Paws to Protect: Dogs Saving Lives and Restoring Hope

by Sharon Sakson

Dogs have never been so widely used to protect human society as they are today. There are dogs on nearly every police force in the nation, working in immigration, customs, and fire departments—even for the IRS. Dogs are bomb sniffers, guardians, sentries, and arson detectors. They track live people and discover the dead. At border crossings and airports, they sniff for drugs, bombs, and contraband. They act as scouts, trackers, messengers, minefield clearers, booby trap detectors, tunnelers, water patrollers, lifeguards, and explosive seekers. The president of the United States goes nowhere until the Secret Service has had dogs probe the area he will visit. Dogs are tireless and faithful workers, and they don’t ask for much in return.
Paws to Protect is packed with true stories about the strong bonds that form between war dogs, police dogs, and Search and Rescue dogs and their handlers as they work together in often dangerous situations. Through author Sharon Sakson’s keenly drawn and thoughtful coverage of a subject often featured our news agencies’ front pages, Paws to Protect goes to the heart of the ancient dog-human relationship. Many stories in this volume will thrill readers as they cite the heroism of these animals, while others stories will tug at readers’ hearts. Compassionate without being sentimental, Sakson’s Paws to Protect is straightforward, thorough, and well documented.

Genres: Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2008

About the author

Sharon Sakson is a journalist; network news television producer and dog show judge. She is the author of six books, four about dogs. Her household includes two horses and ten dogs. She has raised top winning Whippets and Brussels Griffons. She volunteers as a puppy raiser for a service dog organization. She is the author of over two hundred articles, appearing in the New York Times, People magazine, Dogs in Review, Dog World, Dog News, Canine Chronicle, Topnotch Toys and other publications. She can be reached at healingpowerofdogs@mac.com."

Reviews

[Brigid · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the trenches of WWI to search and rescue to military police work to airport security, it's a dog's life. This book does a great job of describing the various ways in which dogs are trained and put to work by humans, often in very dangerous situations. Sakson takes us through the early days of military working dogs and the route to their many present-day jobs saving lives.
My major gripe is that there are no photographs, which I consider to be quite a downfall of this book.

[Rebecca Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about the history of using dogs in the military. As a dog trainer myself, it was very interesting to see how it all got started. And the stories about individual dogs were fantastic!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several interesting short story accounts of working dogs. I thought it was really pretty good.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stories that deserve more recognition and exposure. These dogs deserve respect and awareness in our culture, not just the military and law enforcement cultures.