Hugger to the Rescue

by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

A photographic profile of members of the Black Paws Search, Rescue & Avalanche Dogs team captures Hugger, Panda, Chelsie, and Hydra as the four Newfoundlands use their special training to help lost and injured victims in forests, the water, and snow.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

As a child, my favorite activity was exploring nature, especially finding animals like frogs, toads, and lizards. I kept tropical fish, had a dog, and loved riding horses. My love of animals led to a Ph.D. degree from U.C. Berkley in Zoology. In grad school I met and married fellow student Greg Patent. Our two sons, David and Jason, were born before we finished school. I wanted to use my training and my knowledge, but I also wanted to raise my sons and be there for them when they needed me. I decided that writing the kind of books I'd always loved reading was a good solution to my dilemma, and that turned out to be true. One of my favorite things is learning new "stuff," and every time I tackle a new book project I get to indulge myself in that passion. I'm a lucky gal!

Fast forward to the present. Our sons are grown and have their own families. We live in Missoula, MT, where Greg is now a food writer (http://www.thebakingwizard.com) and a radio personality (httpp://www.mtpr.org--look for Food Guys). My writing has expanded to other nonfiction topics, especially ones dealing with the Westward Expansion period of U.S. history. I've taught writing classes in many venues, visited schools in most U.S. states, attended many conferences for teachers and librarians, won a number of awards, and had great travel adventures in pursuit of my subject matter.

Reviews

[Donna Mork · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. The pictures made me smile. The Landseer Newfie looked so much like my Barnabas. I love all of the information it gives on the Newfoundland traits, their nature rescuing instinct, and their loving nature. I would recommend any dog lover to read this book. It is informative.

[Chandra Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the children's book my mom wrote! My mom and dad loved our dogs and I loved growing up with such amazing animals. I have over 20 brand new copies for anyone interested.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow Hugger the Newfoundland dog and his handlers as they train and work together to save people who have become lost in the wilderness.

Newfoundlands, the text explains, are gentle giants with seemingly a natural inclination to help people in distress. Newfie history includes heroic rescues by dogs with zero training in lifesaving skills. (There’s those breed traits again—can we please start acknowledging that they exist?)

One aspect of this book that some shelter workers may wince at is the fact that the handlers apparently breed Newfies, as well as train them. However, the relative scarcity of Newfies in shelters indicates that their fanciers may be a bit more responsible than those of many other breeds.