or criminal owners instead of the breed;
4. the cruelty and harsh actions that are bestowed upon the
individual dogs in order to make them dog fighters;
5. the fact that some people have the attitude that 'dumb
animals' are possessions and do not need to be treated
with respect or humanity;
6. The fact that the pit bull breed can be as gentle and
loving a pet as any other dog breed if given a good home;

The book is supposedly for 4th - 6th graders, but there were some very disturbing parts to it (including the techniques used to train a pit bull to be vicious). I can't remember if Jack London's White Fang was quite that disturbing. On the positive side, the author incorporates true acts of heroism from actual pit bulls, as well as gives the reader more references (albeit vague) that they can Google to find more positive stories.

Overall, I would recommend the book, but would consider a juvenile or young teen's disposition before allowing him/her to read it.

[Pamela Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog Lost is one of the best children's book I have ever read. And that's saying something as I have read hundreds and hundreds of middle aged children's fiction.

In Dog Lost, Ingrid Lee manages to weave a complex tale which has a dog and a young boy, his love, at the center. There are other important characters and all the characters are fully developed in terms of what is needed by the story. And it's quite a story.

A boy who lives with an abusive father gets a gift of a dog that the father wins one night. When the dog ends up costing money (of course!), the father takes the dog to the town dump and leaves him there.

But they never give up on each other--the boy and his dog. And when the story comes together, it really comes together. Lee writes masterfully and pulls all the various strings of the web together in one heartstring tugging finale.

Buy this book for your young friends. It's perfect for 4th through 7th grade. I bought a copy for each of the 3 teachers I work with -- it's just that good.

[Hunter C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book I read is Dog Lost written by Ingrid Lee, which is a fictional novel. This entire book was interesting because the dad brings a dog home for the boy. The dog keeps making accidents and running into the dad and the dad becomes frustrated and kicks the dog then takes her and abandons him. After the dad abandons her he tells everyone that he gave her away but Mackenzie knows he abandon her and he feels bad for the dog. Cash is looking for food which now he knows where to go on what night to get a good feeding. This book is a great book that I would recommend this book to any dog lover!

[Amber Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book dog lost is about a dog named cash and boy named Mackenzie. Both of them face the world and have fun until Makenzies dad tossed cash out into the woods. Cash need to learn how to survive in the woods and Makenzie tries to find cash. They both face obstacles along the way. You need to read the story to learn more

[Ana Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a book about a misunderstood pit bull, and if you're a dog lover, it is an easy read, you can relate to.

[Marlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was truly amazing. I cried. I enjoyed every moment of it. I tried at first to read it to my daughter. However, she could not go on after the father dragged the dog away and abandoned her. She couldn’t stand how prejudiced and mean most of the people in the book were. It was too real and too devastating for her. Even after I looked up what would happen and could reassure her that the boy and the dog would find each other again, she said that it was too much for her. So, if your child is young or tender-hearted, this book may not be appropriate.

[Elijah Hobes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book!

[Lilie Avila · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good but confused me a bit around Chapter 15-20 because for me as a reader I just in general didn't understand what was going on and where. But other than that it was a good book.

[Jes Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cash's story begins when she meets Mack, given to him by his dad. Mack falls in love with Cash doing his best to keep her safe, warm and well cared for. Until one unfortunate day when Cash stumbled into the path of Mack's angry father. In a fit of rage, he grabs the dog, throws her into his car and drives off to a desolate part of the neighborhood, abandoning her there.

Cash does a smart job of assessing her new surroundings and creating a strategy to obtain food, and stay out of danger. The whole time Mack is trying to search for his lost dog, one boy named Darren involved in dog fighting manages to snatch Cash up. Assuming she would make an ace fighting dog, she's thrown into a fight with another dog but seeks out the first opportunity to escape. Successfully evading all the people in the dog fighting ring she makes it back to her little hide out.

While Cash is trying to survive, news is released that a ban will be placed on pit bulls, or any breed that looks like a pit bull. While in the "wild", Cash makes a few new friends, two women that toss her food whenever they can and a tom cat that Cash saves from being mauled by another dog. Cash also makes a good name for herself, and her breed, by saving the lives of an old woman trapped in a burning house, a group of drunk and passed out teenagers whose car stalls on train tracks, and even saving the boy who trapped her to fight from drowning in a cistern.

Dog Lost wraps up all the excitement that Cash experiences and seals it nicely with her reuniting with Mack at the end, and finally getting to live a happy and comfortable life. Oh, and because of all her heroics throughout the book many people were inspired to go out and adopt pit bulls from the shelters. Her heroics made such an impact that once the ban on pit bulls was put into place (because, of course! it was) there were no dogs in the shelters to euthanize because there were ALL adopted. Such a happy ending ... albeit an unrealistic one, but a happy one for sure.

While the book ended on such a happy note, especially with no dog dying at the end (sometimes rare in dog-themed novels) the content that the novel focuses on is anything but happy. The central focus of the novel is on pit bulls, the misconceptions that surround the breed as well as the "sport" of dog-fighting. I can easily talk for hours about how I feel about this whole mess but I won't waste the time. Instead, I will consolidate how I feel into a few simple points.

1.) Anyone involved in dog-fighting, especially the perpetuation of dog-fighting, should be tortured painfully, and extremely slowly until they die.
2.) Pit bulls are a lovely breed (I know because I have one) and the lies that get spread about them are based on peoples' fears of an animal they don't understand, and obviously don't even care to dedicate the time to trying to understand.
3.) It will never be the dog that's the problem. It will ALWAYS be the owners.
4.) (The book made a good point of this) Once one breed gets banned, society will find another breed to demonize and destroy. They just will.

I recommend people read the book because it's a fast read, entertaining and there's a ridiculously happy ending to look forward to.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee. This book is almost a five star. But, this possibly be a five star for you. I will explain why I give this a four star later on. Over all, this book has been sad, happy, fearful, and even angry. All the emotions are expressed clearly, as if you are that person. I like when the book is in first person, but this book was the narrator explaining, so that kind of threw me off. Would've liked it much more if it was written in first person point of view. I loved this book very much though.
A boy named Mackenzie was living his normal life in bed, asleep, when something wet plops onto his bed. Assuming it was just a dream, he fell back asleep. Same goes for the dog. When Mackenzie wakes up in the morning, there is a surprise. More like a startling surprise. He sees a dog. The dog sees him. They both jump not knowing what in the heck happened. So, he gets ready for school. Throughout the whole day, Cash was all he could think about. That goes on for a while. Until one day his drunken father comes home and kicks the dog. As any other pit bull would, it growls at him. That was the end for him. Driven away and left in the fields. Will the dog live or die? Will he find a new home? Or will he make it home? “I know it's Cash.” To find out, you MUST read this book!
I think dog lovers will absolutely LOVE this book! I mean, of course I love dogs, and I loved it, so I think dog lovers would too. Also, if you like reading books that you have to keep reading to find out the next thing, then this is definitely for you, too. I went insane when I would read and then have to stop because I would just get to the good part. But, then again, it's something to look forward to.
I give this book a four out of five stars. Don't get me wrong, I loved this book, but every book has its ups and downs. The reason I give it four stars is because of the point of view. I know I already said this in the beginning, but let me go more into detail. So I love first person because I feel like there is more detail put into the book. Saying this, the emotions were great in this book, but I just wanted more. This book was the narrator describing, so it wasn't the greatest, but it was still awesome. I was in awe for some of the ideas that Ingrid Lee had in this book. I won't say, because it might give too much of the book away, but let me tell you, it amazing.
So, I overall loved this book. There was one down side, but you can't focus on the negatives. I definitely recommend this book to people that love dogs, and to people that just want to know that little bit more. The emotions were great, ideas were amazing, and it just was a great book. So, that I how I like the book, Dog Lost.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is geared towards young people, but like so many of these books, it should be read as many people as possible.
It is most certainly feel-good book but it does have a lot of rough spots that are true and necessary to the story. I loved it!
That said, it's time for more than one reality check;

I am sorry but pitts , in general, are just too dangerous. It is not the fault of the dogs, Lord knows. Is the fault of those who breed them. If you look at an advertisement from a breeder it always dresses how big their jaws are and how muscular they are. They do not advertise that they will be a wonderful family pet due to early socialization as do nearly all of the other breeds have in their ads.. It appears that all of the breeders of pitt bulls , whether they admit it or not, are breeding these dogs for people who engage in dogfights.
The sad part about these dogs is the damage that they can do with their bite. A German Shepherd can attack a child viciously and not do near the damage in half the time. That is the problem.
First of all you must be an experienced dedicated owner to even think of adopting one of these dogs.
Keep in mind if you decide to rescue one of these dogs, that your house insurance will not cover it should it decide to attack an adult, child, another animal. They cover most other dogs as part of your home owners plan but not the pit bulls (and a few other breeds). Their decision is based on statistics.
In other words, as wonderful as this book is, I believe having a pitbull in the house with children is similar to having a gun in the house with children.
Chances are good that there will never be a bad outcome, but do you want to take a chance with your child?

Anybody who breeds these dogs or who fights these dogs or who goes to these fights is not even a human. They are a sub-species of God only knows what kind of creature.

This book takes place in a world with less opportunities, a harder hill to climb, less money for the necessities let alone early or higher education. They therefore start school knowing less than many other children of the same age (especially in better-area schools) and t
they seldom can turn to their parents for help with their homework. They are truly disadvantaged at birth, and often live their lives in a state of hopeless despair. We must always remember, "There, but for the grace of God go I."
We must display compassion for these people, for these dogs.

[Meghan Mcmanis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dog Lost was a great story about a young boy named Mackenzie and his faithful companion Cash. One day his dad comes into his room and puts a dog on his bed, its a pit bull. Mackenzie names him Cash and they become best friends, Mack tells Cash everything, about his mom dying, trouble at school, his half brother, and so much more. Mackenzie's father unfortunately is an alcoholic and doesnt treat Mack and his half brother Kid with much respect. Kid is always out late and doesnt get along with their dad, so he decides to leave. After Kid left MAck had noone to look up to. Mackenzie talked about this beautiful girl who always rode on the back of the train home and passed at 11:11. As cash started growing up and getting bigger Macks dad said thy needed to get rid of her she was getting too big for their house. Mack starts to train cash and one night cash accidentally knocks his dads pizza on the ground, his dad kicks cash in the ribs and cash growls trying to protect herself. Dad takes her away and leaves her in a field of rubble to fend for herself. Abbi the girl from the train ends up finding cash and starts coming to visit him and feed him along with Mrs. Brody. The antagonist Darren finds her and catches her with a trap that hurts her. He is using her in a dogfight. When Cash doesnt show up for food Mrs. Brody and Abi get worried. Eventually cash escapes the dogfight and ends up finding Abi. Later on in the story Kid contacts MAckenzie through a letter saying he wants mack to get out of the house and live with him. Cash ends up getting into a cellar and officer dean and mack get him out. Kid and MAckenzie get their own place and end up leaving their dad. The end of the story was what really won my heart, when Kid writes Mack a letter saying he is bringing a girl home that night and that hes excited for cash and him to meet her, and that her name was Abi. This story shows how loyal a dog can be to its owner, and how everything happens for a reason. Sometimes things just fall into place and you have to let them. It would gear towards an older audience, I would say 5-7th graders, because they can relate to things in the story, such as dad being an alcoholic, and things of that nature. This was a heartwarming book and hooked me after every page. I couldn't put the book down.

Lee, Ingrid. Dog lost. New York: Chicken House, 2008. Print.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book that my 11 year old daughter brought to me, held out and said reverently, "Mom, you have to read this; it's a great book!" I always try to read these kinds of books because, 1) I'm a sucker for a good book, 2) I love to see how their idea of a "good" book evolves over time 3) I enjoy being able to discuss their favorite books with them-- it demonstrates that I value their opinions, which I do.

This book is right up my daughter's alley. She's dog obsessed. I'm sure she was drawn to the poor loyal puppy who was tossed in a vacant lot by the alcoholic single father of a lonely underprivileged 11 year old boy. In this story, dads are the bad guys, absent older half brothers and heroic puppies save the day and several lives. The happy ending which emerges narrowly from almost disaster, is satisfying to someone whose life probably felt like a disaster recently (because of divorce). I, of course, wanted to write the ending where the MOM returns with the dog to rescue the boy. But in this story it is the dog who rescues the old lady from the fire and the brother who rescues the dog and the boy from the father. Close enough; someone who cares about the boy rescues both the boy and the thing he cares about most in the world.

The author says the story is based on a true story. It's not clear what parts are true, but I think the message stressed (besides Be a good person and things will work out for you) was that judging a dog by its breed is unfair. Not all pit bulls are vicious: some save lives. I agree in principle with this message, but wanted to add at the end: Not all dogs are heros, some are vicious. The protective mother bear in me also wanted to extend that lesson about being vicious not only to some dogs, but to some people...

In the end, I just told her that I, too, had enjoyed the book very much and had known some very sweet pit bulls myself. That it seemed what the author was saying was that you can make what you are from what you are given, kindness triumphs over meanness, and good events can emerge from what seems like disaster. Her take on it: "Maybe we should get a pit bull."

[Cole Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Dog Lost is a great book about a pitbull named Cash, who goes through some hard times. Mack's dad won the dog while he was playing poker and gave her to Mack. At first Mack and Cash did not know what to think of eachother that night but began to love eachother from the start. Mack's dad did not really like the dog in the first place, so when the dog did something bad he wanted to kill her.

Mack could not go anywhere with out getting yelled at. The first time Mack and Cash went to the park a lady yelled at them when her dog was the one going crazy she told Mack that Cash had no business in a public area. Then on the way home a lady yelled at him and told him if he did not leave from there she would call the cops.

I liked this book because I like dogs and Cash is just a loving dog that wanted to have a good home and to be loved. My favorite part of the book was when Darren fell in the well and Cash went in after him. Even though Darren had tried to be mean to Cash, she still helped him when he needed it. I liked that there were different perspectives shown about Cash, it wasn't just the boy who loved her. I liked that the dog showed that they aren't mean animals by nature, but that they can be mean if that is what they are taught. Which is what Darren tried to do to Cash in the middle of the book.

What I disliked about the book was that it kept me waiting until the end but never really finshed how Cash, Mack and Kid all got along. I hoped there was a sequel to this book but so far I haven't found it.

In conclusion, All dogs can be mean but depends on what kind of owner they have and if they are raised to be mean. The bylaws in the book said that pitbull dogs could not be in town but the reporter said that it didn't matter what kind of dog it was, that if someone wanted to make them mean, they could. In the end, the city didn't "ban" the animals but made it a requirement that they had to have a muzzle on if they were outside.If you like to read books about dogs and the relationships that can be formed with humans and other animals, I would reccommend this book. You won't be disappointed.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings out the truth concerning pit bulls. All about the sadness surrounding them as no one seems to want to give theses poor dogs a chance with life. Thrown away like garbage because the name humans have given them.
If you really think about it, pit bull dogs are no different from any other type of dog breed. And the name, "pit bull" refers to several groups of large terrier/mastiff/bull breeds that have been bred among each other. These dogs aren't any more vicious than any other kind of dog; you could train a golden retriever or a collie to be a fighter dog. The dangerous aura these dogs have is because of their owners. If a dog doesn't know how to fight or attack, it won't attack you if you are responsible and love him/her. But if you're irresponsible and train your dog to fight on purpose or threaten, abuse, or neglect the dog, the dog isn't going to show much loyalty to you and therefore most likely won't obey you without a fight. But that is the owner's fault, NOT the dog's. How can anyone say that a pit bull is a bad dog? He/she may look dangerous on the outside, but you have no idea of the dog's temperance inside. It could be a calm and good-natured dog. Basically, what I'm saying, is that it's stupid to assume a pit bull dog is bad unless you've actually met the dog itself. Just like you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a dog by its looks or the name a human gave it. There's nothing a dog can do about the humans' judgments.
So, this book is about a boy who has a pit bull puppy. The puppy who is so sweet and innocent, falls into the hands of the boy's drunkard of a dad and is tossed out into the streets. But the puppy, though labeled something unfair, refuses to give up to find her boy. This book proves how good pit bulls really are. I don't really want to spoil it for you, but in this book, the puppy becomes a hero. Several times.

Just give all dogs a chance. Don't listen to those misinformed people out there who tell you pit bulls are dangerous.

And while you're at it, hurry up and borrow this book! :D And thanks for reading my review.

[Daquane Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book I come to realize how precious a dog can be to a child. Reading this book I also realized how parents can change a lot, such as Mackenzie's father changing his habits when his mother passed away, and also when his father got the dog for him, it seem nice at first until he wanted the done gone. I mean how can you possibly show love to your child by getting him a pet that you won off of a gamble, so it's not like it was intentional for him to get the pit bull for his son. Also after reading this book my aspect of pit bull has changed, I always thought of them to be a violent pet an owner can get but after reading 'Dog Lost' I've perceived that pit bulls act upon what owner they have, and just like Mackenzie, 'Cash' acted upon the behavior of Mackenzie and Cash was a well behaved pit bull, and Mackenzie fell in love with her.
Of course I'll recommend this book to any reader, not just young readers but to older people, and those who have pets. Who wouldn't want to read about a book with a pit bull living on it's on and trying to find the owner who loved him the most, Mackenzie. This book really inspires a lot of people because Mackenzie if trying to finding his dog who fell in love with and it's erratic but it's touching at the same time because the in the dog's eyes it's trying to find Mackenzie while surviving on it's on, and while it's trying to surviving by herself, it's not being a unbalanced dog. This proves to a lot of people that pit bulls aren't bad dogs.

[Tonya Plank · Rating 5 out of 5]

From TO A MOUSE: An Animal Literature blog:

I saw this book in my local library and was immediately drawn to the title and cover. Written in 2008, and based on a true story, it’s a powerful tale of a pit bull puppy, Cash, who, in protecting her best friend, MacKenzie, angers the boy’s father, who hauls her off to the middle of nowhere to fend for herself. At first everyone is scared of the dog, since she’s considered a “dangerous breed,” but Cash is no vicious predator. Not only does she refuse to fight when she is captured by the leader of a horrid dog-fighting ring, but she ends up saving the lives of more than one human, as well as that of a cat used as bait by the dog fighters. Written by a Canadian writer, Ingrid Lee, the book was published at a time when Ontario was considering whether to ban the breed, which would have led to the euthanasia of entire shelters. Cash is a shining example of the ludicrous cruelty of such a law. And yet, I know from the Best Friends documentary, “The Champions,” about the rehabilitation of the Michael Vick dogs, that Ontario does have such a ban, so, sadly, it passed. I remember Montreal was deciding whether to enact something similar a year or two ago. It was put on hold then. This book reminds me to check up on that. I really hope it never passed. As “Dog Lost” shows, it is people who are the villains, not the dogs.

[Mary Jherene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read is called "Dog Lost" by Ingrid Lee. The reason why I chose this book is because when i read the summary, it was fantastic. The plot of this story is Will Cash ever find her boy again? Cash does find her owner when they were saving her from drowning. My favorite quote is, "Cash, come here, Cash. There's a good girl. I love you, Cash." The reason why I liked this quote is because it shows how much Cash's owner loves her. I think the author's writing style is amazing because the author described every detail of what happened to Mackenzie (Cash's owner) and Cash. The point of view is third person because the author used he, she, they, and other stuff that is like third person. I would recommend this book to those who like Ingrid Lee's books and those who like to read dog stories because it has a nice theme and it is a fast-paced tale that will make people that are fans of dog books read it.

[E. Adrian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers: Ok, this is a difficult review to write. While I think Lee conveyed the dog and his boy's relationship beautifully I couldn't get through more than half the book. Maybe I'm just sensitive because I own two rescues (one is a pit bull), but when the dad kicks the dog and throws it in the trunk and dumps it in the forest, I couldn't handle it. So I took a break from the book for a few days. Then when I tried to continue reading, I got to the part where those boys want to steal the dog to fight it for money I had to stop reading all together. I know it's a harsh reality but I'm not sure how appropriate this is for children if a 24 year old can't even get through it without having an emotional break down. I appreciate the effort by the author and respect the story but it's too intense for me.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mackenzie and Cash were the best of friends. Mackenzie’s Dad had brought the little runt home for the boy. From that moment on the two were inseparable.

People in the neighborhood were afraid of Cash. Even though he was gentle and smart, everyone just saw that he was a pit bull. In fact, the city was in the process of banning pit bulls saying that they were unsuitable as pets and dangerous.

One day, Mackenzie’s Dad did the unthinkable. He took Cash away and just dumped him. Mackenzie was devastated. How was the little dog with the big heart going to survive on the streets? What would Mackenzie do without his best friend? Most importantly, would these two friends ever find each other again.

[Kath Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching story about the love between 11 year old Makenzie and Cash, the pit bull puppy his dad wins in a gambling bet. It covers subjects such as neglect, alcoholism, animal cruelty and a timely fear of certain breeds of dogs. Graphic in some places, endearing, sad, but ultimately it has much redeeming value and a happy ending. The author portrays most things realistically (except perhaps the relationship between a stray tom cat and a dog!). Even though those things might be a bit hard to read, I found it a worthwhile venture.
If you liked Ann M. Martin's "Dog's Life:Autobiography of a stray" (also a YRCA nominee a couple of years ago), or even Old Yeller by Fred Gipson or Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, you might want to give this one a try.

[Emma Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dog Lost" by Ingrid lee is a very touching story about the relationship between a dog and a boy despite the boy's very abusive father. The author's descriptiveness makes the reader connect to the characters and realize how cruel some people can be.

Mackenzie, a 12 year old boy, receives a pit bull puppy that his father, James O'Rourke won in a card game. Mackenzie has always wanted a dog and immediately their bond is unbreakable. Throughout the story Mackenzie and Cash face many struggles in their quest to remain together.

I would recommend this book to older readers because the dog fighting scenes are too detailed and disturbing for younger readers. Overall I think it is a great book especially for dog lovers.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Изгубеното куче” (изд. „Унискорп”) може и да звучи като прозаично заглавие, взето от квартална обява за изчезнал домашен любимец, но всъщност детският роман на Ингрид Лий е красива и трогателна история, която нееднократно ме накара да подтискам напиращи сълзи. Отчасти вдъхновена от реални случки от живота на писателката и семейството й, отчасти изтъкана от вълнуващи младежки приключения, „Изгубеното куче” носи едновременно удоволствие и послание за читателите от всички възрасти. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":

https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Karen Arendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't think I would like this story because I thought the dog would not fare well. Pit bulls have long been considered dangerous dogs because they are used for fighting. The town in the story considered banning pit bulls. A boy named MacKenzie gets a pit bull that his abusive father won in a poker game. Mackenzie loves the dog, but when the dog bites the dad, the dad gets rid of the dog in a fit of anger. The dog learns to survive on his own and even manages to make a difference in others' lives. Fast paced, at times difficult to read what the dog goes through, but ultimately uplifting with a happy ending. Dog lovers will enjoy this story.

[Jenny Christen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dog Lost discusses a story about an 11-year old's tough life, with an abusive father and a new pit bull puppy that he receives while a pit bull ban is about to take place in his city.

I think this book would be for older ages of students, such as 6th grade and above since it discusses abuse of a child from his father and is filled with emotions that younger students wouldn't understand. This book appealed to me because I not only love dogs, but it sounded like it had a plot that might be suspenseful, which it was. I thought it was definitely a page-turner.

Citation: Lee, I. (2008). Dog lost. New York: Chicken House.