The Dogs Who Found Me

January 2, 2006
After Foster adopts his first dog, Brando, from a shelter, he can't help noticing an alarming number of stray dogs, which he had never noticed before. Once he starts looking for them, he finds strays everywhere: on the side of the road, at the dog park, at gas stations and stuck in drainage grates. But this book isn't about Foster as much as it's about his dogs, who help him through 9/11 (he lived in Manhattan then), a heart condition that lands him in the hospital and the deaths of two good friends. Foster's relationships with the three dogs in his life aren't a one-way street, though: when one dog gets a urinary infection every time Foster leaves, Foster realizes she "was trying to hold everything in until I returned." As if channeling the frank and fundamental nature of dogs, Foster's sentences hide little pretense or poetry. It's an appropriate writing style that lets Foster present his joys and sorrows plainly. Interspersing vignettes on topics such as missing dog posters, shelters, heartworms and understanding dogs' body language, Foster fleshes out this charming account of a life among dogs while providing hints for would-be dog savers.

February 1, 2006
Foster believes that dogs are like tattoos: they leave an indelible mark. His warm, candid, and unusual account of his experience in animal rescue is not sentimental about the hard work of saving dogs but rather confident, reflecting his belief that taking action on behalf of abandoned dogs is the right thing to do. Foster enumerates some of the ways people consistently do wrong by these wonderful animals and explains that rescued animals often have physical and behavioral problems, making them difficult to care for. But that, he concludes, is the point. Without knowing the outcome or what resources will be required, you take on the task, and you are a better person for it. Even if, or perhaps especially if, you have a sudden heart problem and must face Hurricane Katrina, as Foster and his trio of dogs did with the help of friends. Animal rescue efforts may be small in the eyes of the world, but to a redeemed animal, they are the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)