The Dog that Saved My Life: Incredible true stories of canine loyalty beyond all bounds

by Isabel George

Five incredible true stories of canine bravery in wartime. For as long as dogs have lived alongside man, they have saved their lives in wartime with their bravery, loyalty and companionship. From the WWII dog that was adopted by the Royal Navy as a mascot, torpedoed, shot at and registered as a prisoner of war, to the more recent heroics of explosives dog, Bonnie, in Afghanistan and Iraq where she saved hundreds of military and civilian lives, this is a collection of the most incredible and heartwarming accounts from around the world. Capturing the fear, uncertainly, determination and undying devotion of these amazing dogs and the young soldiers, sailors and airmen they befriended, these are truly inspirational tales of loyalty and companionship beyond all boundaries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Dogs, History

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Isabel George, the international bestselling author of Buster: The Military Dog Who Saved a Thousand Lives, writes with a passion and respect for animals in war. A writer and journalist Isabel's work has appeared in the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Guardian Weekend, various pet magazines and women's consumer magazines such as Living and SHE.

Reviews

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of five stories about dogs and their owners, or more importantly, their friends, all set against the backdrop of war. some of the stories were familiar to me, others I had not read before. The loyalty, love and understanding between dog and human is amazing, and I can honestly say I had tear in my eyes at a few points in the book. You really feel for both the dogs, and the humans that are with them, or separated from them eventually. Another must read for animal lovers out there, I definitely recommend this book :)

[EmmaRodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dog That Saved My Life written by Isabel George is an incredible compilation of wonderous tales of different dogs, all sorts of breeds and sizes, and their undying love and lloyalty towards the humans they call their own. The book does a fantastic job at giving each canine their time to shine and portraying their amazing feats in all their glory. This book explains exaclty why the common saying, "a man's best friend," is not only true, but also shows the lengths these loyal creatures will go to be united with and protect those they condiser part of their pack. My favorite story in this book was that of the English Pointer named Judy. Judy was named a prisoner of war in WW2. As those of her shipwrecked crew were taken to Japanese prisons, Judy took it upon herself to help in any way she could. From scavenging for food for the inmates, to dragging injured men away from the ship, and keeping moral from sinking, Judy was a main reason many of those men survived. This book continues to illustrate the unbelievable abilities this species has when they are driven by loyalty, trust, and love. I would recomment this book to any dog or history lovers and give it a four out of five stars.

[Shahrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked this book up, I assumed it was the story of one person & their dog. Even better it was divided into 5 chapters, each featuring a different Dog story. It took me on an amazing, round the world journey with some very special dogs and amazing people in the most extraordinary circumstances. However, each chapter was a only a kind of summary of events. So sometimes I found them a little confusing to follow (as they were just a body of writing, without any breaks). But they have pointed me in the right direction to find out more if I should so choose. LOVE that the author had found and included pictures of all the dogs too! Just a little bizarre that the dog featured on the front, was not featured inside the book...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Very simple writing with a few editing errors and spent a little too much time on buildup and background details for my taste--made it feel like slow going sometimes, and I lost patience and started skimming--but still some good stories if you skim through to the dog parts. The writing style was not as impactful as I would have liked, and have seen from other authors, but I still got misty-eyed a couple of times.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of stories about war dogs, some unlikely characters bonded to the troops in difficult circumstances forming bonds with troops, others trained military working dogs, invaluable to any soldier.
The stories span from WW2 through to Iraq, the only thing that lets this book down is the spelling mistakes. Fortunately it doesn’t detract too much.

[Kayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never has a book genuinely made me cry, this book had me crying several times. An absolute master peice and amazing insight to life of soldier/war dogs. I feel like I will be thinking of this book for a very long time.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a moving book, definitely need a box of tissues when reading this one.

[Heather View · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book. 5 stories of how amazing dogs are, as if we didn’t already know how amazing they are.

[Amy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4th story was not as good as the rest.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

True heroes and family

Great short stories about veteran dog heroes. And more proof dogs are more than just pets. Great easy read with unusual inspirational stories.

[Hettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. Be warned though that you will need some tissues as you read it.

The loyalty of the dogs in the story is amazing and shows what an extraordinary animal the dog is.

My favorite story was probably Rat but all were very touching.

[Bex · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a real tear jerker, but a definate must read. true stories of war hero dogs. not only are the stories moving and obviously about how the dogs helped and touched people during the war, but you are also given an insite into what people endured during the war.

[Jennifer Morefield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dog stories. Dogs are man's best friends even on the battlefield whether providing a light moment and company to make a war zone feel more homelike or carry a grenade away from a group of soldiers giving his life for theirs. A very worthy read.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read stories over different eras. Ok as a quick one day read. Straightforward language making it readable if not exactly intricate depth story telling.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book filled with some lovely stories about some really great and wonderful dogs.

[Chilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had me in tears

[Heidi Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read! Not quite edge of your seat stuff, but still worth a read. Quite sad in parts too.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book, very emotional!!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting read

[NastiG · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stories about dogs who saved humans lifes, while showing off their courage. A bit long tho. For people with a little patience ;)

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five nice stories of VERY loved dogs and their trials in British Forces. Especially Bonnie - she had a happy life!

[Barb Flory · Rating 3 out of 5]

True stories of dogs at war. I hated reading about their suffering but their courage and dedication were awesome.