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One Good Dog
Adam March is a self-made Master of the Universe. He has it all: the beautiful wife, the high-powered job, the glittering circle of friends. But there is a price to be paid for all these trappings, and the pressure is mounting—until the day Adam makes a fatal mistake. His assistant leaves him a message with three words: your sister called. What no one knows is that Adam’s sister has been missing for decades. That she represents the excruciatingly painful past he has left behind. And that her absence has secretly tormented him all these years. When his assistant brushes off his request for an explanation in favor of her more pressing personal call, Adam loses it. And all hell breaks loose.
Adam is escorted from the building. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses the life he’s worked so hard to achieve. He doesn’t believe it is possible to sink any lower when he is assigned to work in a soup kitchen as a form of community service. But unbeknownst to Adam, this is where his life will intersect with Chance.
Adam is escorted from the building. He loses his job. He loses his wife. He loses the life he’s worked so hard to achieve. He doesn’t believe it is possible to sink any lower when he is assigned to work in a soup kitchen as a form of community service. But unbeknownst to Adam, this is where his life will intersect with Chance.
Chance is a mixed breed Pit Bull. He’s been born and raised to fight and seldom leaves the dirty basement where he is kept between fights. But Chance is not a victim or a monster. It is Chance’s unique spirit that helps him escape and puts him in the path of Adam.
What transpires is the story of one man, one dog, and how they save each other—in ways they never could have expected.
310 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2010
761 people are currently reading
19875 people want to read
About the author
Susan Wilson
22 books570 followersBorn 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 two grandsons - plus four step grands.
Lives in Oak Bluffs, MA, on Martha's Vineyard.
Those are the stats. I am a novelist, ten published, one in progress. I frequently contribute to the on-line magazine, Stay Thirsty.
Married, two grown daughters and a granddaughter and two grandsons - plus four step grands.
Lives in Oak Bluffs, MA, on Martha's Vineyard.
Those are the stats. I am a novelist, ten published, one in progress. I frequently contribute to the on-line magazine, Stay Thirsty.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,226 reviews
March 11, 2010
Anyone who has ever loved a dog, or anyone who just likes dogs, or cares about other living creatures, or appreciates a good love story, should read this book. And I defy anyone to read it without sobbing.
And, not incidentally, Michael Vick, the dogfighting football player, is the lowest form of scum on earth.
Just saying.
And, not incidentally, Michael Vick, the dogfighting football player, is the lowest form of scum on earth.
Just saying.
August 13, 2016
On the day that Adam March's corporation is to launch a hostile takeover of another company and elevate him to the CEO chair, an errant phone message causes him to lose it and slap his secretary in the face. As a result, the wealthy, Harvard-educated March is fired, his wife divorces him, and he's charged with and convicted of assault and sentenced to a year of community service serving meals to men at a homeless shelter. While trying to do a begrudging favor for one of the men from the shelter, Adam ends up as the reluctant owner of a pit bull who was rescued from a dog fighting ring. Adam wants to get rid of the dog as soon as possible and the dog plans to leave as soon as possible, but they eventually become devoted to each other, and Adam names the dog Chance because of course.
Yes, we know what the dog is planning. The dog narrates every third chapter or so. The dog thinks in English and has a philosophical outlook, as do most dogs in these kinds of books. Just once, when a writer wants to have a dog tell a story, I wish it would say, "woof woof can opener woof."
As I began reading this book, I started to make a list of the things that the author knows nothing about: business, law, human psychology, dog psychology, standard word usage, slang word usage, black people, white people, rich people, poor people -- I'm sure there were more things, but I was writing on my bookmark and ran out of space.
Every character is a stereotype, and at least in the case of the black characters, offensively so. Here, let me help.
Pro Tips for An Obviously Sheltered White Woman on Writing Books With Black Men as Characters
1. Don't call them boys.
2. They don't actually say things like, "get down with your bad self" unless, maybe, your book in set in 1970.
3. It's not necessary that, regardless of what else they're doing, they're also listening to music and bopping their heads at the same time.
4. It's not a good idea to talk about all the aromas that a dog is capable of discerning while sniffing sidewalks and alleys, and have it be dogs, cats, raccoons, moles, rats, black guys.
5. If this description of adult black men is a quote from your book, you've gone off the beam:
I almost quit reading after 50 pages, but I was worried about the dog. I will finish any book about a dog and watch any movie about Christmas, no matter how bad. And honestly, it got to the point where I was ignoring the overwrought writing style and obvious manipulation and simply waiting for the inevitable happy ending, when I got to these gem-filled paragraphs:
Now that's entertainment.
Not recommended for people who like dogs because of graphic descriptions of dog-fighting. Not recommended for people who like good writing because see above.
Yes, we know what the dog is planning. The dog narrates every third chapter or so. The dog thinks in English and has a philosophical outlook, as do most dogs in these kinds of books. Just once, when a writer wants to have a dog tell a story, I wish it would say, "woof woof can opener woof."
As I began reading this book, I started to make a list of the things that the author knows nothing about: business, law, human psychology, dog psychology, standard word usage, slang word usage, black people, white people, rich people, poor people -- I'm sure there were more things, but I was writing on my bookmark and ran out of space.
Every character is a stereotype, and at least in the case of the black characters, offensively so. Here, let me help.
Pro Tips for An Obviously Sheltered White Woman on Writing Books With Black Men as Characters
1. Don't call them boys.
2. They don't actually say things like, "get down with your bad self" unless, maybe, your book in set in 1970.
3. It's not necessary that, regardless of what else they're doing, they're also listening to music and bopping their heads at the same time.
4. It's not a good idea to talk about all the aromas that a dog is capable of discerning while sniffing sidewalks and alleys, and have it be dogs, cats, raccoons, moles, rats, black guys.
5. If this description of adult black men is a quote from your book, you've gone off the beam:
Since I'd been gone, the fine distinction between potential and corruption in these almost men had disappeared, and in its place, was sheer hostility. They reeked of it. They reeked of dog, of smoke, of malice. Of pizza and beer. Of the blood on their shoes. Of their own fear, which masked itself as anger. I hadn't realized before that they were much like the dogs in their cellar, guided by forces outside their control. Victims of their own breeding.
I almost quit reading after 50 pages, but I was worried about the dog. I will finish any book about a dog and watch any movie about Christmas, no matter how bad. And honestly, it got to the point where I was ignoring the overwrought writing style and obvious manipulation and simply waiting for the inevitable happy ending, when I got to these gem-filled paragraphs:
The dark terror of failure that plunged him into a soul-deep vortex must not happen again. Despite his proclamation that he is a new man, Adam knows that the vortex is only one bad moment away. Every thought, every action from now on has to keep him from that edge. He likens it to exercise: Every day he will strengthen. "I had a waking nightmare where I was visited by the ghosts of my life as it has been thus far. But today I have awakened to a new day. A new life. You represent the Bob Cratchit of the story, the humble clerk who understands that the good things in life are beyond price."
Adam watches a single tear slide out of the corner of Gina's eye, its contrail glistening in the morning light. He reaches across the counter and touches it, erasing its journey with a thumb. Gina reaches up and cradles the hand touching her face. She leans in and their lips meet over the divide of the counter.
Now that's entertainment.
Not recommended for people who like dogs because of graphic descriptions of dog-fighting. Not recommended for people who like good writing because see above.
November 21, 2015
A man, A dog.......better to be loved than powerful and feared.
On the most important day of his career, a frustrated, out of control Adam March gives his new (annoying) PA a slap on the face and his life is changed forever. With two years probation, loss of his heavyweight job and divorce from his rich-bitch of a wife on the horizon, Adam is assigned the embarrassing task of a community service job working for a local soup kitchen where he eventually loses a bit of his arrogance and gains a new perspective on life.
"ON THE OTHER PAW"..........
One Good Dog literally fights for his life while narrating his own sad and abusive life story (mom and pop included) hoping for a Chance to escape his cage and rough environment for a better one.
"If we had hands, we could break out of here."
Gobbled the pages right up in this touching story of man and beast who find a place in their hearts for each other. Great Read, but
August 27, 2010
All I can say is One Good Dog is One Good Book!
Have the Kleenex handy because you're going to need them!
Fantastic!!!!!
Have the Kleenex handy because you're going to need them!
Fantastic!!!!!
January 2, 2025
Catching up.
We read and discussed this in our Library Book Discussion group years ago.
And…It gave me a different appreciation for pitbull dogs.
But…I have had a personal experience with one that I will share at the end of my review which changes things for me.
Still…It doesn’t change how I feel about this book.
Premise: This is the story of Chance, a pitbull puppy that was raised in a puppy mill and then turned over into the world of dog fighting.
This is also the story of Adam a person who has destroyed his career and his marriage.
Violence and uncertainty surround both of these two, which don’t make for a very good beginning. They both seem to be running away – Chance from the people who will put him in the pit to fight again and Adam from the hurts of his past.
Then…Through some act of kindness, they come together.
And…This becomes their story of how lives can change.
The story was beautifully told.
It was one where readers rooted for both Chance and Adam.
Also…Readers could feel the pain and angst of the horrible life that was bestowed upon Chance. It definitely made me feel some compassion for his breed after reading this story.
But…Our personal story, if interested…
An incident occurred in our corgi dog, Oliver’s second year.
We were in our off-leash training cycle, having a leisurely beach walk with our dogs. Now, understand, Oliver is a very friendly boy. He loves everybody – people, and dogs.
So, when he saw this other dog, he wanted to greet him, and off he went, despite our cries of stop!
We were beside ourselves, and my husband went running quickly after him, while I stayed with my other dogs.
But…He wasn’t fast enough.
When suddenly…The dog took Oliver in his jaws and began shaking him. The owner did nothing to stop his dog. My husband was still running frantically to stop and get Oliver from the clutches of his dog, before something tragic happened.
When my husband, approached and asked for the owner to please help (please note this was all happening in fast-time), the owner splashed his beer in my husband’s face.
Granted, at this point, my husband was rather frantic, and his voice was probably begging rather loudly asking him to please help, because the man just stood there belligerently while it was happening. (My husband sensed he was also drunk, which didn’t help the situation, either.)
All my husband could do at this point, was try and distract the owner’s dog from Oliver so he would release him from his clutches, which he eventually did.
The incident probably took about 15 seconds. But it felt like minutes!
The owner did nothing but walk away from us with his dog, as we lifted our bleeding Oliver and rushed him back to our car and to emergency surgery.
Yes, he was a pitbull.
And… Thankfully, Oliver survived. He had deep puncture wounds to his neck and leg.
And…Gratefully, Oliver is still a loving, happy-go-lucky guy who still loves people and other dogs.
And yes, we take full responsibility for Oliver being off-leash, even though dogs could be, in this place. We were in training, and it was an awful situation that could have been prevented, if he were on leash. Unfortunately, we had no idea this would be the outcome.
Since that incident, I have been somewhat reluctant to be around pitbulls, recognizing that even if their owners teach them right, there is still an internal instinct that dogs have, that cannot be ignored.
I know sharing this incident is not part of the review…
But… It is part of my story. If interested, I have pictures of Oliver posted on my profile page. He is the blue merle, 4-year-old, cardigan corgi.
We read and discussed this in our Library Book Discussion group years ago.
And…It gave me a different appreciation for pitbull dogs.
But…I have had a personal experience with one that I will share at the end of my review which changes things for me.
Still…It doesn’t change how I feel about this book.
Premise: This is the story of Chance, a pitbull puppy that was raised in a puppy mill and then turned over into the world of dog fighting.
This is also the story of Adam a person who has destroyed his career and his marriage.
Violence and uncertainty surround both of these two, which don’t make for a very good beginning. They both seem to be running away – Chance from the people who will put him in the pit to fight again and Adam from the hurts of his past.
Then…Through some act of kindness, they come together.
And…This becomes their story of how lives can change.
The story was beautifully told.
It was one where readers rooted for both Chance and Adam.
Also…Readers could feel the pain and angst of the horrible life that was bestowed upon Chance. It definitely made me feel some compassion for his breed after reading this story.
But…Our personal story, if interested…
An incident occurred in our corgi dog, Oliver’s second year.
We were in our off-leash training cycle, having a leisurely beach walk with our dogs. Now, understand, Oliver is a very friendly boy. He loves everybody – people, and dogs.
So, when he saw this other dog, he wanted to greet him, and off he went, despite our cries of stop!
We were beside ourselves, and my husband went running quickly after him, while I stayed with my other dogs.
But…He wasn’t fast enough.
When suddenly…The dog took Oliver in his jaws and began shaking him. The owner did nothing to stop his dog. My husband was still running frantically to stop and get Oliver from the clutches of his dog, before something tragic happened.
When my husband, approached and asked for the owner to please help (please note this was all happening in fast-time), the owner splashed his beer in my husband’s face.
Granted, at this point, my husband was rather frantic, and his voice was probably begging rather loudly asking him to please help, because the man just stood there belligerently while it was happening. (My husband sensed he was also drunk, which didn’t help the situation, either.)
All my husband could do at this point, was try and distract the owner’s dog from Oliver so he would release him from his clutches, which he eventually did.
The incident probably took about 15 seconds. But it felt like minutes!
The owner did nothing but walk away from us with his dog, as we lifted our bleeding Oliver and rushed him back to our car and to emergency surgery.
Yes, he was a pitbull.
And… Thankfully, Oliver survived. He had deep puncture wounds to his neck and leg.
And…Gratefully, Oliver is still a loving, happy-go-lucky guy who still loves people and other dogs.
And yes, we take full responsibility for Oliver being off-leash, even though dogs could be, in this place. We were in training, and it was an awful situation that could have been prevented, if he were on leash. Unfortunately, we had no idea this would be the outcome.
Since that incident, I have been somewhat reluctant to be around pitbulls, recognizing that even if their owners teach them right, there is still an internal instinct that dogs have, that cannot be ignored.
I know sharing this incident is not part of the review…
But… It is part of my story. If interested, I have pictures of Oliver posted on my profile page. He is the blue merle, 4-year-old, cardigan corgi.
December 11, 2014
The most important day of Adam March's career was not off to a great beginning. Firstly, his alarm didn't go off on time, which meant there was no time for his morning run, which left him with very "me time" which he was going to need with such a hectic day ahead of him. Only once he arrived at work, Adam's day went from bad to worse within minutes. After getting a message from his secretary, Adam loses control and lashes out at her with slapping her across the face. He was on the brink of becoming the CEO of the corporation he worked so hard for, but instead, Adam found himself fired.
Adam's life was looking very bleak with no job, his wife divorces him and he has very little money left and on top of all of that he is charged with assault after slapping his secretary and is sentenced to twelve months of community service which is at a homeless shelter where he helps serve meals.
Chance is a pit bull cross who was born in a city cellar and his only purpose in life was to fight. He was not handled with any kindness or love and when he saw an escape route he took it. Only now he was faced with living on the street, until one day when he crosses paths with Adam. But how could Adam care for a dog when he could barely look after himself?
Being an animal lover and especially a dog lover, I really found this book hard to read at first and wasn't sure if I would get through the first few chapters. I'm afraid I'm no good when it comes to reading about animals being mistreated or in this case reading about dog fights, but I struggled on and I'm glad I did. A fabulous tale that will bring both laughter and tears to the reader. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, but please be warned that some pieces are quite graphic and may not be suitable for everyone. And remember to keep the tissues handy as you will require them.
Adam's life was looking very bleak with no job, his wife divorces him and he has very little money left and on top of all of that he is charged with assault after slapping his secretary and is sentenced to twelve months of community service which is at a homeless shelter where he helps serve meals.
Chance is a pit bull cross who was born in a city cellar and his only purpose in life was to fight. He was not handled with any kindness or love and when he saw an escape route he took it. Only now he was faced with living on the street, until one day when he crosses paths with Adam. But how could Adam care for a dog when he could barely look after himself?
Being an animal lover and especially a dog lover, I really found this book hard to read at first and wasn't sure if I would get through the first few chapters. I'm afraid I'm no good when it comes to reading about animals being mistreated or in this case reading about dog fights, but I struggled on and I'm glad I did. A fabulous tale that will bring both laughter and tears to the reader. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, but please be warned that some pieces are quite graphic and may not be suitable for everyone. And remember to keep the tissues handy as you will require them.
January 13, 2010
As a blue collar, middle class woman, I have absolutely nothing in common with Adam, the main character of this novel so it really is no wonder that I had a hard time relating to him. However, he is just plain unlikable nevertheless. He is rich, snobby, and looks down on people that are a little more "down on their luck." Yes, he comes from a rough childhood but that doesn't mean it is ok to judge others. I felt little pity for him as he has a nervous breakdown and loses his high paying job, his wife, and his bratty daughter.
Adam very very slowly starts to change throughout the novel as he volunteers in a homeless shelter (part of his community service) and realizes maybe he is no better than everyone else after all. And every couple of chapters switches to a dog's point of view. I loved these parts and I really felt for the dog, a pit bull bred to fight and kept in cellar. He escapes and his path crosses with Adam's.
Now you have two outcasts of society. A man with a sullied reputation and a former fighting pit bull. Can they help each other somehow? Or will their pasts keep coming back on them?
I HATED the ending. I HATED the daughter. I never grew very fond of Adam, but I sure did love that dog. Three stars.
Adam very very slowly starts to change throughout the novel as he volunteers in a homeless shelter (part of his community service) and realizes maybe he is no better than everyone else after all. And every couple of chapters switches to a dog's point of view. I loved these parts and I really felt for the dog, a pit bull bred to fight and kept in cellar. He escapes and his path crosses with Adam's.
Now you have two outcasts of society. A man with a sullied reputation and a former fighting pit bull. Can they help each other somehow? Or will their pasts keep coming back on them?
I HATED the ending. I HATED the daughter. I never grew very fond of Adam, but I sure did love that dog. Three stars.
April 23, 2016
Ένα βιβλίο απολύτως ανθρώπινο, στα πλαίσια της πραγματικότητας οπου οι άνθρωποι -όπως ο ήρωας μας- μπορεί να είναι σνομπ, παράξενοι, εργασιομανείς με δόσεις υστερίας και ταυτόχρονα να είναι καλοί άνθρωποι, διότι η ζωή δεν είναι μόνο μαύρο και άσπρο. Το ωραίο στην ιστορία του ήρωα, είναι ότι δεν τον έπιασε ή καλοσύνη επειδή τον επισκέφτηκαν τρία φαντάσματα, δεν είδε άγγελο ούτε ένα θαύμα, αυτό που του συνέβη είναι και πάλι η ζωή με τα πάνω και τα κάτω της, κάτι που τον έκανε να ανακαλύψει τα λάθη του αργά και σταδιακά, δεν υπήρξε καμία αποκάλυψη, αλλά μια κρίση, μια απόλυση, ένα διαζύγιο, μια ποινή και ένας… σκύλος. Ένας σκύλος που δεν ήταν ποτέ από τους τυχερούς, αντιθέτως ήταν κακοποιημένος ψυχικά και σωματικά. Κ εδώ είναι οι αντιρρήσεις μου, και αν μπορούσα θα έβαζα 3,5/5 δεν είμαι τόσο σίγουρη ότι η πρωτοπρόσωπη αφήγηση του Τσανς ήταν πάντα πετυχημένη, δυστυχώς δεν μπορώ να αναλύσω τους λόγους που με οδηγούν στο συμπέρασμα αυτό γιατί θα χρειαστεί να αναλύσω όλο το βιβλίο. Παρ’ όλα αυτά μου άρεσε πολύ, με συγκίνησε, δέθηκα και το προτείνω, όχι μόνο στους φιλόζωους.
December 9, 2017
Yeah, I'm such a sap for a good old dog story. Got me for sure! I can imagine all of it about the humans in the tale, and I really enjoyed the dog's POV.
July 20, 2012
This is the first review I have written. I don't normally write reviews because I"m not a good writer myself and always have trouble putting my feelings into words. But, I felt I needed to say something about this book. I am a world-class dog lover, and will read pretty much anything that has to do with a dog. But I also love well-written books. I abandoned this book before finishing it, so some may say it is unfair of me to judge it, having not seen the story through to the end. But I could see where the story was headed and just couldn't take reading about the Chance, the dog, enduring more suffering. The first time I came to the point of giving up on this book, it was simply because it was so poorly written, and Adam was such a supremely unlikeable character. As other reviewers have mentioned, it was entirely predictable and extremely cliche. I finally let out a sigh of exasperation. said "Oh, to hell with it" and started my next book. But, giving up on a book is something I don't like to do. I can think back to many books that I did not like in the beginning, but my opinion had changed completely by the time I reached the end. So, I grudgingly went beck to it. But when I reached the part where the "boys" started hanging around the chainlink-fenced back yard of the homeless shelter where Chance spent his days while Adam was working inside, I could see where the book was headed and I did NOT want to go there.
If you appreciate really well-written books, you will not like this one. If you love dogs, you will not like this one.
If you appreciate really well-written books, you will not like this one. If you love dogs, you will not like this one.
May 15, 2016
Fresh starts, we all need them, sometimes more than once. So it goes with a man named Adam and a dog named Chance. Both find themselves at the end of their respective roads, a couple times. The only real difference is that Chance finds himself at the end of his road through no fault of his own.
Adam, is a rich man. A self made man with all the trappings of success and then some.Not too long into one of his busy days, he snaps. He delivers a slap to the face of his secretary who has been(he feels) blatantly ignoring his repeated requests for her attention. And in that instant, he is without a job and a pariah to every one in his life. So begins his journey to self awareness and healing.
Chance is a pit bull, a fighting dog. The story he tells of his sad and colorful life is compelling and heart breaking. Rescued from his fighting masters, he enjoys a brief stint as a street dog, then finds himself on death row at a local shelter. It is there he and Adam cross paths and begin their journey together.
The story is told by Adam and Chance. The pages practically turned themselves. Happy endings are never guaranteed in life and this book makes that abundantly clear.Life is rarely fair. But there are new beginnings to be had, if one is open to them. I adored this book, even though it broke my heart more than once.
Adam, is a rich man. A self made man with all the trappings of success and then some.Not too long into one of his busy days, he snaps. He delivers a slap to the face of his secretary who has been(he feels) blatantly ignoring his repeated requests for her attention. And in that instant, he is without a job and a pariah to every one in his life. So begins his journey to self awareness and healing.
Chance is a pit bull, a fighting dog. The story he tells of his sad and colorful life is compelling and heart breaking. Rescued from his fighting masters, he enjoys a brief stint as a street dog, then finds himself on death row at a local shelter. It is there he and Adam cross paths and begin their journey together.
The story is told by Adam and Chance. The pages practically turned themselves. Happy endings are never guaranteed in life and this book makes that abundantly clear.Life is rarely fair. But there are new beginnings to be had, if one is open to them. I adored this book, even though it broke my heart more than once.
February 24, 2012
"But when I felt those tremors, heard his raspy voice, I realized that I was still needed, maybe as much as ever. I had chosen this one and I owed it to him to see him through this new pain. It's my job; I'm a pet."
I am an animal lover. They give true unconditional love. They don't judge you and are always there for you. I believe they can heal emotional wounds. That is what happened to Adam in this book.
Of course this was a predictable book. A spoiled rich guy had to learn humility and what better way to do that then to pick up the poop from your dog. That wasn't exactly what happened but it sums it up in a nut shell.
Adam and his animal counterpart Chance were both from damaged pasts. They needed someone to believe in the good they had in them despite what was portrayed by their hard exteriors. They needed to be looked at without disappointing eyes. They fulfilled this for each other.
I think a lot of readers were too critical of Adam. He had a bad childhood. His father voluntarily gave him up to social services and he was in 12 different foster homes with some abusive people and was never adopted. His sister Veronica abandoned him too when he was 5. She ran away. He was all alone and he developed coping mechanisms and the only thing that motivated him was the desire to get an education and be successful so he could not have to endure this ever again. Well, kudos for him for becoming a millionaire all on his own with no help. This is pretty hard to do. So he got a big head and lived a material life that didn't fulfill him. He lost it all because of unresolved issues from his childhood. His anger issues caused him to slap the face of his secretary and was sentenced to community service at a food kitchen. So he did undergo changes and he learned humility. Cut him some slack and give the guy some credit. He became the man he was meant to be. I was glad he found himself and got closure to his unresolved childhood conflict. He got closer to his daughter and got a girlfriend that liked him for who he was rather than how much money had.
That being said, I don't think the author did a great job with the details of the story, the reader pretty much had to read the lines and fill in the missing parts because of how we knew it would turn out. It lacked Adam's emotional connection with the dog, which was the whole point of the book. We know he rescued the dog, but there weren't much emotional scenes with them, nor enough interaction between the two. It seemed like Adam changed mostly because of the food kitchen and Gina rather than his relationship with the dog. If all the dog's parts were removed, Adam would have still changed. We knew the dog changed Adam only because of the title and common sense rather than by the author's good writing.
I felt sorry for Chance the whole story. His story did not get enough attention. His impact on Adam wasn't portrayed as well as it could have been. Also, I hated the ending. I don't see why that needed to happen. And once again, the impact on Adam wasn't really talked about and it should have been. Where was Adam's reaction?
This story was more about Adam than it was about Adam and his dog. The dog just so happened to be there even though he was the best part of the story. This was a missed opportunity. This was the heart of the story. I didn't feel totally sorry for a rich guy with Daddy issues but I sure felt heartbroken over a pit bull raised to fight and die in the pit. He is the one that didn't get much of a Chance and he deserved it most of all.
I am an animal lover. They give true unconditional love. They don't judge you and are always there for you. I believe they can heal emotional wounds. That is what happened to Adam in this book.
Of course this was a predictable book. A spoiled rich guy had to learn humility and what better way to do that then to pick up the poop from your dog. That wasn't exactly what happened but it sums it up in a nut shell.
Adam and his animal counterpart Chance were both from damaged pasts. They needed someone to believe in the good they had in them despite what was portrayed by their hard exteriors. They needed to be looked at without disappointing eyes. They fulfilled this for each other.
I think a lot of readers were too critical of Adam. He had a bad childhood. His father voluntarily gave him up to social services and he was in 12 different foster homes with some abusive people and was never adopted. His sister Veronica abandoned him too when he was 5. She ran away. He was all alone and he developed coping mechanisms and the only thing that motivated him was the desire to get an education and be successful so he could not have to endure this ever again. Well, kudos for him for becoming a millionaire all on his own with no help. This is pretty hard to do. So he got a big head and lived a material life that didn't fulfill him. He lost it all because of unresolved issues from his childhood. His anger issues caused him to slap the face of his secretary and was sentenced to community service at a food kitchen. So he did undergo changes and he learned humility. Cut him some slack and give the guy some credit. He became the man he was meant to be. I was glad he found himself and got closure to his unresolved childhood conflict. He got closer to his daughter and got a girlfriend that liked him for who he was rather than how much money had.
That being said, I don't think the author did a great job with the details of the story, the reader pretty much had to read the lines and fill in the missing parts because of how we knew it would turn out. It lacked Adam's emotional connection with the dog, which was the whole point of the book. We know he rescued the dog, but there weren't much emotional scenes with them, nor enough interaction between the two. It seemed like Adam changed mostly because of the food kitchen and Gina rather than his relationship with the dog. If all the dog's parts were removed, Adam would have still changed. We knew the dog changed Adam only because of the title and common sense rather than by the author's good writing.
I felt sorry for Chance the whole story. His story did not get enough attention. His impact on Adam wasn't portrayed as well as it could have been. Also, I hated the ending. I don't see why that needed to happen. And once again, the impact on Adam wasn't really talked about and it should have been. Where was Adam's reaction?
This story was more about Adam than it was about Adam and his dog. The dog just so happened to be there even though he was the best part of the story. This was a missed opportunity. This was the heart of the story. I didn't feel totally sorry for a rich guy with Daddy issues but I sure felt heartbroken over a pit bull raised to fight and die in the pit. He is the one that didn't get much of a Chance and he deserved it most of all.
June 9, 2017
I really enjoyed this book! It is about a male protagonist who is a hard-core arrogant businessman. Something happens very early on in the book that shakes his world and completely changes his life. The book is really about his journey to finding himself, forgiving himself, forgiving others, growing, changing, etc. Along the way, he winds up meeting and eventually adopting a beaten down pitbull dog who used to be fought by a bunch of punks. These two misfits wind up getting thrown together. There's a great main plot line, and lots of good subplots also. So this isn't really just about adopting a dog at all. In fact, it's mostly about the male protagonist. A really great quick read.
March 23, 2011
I love dogs and have read a lot of dog books, but none that kept me glued to the book and at the end, I was sobbing.
Adam March is in the higher echelons of a company in line to be CEO and then he slaps his secretary. He loses his job and his family and most of his money. He is sentenced to serve a year's community service at a men't homeless shelter.
A pit bull is trained to be a fighter until he is injured too badly to fight. He escapes as the men try to take him away. Out on the streets, he fends for himself until his path intersects with Adam March. They have a loving relationship until a man, angry at Adam, purposely leaves the gate open in the yard behind the shelter. The dog is once again on the streets until the person running the dog fights spies him and captures him. Adam is unable to find the dog.
The last of the book tells about Adam and his background and the reasoning behind the slap, but by that time, I didn't care about what happened to Adam. I skipped those pages and, with tears pouring down my face, skipped ahead to find out what happened to the dog.
I won't give away the ending. This is a must read for dog lovers and for animal lovers in general.
Adam March is in the higher echelons of a company in line to be CEO and then he slaps his secretary. He loses his job and his family and most of his money. He is sentenced to serve a year's community service at a men't homeless shelter.
A pit bull is trained to be a fighter until he is injured too badly to fight. He escapes as the men try to take him away. Out on the streets, he fends for himself until his path intersects with Adam March. They have a loving relationship until a man, angry at Adam, purposely leaves the gate open in the yard behind the shelter. The dog is once again on the streets until the person running the dog fights spies him and captures him. Adam is unable to find the dog.
The last of the book tells about Adam and his background and the reasoning behind the slap, but by that time, I didn't care about what happened to Adam. I skipped those pages and, with tears pouring down my face, skipped ahead to find out what happened to the dog.
I won't give away the ending. This is a must read for dog lovers and for animal lovers in general.
February 17, 2018
Feb 17, 2018
Second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. I’m re-posting a 2012 review in honour of the Year of the Dog. Wishing all my friends who are celebrating a great doggie year. Woof woof!
Anyone who has ever had a pet dog he or she loves will find Susan Wilson’s “One Good Dog” a heartwarming read. The story is alternately told from the perspective of two narrators: man versus dog. The first is a third-person account by Adam March, a top executive whose life spun out of control in one rash act and he was sentenced to community service in a homeless shelter. The second is a first-person account by Chance, a scarred, beleaguered, pit bull that escaped a dog ring. Rarely does one hear and see the world from the vantage point of a dog, which makes this somewhat refreshing. Adam and Chance were haplessly thrown together and although they were unlikely companions, they became soul mates. Adam is hard to like but Chance is one sweet dog and clearly the hero of this story. “One good dog” may not be great fiction but it is a very readable, feel-good book. Bring it with you while on vacation.
Second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. I’m re-posting a 2012 review in honour of the Year of the Dog. Wishing all my friends who are celebrating a great doggie year. Woof woof!
Anyone who has ever had a pet dog he or she loves will find Susan Wilson’s “One Good Dog” a heartwarming read. The story is alternately told from the perspective of two narrators: man versus dog. The first is a third-person account by Adam March, a top executive whose life spun out of control in one rash act and he was sentenced to community service in a homeless shelter. The second is a first-person account by Chance, a scarred, beleaguered, pit bull that escaped a dog ring. Rarely does one hear and see the world from the vantage point of a dog, which makes this somewhat refreshing. Adam and Chance were haplessly thrown together and although they were unlikely companions, they became soul mates. Adam is hard to like but Chance is one sweet dog and clearly the hero of this story. “One good dog” may not be great fiction but it is a very readable, feel-good book. Bring it with you while on vacation.
December 20, 2021
This book was on a list of 100 best dog books. I thought it was great so i wouldn't dispute that other than the difficulty of comparing different types of books like fiction versus nonfiction.
Like others have said, love a good redemption story. Good involvement of the dog. The portions written from the dogs point of view are not out of line of believable. Short sex paragraph. Some dog fighting aspects. The story was good and i really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.
Like others have said, love a good redemption story. Good involvement of the dog. The portions written from the dogs point of view are not out of line of believable. Short sex paragraph. Some dog fighting aspects. The story was good and i really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.
March 24, 2015
I've read several Doggie narrated stories .. LOVED & enjoyed them all. But this one was truly different ..
I actually had difficulty in the beginning with Adam March's narrration, capsuling his life .. ie his attitude / his views .. But I kept being drawn into the book, trying to send Adam hope ..support.. totally WILLING him to want sweet doggie Chance.
I found the book to be very well written and will look forward to reading her next "doggie" book: THE DOG WHO SAVED ME .. :)
I actually had difficulty in the beginning with Adam March's narrration, capsuling his life .. ie his attitude / his views .. But I kept being drawn into the book, trying to send Adam hope ..support.. totally WILLING him to want sweet doggie Chance.
I found the book to be very well written and will look forward to reading her next "doggie" book: THE DOG WHO SAVED ME .. :)
August 8, 2025
This was recommended to me from a friend, and since Hoopla had it readily available, I snagged it, and listened to it over the course of 2 days.
I am an animal lover, which may be why I don't generally enjoy reading books about animals. Either the author gets animal behavior way wrong, or they tend to make me annoyed or angry for one reason or another. (TELL ME why I read two animal-focused fiction books this week?? Who even am I?)
I knew that this book was about a dog rescued from a dog-fighting ring, and so I was prepared to hate all of humanity for a while after finishing. I was surprised to not feel that way after finishing this one, and only hate about a quarter of humanity. Baby steps.
But, now it's been a few days, and the more I think about this book, the more conflicted I am about it. Spoilery stuff to follow as I discuss this book - so read on if you choose:
While I was listening, I didn't hate the dog POV chapters. But a few days post-read, they feel very anthropomorphized. Not so much "dog thoughts" as "thoughts if the dog was capable of human thought". If a dog has no concept of XYZ human emotion or comprehension or psychoanalysis, etc... why is the dog TELLING me that is the case? Shouldn't it actually be apparent because of the omission of those things from the POV narrative? Wouldn't it be an unknown unknown instead of a KNOWN unknown if a dog cannot know or conceive of it?
Still, I didn't hate it. What I did hate for much of the book was Adam. OMG IF EVER A CHARACTER WAS IN NEED OF A THROAT PUNCH, IT WAS HIM. Smarmy, cocky, full of himself, just all around unbearable and insufferable dickwad. The scene at the beginning introducing him, where he's getting more and more and more agitated by his assistant reading her own emails instead of sitting primly in his office waiting for his instruction was calculated to make him as unlikable as it was possible to be - and it was successful. He claims she was ignoring him in favor of humorous personal emails, but I'm gonna call bullshit on that, because any employee of a high-strung, anal retentive, micromanager boss like him will jump right on his bullshit demands or risk being fired. He made it quite clear, in his own self-aggrandizing assessment of his quality as a CEO candidate, just how intolerant of (and intolerable to) "underlings" he was.
So of course he blamed HER for his violence. SHE wasn't ready for his demands. SHE ignored him for her emails. SHE held up her "just a minute" finger at him. SHE wrote the wrong message on the note. It should have read SISTER IN LAW, not SISTER. Except... if you are known not to have any sister BUT a sister-in-law... would it not seem perfectly reasonable to say that in a simple missed call message? Who would assume that would send someone off the deep end?
I don't have a sister. I do have a sister-in-law. If someone said "your sister called", I would assume they meant her, even if it was technically inaccurate.
Adam's sister ran away as a teenager, 40 years previous, and he has had no contact with her since then - not one word. He received a message that said "your sister called", and instead of A) thinking immediately of the most logical "sister" this could be (sister in law), or B) getting happily excited that maybe he was going to be able to reconnect with his long lost family member... he chose C) having a violent outburst and assaulting his assistant.
Whooo-eee... This guy. Definitely a contender for worst boss ever. So he's fired, convicted of assault, sentenced to community service, his wife leaves him and takes all the money, multiple houses, his daughter, all their friends and basically leaves him to be the sad, lonely excuse of a human he always was underneath all the money and power that shielded him from having to acknowledge it.
So the characterization of Adam to need redemption... VERY on point.
He's sent to do community service at a homeless shelter in order to humble him some, and while there, he promises to find a man's dog that has been missing after a storm. This man and his dog only have each other, and are bonded. Of course Adam doesn't understand that at all, and after learning that the dog he was looking for has already been put down, he takes a "close enough" dog, and tries to foist it on the man. As though just any dog will do, just swap it out for a new one - what's the difference?
Understandably, the man balks, is offended and outraged that he would think that his best friend is so easily replaced. So Adam ends up with the dog, fully intending to return it to the shelter and be rid of it. Only winter weather gets in the way, and the cute animal loving woman across the street helpfully informs Adam that a pitbull who has a history of fighting is not adoptable and will simply be euthanized, so if he returns the dog, he will be condemning it to death. He keeps the dog. She gives him a training book.
Time passes, Adam and the dog, which he names "Chance" (because he gave him one, get it?), bond, learn about and from each other, and awwww ... heart is warming! But then of course, karma has to come for Adam, and he ends up being the one with the lost dog, and the panic of hoping to find him before he gets hurt or killed or picked up by the authorities who will just put him down.
He doesn't, and Chance ends up back where he started, only this time, not as the alpha fighter, but as the hobbled bait dog he used to scorn, and then is dumped when he's no longer useful. Adam is notified that his dog has been found, but is in rough shape - torn up, broken, bloody, unlikely to make it, and Adam races to him.
Here the book leaves the reader in the dark for a while about Chance's fate. It shifts gears and leaves us wondering... only to pan back over and show us Chance, scarred, but happy, waiting for Adam in the car. Then we get one last Chance POV chapter that talks about how he limps, and is achy when the weather is cold, but he's back with his guy, so life is good.
HMPH.
I know that this is supposed to be the happy ending everyone roots for. I know that this is supposed to make me all warm and fuzzy and "YAY! back together!" and whatnot. And I did admit that I felt that a bit at first. But, again, the more I think about it, the more conflicted I am.
I am a quality of life animal advocate. I HATE when humans selfishly put their own needs over the realistic expectation of quality of life for their "beloved" pet. I had this issue with London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency as well, when one of the pet owners in the book just "couldn't" face their dog dying, and let it die at home, possibly suffering, rather than ensuring a peaceful and loving end for it.
I am currently in that phase of consideration for a pet of my own. I have been having this conversation for years now with my vet, after we had to make the decision to euthanize our sick 15 year old cat, and our remaining elderly cat is now 18 with kidney and thyroid disease. I spent $1500 this week on vet visits between one of my younger cats' dental issues, and my 18 year old girl's bloodwork to check her levels and gauge whether her time is near.
This is what you do for animals you love, that you are supposed to advocate for. I literally just got off the phone with my vet with her test results (a little elevated, but still holding pretty strong, and no cause for a change to her routines - good news!), and he and I are on the exact same page that when it looks like her quality of life suffers, we will make sure that she crosses that rainbow surrounded by those who love her and completely at peace to ensure that she doesn't.
And it will be hard and heartbreaking, and it will hurt a lot and for a long time. It's been 4 years since we lost Alfie, and I still miss him all the time. But I know that I will have given my pets the best life and death that it is in my power to give.
Anyway, so, when the "happy ending" of this book has Adam presumably doing everything money and/or lawsuit demands can do (if past behavior is any indication) to save the dog who is on death's door, with massive injuries and trauma... I can't quite bring myself to feel good about that. I see it as him manifesting his selfishness once again. Focusing on himself. HIS loss. Not Chance's pain, or future prospects. I find myself wondering how much pain Chance is really in, how hard that recovery was, how much of it he hid (as animals do). We aren't given a post-injury, pre-recovery POV voice for Chance to know how he feels, and even if we had one, that's fiction. Wish-fulfillment to justify the ending. In reality, we don't get that. Adam wouldn't have had that. He could only look at his battered dog, hear the laundry list of injuries, and choose how to proceed.
We don't get to see Adam's thought process here. We don't get to know how he came to his decision - just that Chance thumped his tail once when Adam spoke to him. We don't know what the conversation with the vet was, or if there even was one before Adam went all Alphadam and demanded that the vet fix his dog or face his wrath.
This is the first animal Adam has ever had, the first dog that Adam has felt any connection to. I can only imagine him thinking that this is the right course - that you do what's needed to save the dog who saved your humanity. And maybe it is. MAYBE. I don't know. My last thoughts of Chance are questions about his REAL prospects for a good life and that makes me sad.
So... while this is superficially a feel good, happy ending book... for me, it's just not. I can't quite stop the concern for the dog's unspoken potential pain from bleeding in and tainting it. If the author had given us those details though - the vet conversation, the thought process, the concern for Chance's future... I could be satisfied with that. Without it, it's just not quite enough for me to be told it's all good.
One thing that I think was really well done was showing Adam slowly become a better person. It wasn't just "man save dog, dog save man, man save dog again" - it was a gradual evolution that I didn't even notice was really happening until Adam was suddenly someone I was empathizing with. And I do think that takes some skill to do.
So, overall, I think this one falls somewhere in the middle of the road for me. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.
I am an animal lover, which may be why I don't generally enjoy reading books about animals. Either the author gets animal behavior way wrong, or they tend to make me annoyed or angry for one reason or another. (TELL ME why I read two animal-focused fiction books this week?? Who even am I?)
I knew that this book was about a dog rescued from a dog-fighting ring, and so I was prepared to hate all of humanity for a while after finishing. I was surprised to not feel that way after finishing this one, and only hate about a quarter of humanity. Baby steps.
But, now it's been a few days, and the more I think about this book, the more conflicted I am about it. Spoilery stuff to follow as I discuss this book - so read on if you choose:
While I was listening, I didn't hate the dog POV chapters. But a few days post-read, they feel very anthropomorphized. Not so much "dog thoughts" as "thoughts if the dog was capable of human thought". If a dog has no concept of XYZ human emotion or comprehension or psychoanalysis, etc... why is the dog TELLING me that is the case? Shouldn't it actually be apparent because of the omission of those things from the POV narrative? Wouldn't it be an unknown unknown instead of a KNOWN unknown if a dog cannot know or conceive of it?
Still, I didn't hate it. What I did hate for much of the book was Adam. OMG IF EVER A CHARACTER WAS IN NEED OF A THROAT PUNCH, IT WAS HIM. Smarmy, cocky, full of himself, just all around unbearable and insufferable dickwad. The scene at the beginning introducing him, where he's getting more and more and more agitated by his assistant reading her own emails instead of sitting primly in his office waiting for his instruction was calculated to make him as unlikable as it was possible to be - and it was successful. He claims she was ignoring him in favor of humorous personal emails, but I'm gonna call bullshit on that, because any employee of a high-strung, anal retentive, micromanager boss like him will jump right on his bullshit demands or risk being fired. He made it quite clear, in his own self-aggrandizing assessment of his quality as a CEO candidate, just how intolerant of (and intolerable to) "underlings" he was.
So of course he blamed HER for his violence. SHE wasn't ready for his demands. SHE ignored him for her emails. SHE held up her "just a minute" finger at him. SHE wrote the wrong message on the note. It should have read SISTER IN LAW, not SISTER. Except... if you are known not to have any sister BUT a sister-in-law... would it not seem perfectly reasonable to say that in a simple missed call message? Who would assume that would send someone off the deep end?
I don't have a sister. I do have a sister-in-law. If someone said "your sister called", I would assume they meant her, even if it was technically inaccurate.
Adam's sister ran away as a teenager, 40 years previous, and he has had no contact with her since then - not one word. He received a message that said "your sister called", and instead of A) thinking immediately of the most logical "sister" this could be (sister in law), or B) getting happily excited that maybe he was going to be able to reconnect with his long lost family member... he chose C) having a violent outburst and assaulting his assistant.
Whooo-eee... This guy. Definitely a contender for worst boss ever. So he's fired, convicted of assault, sentenced to community service, his wife leaves him and takes all the money, multiple houses, his daughter, all their friends and basically leaves him to be the sad, lonely excuse of a human he always was underneath all the money and power that shielded him from having to acknowledge it.
So the characterization of Adam to need redemption... VERY on point.
He's sent to do community service at a homeless shelter in order to humble him some, and while there, he promises to find a man's dog that has been missing after a storm. This man and his dog only have each other, and are bonded. Of course Adam doesn't understand that at all, and after learning that the dog he was looking for has already been put down, he takes a "close enough" dog, and tries to foist it on the man. As though just any dog will do, just swap it out for a new one - what's the difference?
Understandably, the man balks, is offended and outraged that he would think that his best friend is so easily replaced. So Adam ends up with the dog, fully intending to return it to the shelter and be rid of it. Only winter weather gets in the way, and the cute animal loving woman across the street helpfully informs Adam that a pitbull who has a history of fighting is not adoptable and will simply be euthanized, so if he returns the dog, he will be condemning it to death. He keeps the dog. She gives him a training book.
Time passes, Adam and the dog, which he names "Chance" (because he gave him one, get it?), bond, learn about and from each other, and awwww ... heart is warming! But then of course, karma has to come for Adam, and he ends up being the one with the lost dog, and the panic of hoping to find him before he gets hurt or killed or picked up by the authorities who will just put him down.
He doesn't, and Chance ends up back where he started, only this time, not as the alpha fighter, but as the hobbled bait dog he used to scorn, and then is dumped when he's no longer useful. Adam is notified that his dog has been found, but is in rough shape - torn up, broken, bloody, unlikely to make it, and Adam races to him.
Here the book leaves the reader in the dark for a while about Chance's fate. It shifts gears and leaves us wondering... only to pan back over and show us Chance, scarred, but happy, waiting for Adam in the car. Then we get one last Chance POV chapter that talks about how he limps, and is achy when the weather is cold, but he's back with his guy, so life is good.
HMPH.
I know that this is supposed to be the happy ending everyone roots for. I know that this is supposed to make me all warm and fuzzy and "YAY! back together!" and whatnot. And I did admit that I felt that a bit at first. But, again, the more I think about it, the more conflicted I am.
I am a quality of life animal advocate. I HATE when humans selfishly put their own needs over the realistic expectation of quality of life for their "beloved" pet. I had this issue with London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency as well, when one of the pet owners in the book just "couldn't" face their dog dying, and let it die at home, possibly suffering, rather than ensuring a peaceful and loving end for it.
I am currently in that phase of consideration for a pet of my own. I have been having this conversation for years now with my vet, after we had to make the decision to euthanize our sick 15 year old cat, and our remaining elderly cat is now 18 with kidney and thyroid disease. I spent $1500 this week on vet visits between one of my younger cats' dental issues, and my 18 year old girl's bloodwork to check her levels and gauge whether her time is near.
This is what you do for animals you love, that you are supposed to advocate for. I literally just got off the phone with my vet with her test results (a little elevated, but still holding pretty strong, and no cause for a change to her routines - good news!), and he and I are on the exact same page that when it looks like her quality of life suffers, we will make sure that she crosses that rainbow surrounded by those who love her and completely at peace to ensure that she doesn't.
And it will be hard and heartbreaking, and it will hurt a lot and for a long time. It's been 4 years since we lost Alfie, and I still miss him all the time. But I know that I will have given my pets the best life and death that it is in my power to give.
Anyway, so, when the "happy ending" of this book has Adam presumably doing everything money and/or lawsuit demands can do (if past behavior is any indication) to save the dog who is on death's door, with massive injuries and trauma... I can't quite bring myself to feel good about that. I see it as him manifesting his selfishness once again. Focusing on himself. HIS loss. Not Chance's pain, or future prospects. I find myself wondering how much pain Chance is really in, how hard that recovery was, how much of it he hid (as animals do). We aren't given a post-injury, pre-recovery POV voice for Chance to know how he feels, and even if we had one, that's fiction. Wish-fulfillment to justify the ending. In reality, we don't get that. Adam wouldn't have had that. He could only look at his battered dog, hear the laundry list of injuries, and choose how to proceed.
We don't get to see Adam's thought process here. We don't get to know how he came to his decision - just that Chance thumped his tail once when Adam spoke to him. We don't know what the conversation with the vet was, or if there even was one before Adam went all Alphadam and demanded that the vet fix his dog or face his wrath.
This is the first animal Adam has ever had, the first dog that Adam has felt any connection to. I can only imagine him thinking that this is the right course - that you do what's needed to save the dog who saved your humanity. And maybe it is. MAYBE. I don't know. My last thoughts of Chance are questions about his REAL prospects for a good life and that makes me sad.
So... while this is superficially a feel good, happy ending book... for me, it's just not. I can't quite stop the concern for the dog's unspoken potential pain from bleeding in and tainting it. If the author had given us those details though - the vet conversation, the thought process, the concern for Chance's future... I could be satisfied with that. Without it, it's just not quite enough for me to be told it's all good.
One thing that I think was really well done was showing Adam slowly become a better person. It wasn't just "man save dog, dog save man, man save dog again" - it was a gradual evolution that I didn't even notice was really happening until Adam was suddenly someone I was empathizing with. And I do think that takes some skill to do.
So, overall, I think this one falls somewhere in the middle of the road for me. It wasn't bad, but it could have been better.
March 20, 2010
Clever and intelligent. Great words to describe this novel filled with a satisfying mixture of dog and human narration. I really enjoyed this book as it creatively illustrates the unbreakable spirit and bond between a man and his dog and, with the most perfect words, showcases their unspoken communication. One Good Dog reveals life in full circle, in a way. This is a story of salvation and liberation, the freedom of one's soul; a rebirth of two, I think, deserving friends.
November 25, 2017
Dog helps heal wounded man as he changes priorities and learns important life lessons. Man teaches previous pit bull dog fighter about trusting and maybe even growing to love humans. Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for sentimental stories and I read a lot of dog books. So, what's not to love? There's a few damp tissues lying around, OK , maybe a lot but oh so satisfying.
March 1, 2015
A wonderful feel good tale of a man, out of touch with himself and in shock over the crumbling of his carefully controlled life, inadvertently acquires a dog he doesn't want.
August 2, 2025
4.5 stars. Oh my goodness. I read this for a theme challenge and I was not prepared to be sucked in so completely from the start. This book really grabbed me. The two main characters are a middle-aged father/executive and a rescued former Pit Bull fighter.
There are moments of awfulness, as you'd expect when one of the main characters is being imprisoned and abused, but it is ultimately a feel-good read. (I wouldn't call it a comfort read, but it was totally immersive and I could not stop listening to this book!)
There are moments of awfulness, as you'd expect when one of the main characters is being imprisoned and abused, but it is ultimately a feel-good read. (I wouldn't call it a comfort read, but it was totally immersive and I could not stop listening to this book!)
August 17, 2014
3 ½ stars. An angry man changes his life to one with less anger. The dog has a supporting role, not the main part.
I have complaints, but it’s a thoughtful book and above average.
I’ve read a number of books in the women’s fiction genre, but almost none in men’s fiction. This is the latter. It’s about a man with anger and abandonment issues. He is extremely successful in the corporate world and then loses it all due to an angry action. He loses his job, his wife, and his money. He’s now living alone in a cheap apartment, with no job, and miserable. A judge sentenced him to twenty hours a week serving food to the homeless. By the end of the book he changes his attitude and other things. He has more forgiveness and humility in his life. And it’s a better life.
The dog is a secondary part of the story. I had just finished reading a fabulous true story about a dog before reading this. (The Dog Who Could Fly by D. Lewis) So I was a little disappointed with the dog part of this story. I wanted more man-dog relationship. The dog and man don’t meet until almost half way through the book. This story was less about the dog and more about a man with problems.
The dog is a pit bull. He was raised in a cage and trained to fight and kill other dogs. This dog had better people skills than Adam. Even though the dog was never given love or care, somehow he instinctively knew that his doggie smile and calmness would get him better treatment from strange humans.
PAIN AND THE ENDING:
Something brutal and horrible happened to the dog. That “torture�� was the main idea that stayed with me after reading the book. I wish the author had not done that. It totally took away from the story. The dog survived which gave us “the official happy ending” but it was a tear jerker. Not feel good. I was sad because the dog suffered.
CLIFFHANGERS ANNOYED ME:
The author annoyed me with cliffhangers at the end of scenes or chapters. For example, there is a major problem and then all of a sudden Adam gets a phone call with the answer or resolution. Then the author switches to another scene or topic before coming back and telling us who called and what was said. I don’t like being manipulated that way. I prefer scenes be finished to normal conclusions.
DIVORCE SETTLEMENT:
You’ll need to suspend disbelief on this one. The shrewd businessman gets nothing from the portfolio and none of the three houses?
POINT OF VIEW:
The chapters alternate between Adam’s and the dog’s point of view. Adam chapters are 3rd person. Dog chapters are 1st person. I usually don’t like 1st person, but this worked because it was easy to know whose mind we were in.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATORS were very good.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person Adam, 1st person dog. Unabridged audiobook length: 8 hrs and 23 mins. Swearing language: strong but not often used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one briefly referred to after the fact, no details shown. Setting: current day Boston, Massachusetts. Book copyright: 2010. Genre: men’s fiction, dog fiction.
I have complaints, but it’s a thoughtful book and above average.
I’ve read a number of books in the women’s fiction genre, but almost none in men’s fiction. This is the latter. It’s about a man with anger and abandonment issues. He is extremely successful in the corporate world and then loses it all due to an angry action. He loses his job, his wife, and his money. He’s now living alone in a cheap apartment, with no job, and miserable. A judge sentenced him to twenty hours a week serving food to the homeless. By the end of the book he changes his attitude and other things. He has more forgiveness and humility in his life. And it’s a better life.
The dog is a secondary part of the story. I had just finished reading a fabulous true story about a dog before reading this. (The Dog Who Could Fly by D. Lewis) So I was a little disappointed with the dog part of this story. I wanted more man-dog relationship. The dog and man don’t meet until almost half way through the book. This story was less about the dog and more about a man with problems.
The dog is a pit bull. He was raised in a cage and trained to fight and kill other dogs. This dog had better people skills than Adam. Even though the dog was never given love or care, somehow he instinctively knew that his doggie smile and calmness would get him better treatment from strange humans.
PAIN AND THE ENDING:
Something brutal and horrible happened to the dog. That “torture�� was the main idea that stayed with me after reading the book. I wish the author had not done that. It totally took away from the story. The dog survived which gave us “the official happy ending” but it was a tear jerker. Not feel good. I was sad because the dog suffered.
CLIFFHANGERS ANNOYED ME:
The author annoyed me with cliffhangers at the end of scenes or chapters. For example, there is a major problem and then all of a sudden Adam gets a phone call with the answer or resolution. Then the author switches to another scene or topic before coming back and telling us who called and what was said. I don’t like being manipulated that way. I prefer scenes be finished to normal conclusions.
DIVORCE SETTLEMENT:
You’ll need to suspend disbelief on this one. The shrewd businessman gets nothing from the portfolio and none of the three houses?
POINT OF VIEW:
The chapters alternate between Adam’s and the dog’s point of view. Adam chapters are 3rd person. Dog chapters are 1st person. I usually don’t like 1st person, but this worked because it was easy to know whose mind we were in.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATORS were very good.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person Adam, 1st person dog. Unabridged audiobook length: 8 hrs and 23 mins. Swearing language: strong but not often used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one briefly referred to after the fact, no details shown. Setting: current day Boston, Massachusetts. Book copyright: 2010. Genre: men’s fiction, dog fiction.
February 22, 2012
This book is well worth reading. Some of the reviews by readers were very critical but most really like the book. Maybe it isn't the very best writing or maybe there are some cliches, or other things mentioned. One reviewer said it should be marketed for young readers, which I disagree with. Regardless of all of the criticism, the underlying message of how Adam is healed emotionally with the help of the dog is excellent. When bad things happen to us in life, even if we have brought it on ourselves, we need help to overcome. This is what this story is all about.
One thing bothered me about the book. I don't believe that Susan Wilson needed to add the F-word, especially when there wasn't any other offensive language. Maybe that is how the people of the world talk, which I think is offensive, but I don't like seeing it in print. I don't think it was called for and it detracted from the story for me.
I liked the chapters that were from the dog's perspective. I love when I find a book that I don't want to put down, and this was like that for me.
If you haven't read "The Art of Racing in the Wind" read it. It also is about a dog and human relationships.
One thing bothered me about the book. I don't believe that Susan Wilson needed to add the F-word, especially when there wasn't any other offensive language. Maybe that is how the people of the world talk, which I think is offensive, but I don't like seeing it in print. I don't think it was called for and it detracted from the story for me.
I liked the chapters that were from the dog's perspective. I love when I find a book that I don't want to put down, and this was like that for me.
If you haven't read "The Art of Racing in the Wind" read it. It also is about a dog and human relationships.
January 8, 2020
No, no, no, no, no. An affront to pit bulls and animal literature overall. Not only was this poor quality of writing but it was offensive the way the author portrayed the world of violent urban pit bull fighting. It should never be glorified, even if from the fictitious voice of the animal. Before the main character Chance is rescued he talks about being proud of it and being good at it (24). The use of bravado to depict animal cruelty is not ok, nor are the parts of personification that included positive components to pit bull fighting. The parts of this book that dealt with that topic just further sensationalized something that so many of us in the rescue community have worked so hard to fight against.
October 15, 2016
Self-made Adam March makes a calamitous mistake at work, sabotaging both a rising career and his marriage to a society girl. He manages to avoid jail, but is assigned community service at a center feeding and sheltering homeless men. With no friends left, he is alone and his financial resources dwindling. Trying to help one of his charges, Adam inherits a fighting-damaged pit bull. Together, they try to put Adam's life back together. Good suspense at the end.
March 9, 2014
Note: Audio contents perhaps not suited for a family road trip. Grim scenes of dog abuse (most of it occurs off camera). Some swearing and religious cussing. One sex scene, but it fades to black immediately.
3.5 stars, bumped up to 4 for the excellent narration. I have a few quibbles with the book (listed further below), but none with the superb performance by Fred Berman and Christina Delaine. I appreciated hearing two distinct voices, clearly differentiating the characters. I liked the way the author handled the POV. It alternates from the first person perspective of the dog to the third-person perspective of the man.
Set in present day Boston, One Good Dog is the fairly heartwarming story of two lonely souls who grow to love each other: Chance (a dog bred to fight) and Adam (an arrogant SOB, a social pariah, a bankrupt businessman). The story is good. The pace flows nicely. There is even a romantic relationship, well-developed and credible. However, I wouldn't classify this as a romance, per se.
PLOT in BRIEF (some spoilers) ::
My Thoughts: The development of Adam's character is a cut above the norm. We see Adam change from an arrogant SOB without a dash of compassion to a far more humane being. This shift in his personality is credible, because I don't think his true character ever did change. It was just buried under years of repression and defrayed emotion. Adam traded his childhood need for love to a driving need for power -- thinking power would buy him love -- but as a young boy, Adam was like every other kid: loving his sister Veronica and missing her deeply, wanting his father's love and approval, wanting to "belong" with his foster parents, etc.
So, IMO, fairly solid character development. One example of character growth is portrayed in the progression of television programs. I had to chuckle at Adam's viewing habits. At first, all he watched was Judge Judy, reflecting his anger at his sentencing, and his feelings about the judge who ordered community service to shake the arrogance out of him.
We also see the dog change his view of himself (his perspective is told in first person). Chance begins by referring to himself as a gladiator, despising dogs who live to please their man. Pit fighting is all he's ever known, since birth. He's lived in a cage for three years, only allowed out to pee and fight. He has never known kindness from one single human being. However, his attitude changes through his interactions with Adam, Gina, and the folks at the Ford Street Mission.
Here is the dog's POV as he watches his unwilling and despairing host fall apart with a bottle of Scotch (no job, no family, no friends, no hope):
Four Quibbles:
1) The author spent too much time on Adam's father. I didn't care about him, didn't buy his excuses, and didn't want to meet him or his wife, Bee. I wanted to know more about Adam and Chance. Not enough scenes with Adam and Chance because of all the interactions between Adam and his father, Adam and his daughter Ariel, Adam thinking about Veronica. The main story of a dog as man's best friend was diluted a little too much. (Having said that, I liked Ariel's interactions with Adam and Chance, like when Ariel first met Chance, and when Ariel helped Adam look for Chance.)
2) I felt the author tidied everything up too much at the end. His past is laid completely to rest and his future is bright. A little too pat.
3) The author hops from intense action scenes -- potential death for dog and man -- to mundane scenes with secondary characters. I hate that kind of emotional manipulation. It feels like cheating on the author's part-- a way to fabricate tension.
4) The plot is fairly predictable. I suspected what would happen with (However, I didn't know how these various events would happen.)
Quibbles aside, I enjoyed this book! I teared up a few times. I cheered for Adam and for Chance. Loved the secondary characters at the Ford Street Center. Loved Gina, the pet store owner. Even his entitled daughter Ariel grew on me. Hated the dog abuse scenes, but glad they were not explicit.
==========
For animal lovers, I highly recommend Watership Down. Adore that book! For fairly realistic fiction about dog abuse, I recommend The Plague Dogs, by the same author (Richard Adams). I recommend Stories Rabbits Tell for true stories about rabbits as house pets, the bonds rabbits develop with one another, rabbit abuse, etc.
3.5 stars, bumped up to 4 for the excellent narration. I have a few quibbles with the book (listed further below), but none with the superb performance by Fred Berman and Christina Delaine. I appreciated hearing two distinct voices, clearly differentiating the characters. I liked the way the author handled the POV. It alternates from the first person perspective of the dog to the third-person perspective of the man.
Set in present day Boston, One Good Dog is the fairly heartwarming story of two lonely souls who grow to love each other: Chance (a dog bred to fight) and Adam (an arrogant SOB, a social pariah, a bankrupt businessman). The story is good. The pace flows nicely. There is even a romantic relationship, well-developed and credible. However, I wouldn't classify this as a romance, per se.
PLOT in BRIEF (some spoilers) ::
My Thoughts: The development of Adam's character is a cut above the norm. We see Adam change from an arrogant SOB without a dash of compassion to a far more humane being. This shift in his personality is credible, because I don't think his true character ever did change. It was just buried under years of repression and defrayed emotion. Adam traded his childhood need for love to a driving need for power -- thinking power would buy him love -- but as a young boy, Adam was like every other kid: loving his sister Veronica and missing her deeply, wanting his father's love and approval, wanting to "belong" with his foster parents, etc.
So, IMO, fairly solid character development. One example of character growth is portrayed in the progression of television programs. I had to chuckle at Adam's viewing habits. At first, all he watched was Judge Judy, reflecting his anger at his sentencing, and his feelings about the judge who ordered community service to shake the arrogance out of him.
We also see the dog change his view of himself (his perspective is told in first person). Chance begins by referring to himself as a gladiator, despising dogs who live to please their man. Pit fighting is all he's ever known, since birth. He's lived in a cage for three years, only allowed out to pee and fight. He has never known kindness from one single human being. However, his attitude changes through his interactions with Adam, Gina, and the folks at the Ford Street Mission.
Here is the dog's POV as he watches his unwilling and despairing host fall apart with a bottle of Scotch (no job, no family, no friends, no hope):
"He sipped and wept, sipped and wept. I lay on the rug, but kept my eyes on him. When his glass was empty he lay down, but the sounds didn't cease...If he'd stopped making the sounds, I might have just wandered off, but the sounds went on, a primal sound of despair, of great anguish...I pushed myself up beside him, nosing his hand until it reached for my ears...And then I did it. I nuzzled him."(such a sweet scene, and a watershed moment for Adam and mutt).
Four Quibbles:
1) The author spent too much time on Adam's father. I didn't care about him, didn't buy his excuses, and didn't want to meet him or his wife, Bee. I wanted to know more about Adam and Chance. Not enough scenes with Adam and Chance because of all the interactions between Adam and his father, Adam and his daughter Ariel, Adam thinking about Veronica. The main story of a dog as man's best friend was diluted a little too much. (Having said that, I liked Ariel's interactions with Adam and Chance, like when Ariel first met Chance, and when Ariel helped Adam look for Chance.)
2) I felt the author tidied everything up too much at the end. His past is laid completely to rest and his future is bright. A little too pat.
3) The author hops from intense action scenes -- potential death for dog and man -- to mundane scenes with secondary characters. I hate that kind of emotional manipulation. It feels like cheating on the author's part-- a way to fabricate tension.
4) The plot is fairly predictable. I suspected what would happen with (However, I didn't know how these various events would happen.)
Quibbles aside, I enjoyed this book! I teared up a few times. I cheered for Adam and for Chance. Loved the secondary characters at the Ford Street Center. Loved Gina, the pet store owner. Even his entitled daughter Ariel grew on me. Hated the dog abuse scenes, but glad they were not explicit.
==========
For animal lovers, I highly recommend Watership Down. Adore that book! For fairly realistic fiction about dog abuse, I recommend The Plague Dogs, by the same author (Richard Adams). I recommend Stories Rabbits Tell for true stories about rabbits as house pets, the bonds rabbits develop with one another, rabbit abuse, etc.
October 22, 2017
Characters whose affiliations deplete and destroy instead of nurturing them – ONE GOOD DOG by Susan Wilson provides two such characters, and only one of them is a dog. Adam March draws the reader's sympathy as his past is slowly revealed in brief snatches of recollection. Abandoned to foster homes as a child, he has almost completely erased his past, filling it with his ambition for social status and material success. These are his answer to the impotence he felt as a child. Adam is completely oblivious to the cost he has paid to “belong” – no friends, no intimates. When he loses his job he is set adrift: “His friends, plucked from the ranks of people like himself, the self he was for the last twenty years, rich, powerful, well connected, don't return his calls. He is anathema.” So far, this may seem like familiar fictional territory. What makes this book special is the juxtaposition of viewpoints, and the deceptively understated writing.
The dog is a mixed breed pit bull trained by a street gang of dog fighters. He is tough, street-smart, but also intelligent and sensitive enough to rationalize and repress his own feelings of fear and displacement when he escapes and takes up life on the street. Wilson's imaginative story draws out the parallel between these two lives . Part of the story is how these two unlikely characters come to cross paths. Another part deals with Adam's fractured relationship with his daughter, Ariel. Still another deals with Adam's struggle to build new connections forged out of trust and not fear. There is an underlying courage and tenacity in both Adam and the dog that we come to appreciate at the deepest level thanks to the unforced beauty of the writing.
Wilson's prose is characterized by extraordinary grace and restraint. In the dog's voice, we hear: “I don't recall ever being touched by them [the dogfighters] in a nonbusiness way. . . . Had either of those two young men ever dared unmuzzle me and pat my head, I would have licked his hand. They were afraid of me, of what they had created.” The line of the narration is similarly simplified. Excess detail about due process when Adam loses his job is cut away, and time feels compressed as Wilson focuses almost exclusively on the forward momentum of the many spiritual journeys to be made in this book. In the end, there is a feeling of completeness and satisfaction.
The dog is a mixed breed pit bull trained by a street gang of dog fighters. He is tough, street-smart, but also intelligent and sensitive enough to rationalize and repress his own feelings of fear and displacement when he escapes and takes up life on the street. Wilson's imaginative story draws out the parallel between these two lives . Part of the story is how these two unlikely characters come to cross paths. Another part deals with Adam's fractured relationship with his daughter, Ariel. Still another deals with Adam's struggle to build new connections forged out of trust and not fear. There is an underlying courage and tenacity in both Adam and the dog that we come to appreciate at the deepest level thanks to the unforced beauty of the writing.
Wilson's prose is characterized by extraordinary grace and restraint. In the dog's voice, we hear: “I don't recall ever being touched by them [the dogfighters] in a nonbusiness way. . . . Had either of those two young men ever dared unmuzzle me and pat my head, I would have licked his hand. They were afraid of me, of what they had created.” The line of the narration is similarly simplified. Excess detail about due process when Adam loses his job is cut away, and time feels compressed as Wilson focuses almost exclusively on the forward momentum of the many spiritual journeys to be made in this book. In the end, there is a feeling of completeness and satisfaction.
December 1, 2016
Sadly, an attempt at a good message does not make a good book.
I had so much hope for this one. As someone who works with rescue dogs the idea of a story of a man rescuing a former fighting Pit Bull and learning to be a better person through helping this dog sounded like a beautiful story.
First, I just want to take a second to recommend my all time favorite documentary, The Champions, which attempts the same message and excels in a way this book does not. It’s the story of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring, and it’s so incredibly well made and perspective changing. It’s on Netflix and I can’t recommend it enough.
I wish I could have loved this book, but bad writing is bad writing. The human character, Adam, tells his story in a distant third person present tense. There’s a ton of telling not showing. Not to mention, Adam is a major asshole and a shitty dog owner, even if he does develop over the story.
Chance, the dog, narrates in third person. While his story is slightly more interesting. It is filled with infodumps. He talks just like a human, and I question how a dog would know that his father was named after a rapper. I laughed out loud at that.
I wanted this to be a story that showed the horrors of dogfighting while debunking Pit Bull stereotypes, but the amateurish writing prevented me from rating this any higher than one star. Wouldn’t recommend this one, if you’re looking for a good dog story check out A Dog's Purpose!.
I had so much hope for this one. As someone who works with rescue dogs the idea of a story of a man rescuing a former fighting Pit Bull and learning to be a better person through helping this dog sounded like a beautiful story.
First, I just want to take a second to recommend my all time favorite documentary, The Champions, which attempts the same message and excels in a way this book does not. It’s the story of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring, and it’s so incredibly well made and perspective changing. It’s on Netflix and I can’t recommend it enough.
I wish I could have loved this book, but bad writing is bad writing. The human character, Adam, tells his story in a distant third person present tense. There’s a ton of telling not showing. Not to mention, Adam is a major asshole and a shitty dog owner, even if he does develop over the story.
Chance, the dog, narrates in third person. While his story is slightly more interesting. It is filled with infodumps. He talks just like a human, and I question how a dog would know that his father was named after a rapper. I laughed out loud at that.
I wanted this to be a story that showed the horrors of dogfighting while debunking Pit Bull stereotypes, but the amateurish writing prevented me from rating this any higher than one star. Wouldn’t recommend this one, if you’re looking for a good dog story check out A Dog's Purpose!.
December 11, 2025
One Good Dog is the story of Adam and how one seemingly small act of violence upheaves his entire life, resulting in him becoming the begrudging owner of a stray pit bull he names Chance. The story alternates between the POV of Adam and the dog, which was actually a nice twist.
It was clear early on that Chance was going to be the star of the show and that this was going to be one of those stories where the man finds himself thanks to the dog. Spoiler: I was not wrong. This books was published 15 years ago, so maybe it just hasn’t aged that well, but I found it really hard to feel sorry for Adam and the situation he found himself in, despite his upbringing. He was pompous, rude, and vain. But Chance? I stayed for Chance. Maybe it’s because I once owned a pit bull and have a soft spot for the breed, but if you know anything about underground dogfighting, then dog-breed biases aside, you’ll be rooting for Chance too.
It was clear early on that Chance was going to be the star of the show and that this was going to be one of those stories where the man finds himself thanks to the dog. Spoiler: I was not wrong. This books was published 15 years ago, so maybe it just hasn’t aged that well, but I found it really hard to feel sorry for Adam and the situation he found himself in, despite his upbringing. He was pompous, rude, and vain. But Chance? I stayed for Chance. Maybe it’s because I once owned a pit bull and have a soft spot for the breed, but if you know anything about underground dogfighting, then dog-breed biases aside, you’ll be rooting for Chance too.
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