Second Chances

More Tales of Found Dogs

by Elise Lufkin

This book is a collection of stories about lucky dogs that got found and given a new home. Dogs picked up off the street, rescued when neighbors abandoned them, adopted from shelters, etc. Every one is a story with a happy ending, showing how a dog that was lost, wandering, or waiting for its end in a cage, was taken in by a loving family. Some had a rocky adjustment, coming from an unknown background (that was in many cases probably abusive) they were fearful and mistrusting at first, but all of them ended up happy dogs after realizing they were among people who loved them. Most became loved family pets, but there are also stories of rescued dogs that became service dogs or trained search-and-rescue dogs- just goes to show how much potential a creature can have.

Each story in Second Chances is accompanied by one or two images. While nothing spectacular, the photographs are all good, and many of the dogs are adorable or very handsome indeed. But what makes this just a nice book and not a great one, is that the pictures outshine the words. The stories are all incredibly brief, most no more than a page. They're written simply, most in a tell-don't-show fashion that just left me not feeling the emotion very much. I know these are all really special dogs to their people, but it just didn't come across very well. Sacrificing the number of stories to be able to give them more depth would have made a better quality book. I haven't seen the book's predecessor, Found Dogs, but I gather from a few reviews read online that the stories in that one are even more brief, which makes me not at all inclined to read it.

So... it's a nice enough book, lovely photographs, but just not a lot of substance and honestly an hour after reading the book I couldn't remember one of the stories to repeat to you.

Rating: 2/5 ........ 180 pages, 2003