The Dog That Talked to God

by Jim Kraus

Recently widowed Mary Fassler buys a Miniature Schnauzer, Rufus, and her world is turned sideways in the midst of her grief. It seems that Rufus speaks. And not just to her. He also talks to God. When Rufus begins sharing advice that could result in major changes, Mary gets the feeling the pooch might not be steering her in the right direction. Or, is she just afraid to take the leap and discover something she desperately needs? Only Rufus...and God...knows.

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, Christian, Dogs, Animals, Inspirational, Romance

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

Reviews

[Vicky Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can all read the other reviews to see what this book is about. As a multi-dog family, I often wonder what they are thinking. I also talk to them as if they are human and wonder if they understand me.

This book touched me on so many levels. I lost my dad nearly 20 years ago and went through my own period when I was angry with God. Much like the main character in this story, I had someone on my side praying me back. I also had a dog get hit by a car and suffer a broken leg. As he was an older dog, it was nearly a year before he recovered. I was able to identify with the main character as she worked through her problems.

However, it was the sweet dialogue of a dog talking about his discussions with God that made my eyes well up with tears - many times. Even now. If you believe in God and believe that angels are His messengers then it probably wouldn't be much of a leap for you to think that dogs can be His agents as well. After all, dog is God spelled backwards. Coincidence? I think not. Godincidence. Definitely.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this book. I'm a dog lover and typically enjoy books about dogs,so I thought this one was up my alley. I was wrong. I just couldn't connect to the main character. I felt nothing for her and had a general feeling of indifference towards the story. I think my problem with this book stems from the nature of the first person narrative. The main character/narrator is female, but yet I felt like I was reading a story told by and about a gender neutral individual. There was nothing feminine in the character's voice. I kept forgetting she was female - even when she describes meeting and falling in love with her husband. I don't want to be sexist and assume this is because the author is actually male, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with it ;)

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, for the first half of the book I was thinking ... what horrible writing ... this woman is delusional ... and this book is not very interesting. Except for the dog ... he was cute from the beginning. When the dog was hit by a car (but survived) my thought was ... oh good, maybe now the story will get better. It did, actually, and I enjoyed the last half of the book. The title of the book finally made sense to me, the woman seemed to be "finding herself" and was a much more interesting and understandable person, the problems seemed more real, and the incidents, while somewhat surprising, were pleasant to read.

[Carolyn Vandine West · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. Nothing terrible, was well written but it just didn’t grab me. I won’t give away the storyline, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I think for most people it will be an enjoyable read.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and engrossing book. Happy tears at the end! Highly recommended.

[Noel L Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have this dog 🐕and he is a real part of our family and makes both my wife and I smile and laugh every day. What a great rescue. But I think it was Tanner(that's his name) he rescued us!

[LaDawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this one!

[Judy Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speaking to God

This is a lovely story. It is sad yet it is inspiring at the same time. It was hard to put the book down.

[Ruth Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had hoped I would like this book better than I did, but unfortunately, it was not to be. I love dogs, and the beginning of the book was fine. However, once our heroine had Rufus (the dog) "talk," I really lost interest. I know that we tend to think that our animals talk, but this was just too much for me to accept.

There were some points of the book that did interest me. I was intrigued when Mary first got Rufus. And then about the middle of the book, there was an area that certainly got my attention. And her entire discussion of her love life and views on dating were pretty intriguing.

I really struggled with the fact that she continued to have Rufus pray to God for her. Eventually, that stops, but I felt like Mary never truly finds her faith again. The gospel message is truly lost in this book. It is neat that God brings along "signs" to show her that she is doing the right thing.

The book is clean, and the message is pure. For that reason alone, many people will probably enjoy the book. Rufus is certainly a cute, smart dog, but I just struggled to truly embrace this book.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated in any way, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

[April Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dog Who Talked to God is beautifully written novel. It was perhaps the truest piece of fiction I've ever read, as all of us can identify with the main character, Mary, who has all but abandoned God after she believes God has abandoned her, when tragedy befalls her. Now all alone with only her dog, the story is a touching reminder that it is no coincidence that "God" spelled backwards is "dog". For those of us who have wondered why bad things happen to good people, and where God is when these horrible things happen, this novel provides a happy ending and a valuable lesson- only by letting go of the bruises of the past can we enjoy the blessings and beauty that surround us in the now and in the future.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all, this was a good read; it told an uplifting tale. I had a bit of trouble early in the story, trying to empathize with the main character, Mary, but stuck with it. She grew on me. I never had trouble liking Rufus, though. He was endearing from the start. Even as a young dog--he had an old soul. It was always interesting hearing what he had to say to Mary--but what was better were the things he left unsaid. Lots of room to wonder and ponder about the big questions in life.

I liked the larger story behind it all. A human's struggle with faith when she feels as though God has betrayed her.

[Lavada Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a different story from what I usually read. Although I read a variety of genre's I don't think I would have picked this one up. A friend actually brought it over for me. And I'm so glad. For one thing it's written in first person from a woman's point of view. It works, so well that if you didn't know the author was a man you'd never guess on your own. It's listed as an inspirational and is a very good depiction of our struggles. Especially when tragedy strikes and life is a less then good.

I would highly recommend it.

[Vannetta Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely well written book. I was skeptical, a little, because of the title ... but Jim Kraus does an excellent job weaving the life of this little dog, the life of his owner, and our spiritual lives together into the thread of a very good story.

I immediately bought his next book on my kindle!

[Lisa Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky and yet anyone who's ever experienced suffering and loss will find themselves unexpectedly moved in this bittersweet, honest examination of one character's raw grief, doubts and anger coupled with God's unending love for each soul.

[Teri Argo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know, I just never got into this book. It was okay, but it wasn't like....gotta keep reading, gotta keep reading....

[Toledo (T.J.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

For dog lovers, a cute format for a story of a woman finding herself after a tragic loss. Well done.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked out this book simply because of the dog on the cover. Not being Christian, I knew this novel wouldn't resonate with me as it would some but I wanted to find out about the talking Schnauzer.

Mary Fassner lost her husband and her son to a car accident some years ago - not long in the scheme of things but her friends think she ought to find a new man. Ava thinks she needs sex. Beth thinks she needs a man because a woman is only whole when she's married in the eyes of God (or something). Mary has fallen away from her beliefs due to the deaths but God still occupies a lot of her thoughts in the "why my husband/why my son/why me" way without being too depressing about it for the novel. Mary was a thriving author of Amish romances but is having problems getting anywhere on her latest book, wherein Amish twin sisters are living very different lives when her manager tells her that Amish romances aren't selling any more - did Mary want to write a werewolf or vampire story?

Mary, meanwhile, decides she wants a dog and buys Rufus, a male miniature Schnauzer. Rufus gives her a reason to go for walks and...then on one nightly walk, Rufus talks to her.

Rufus doesn't understand everything but he's very intelligent for a dog. He mentions God and praying to God and that good dogs do and bad dogs don't (a bit heavy handed but what I expected, frankly). And Mary does try to date - but Brian does something stupid that hurts Rufus and because of that, Mary leaves town with her dog to find a new place to live.

They wind up at Atlantic Beach, buying a small house that Mary doesn't know if it's a Cape Cod or something else ("Ask me about Amish home building") but it's nice and cheaper than where she was living. She starts dating there but mentions she's not interested in God to her date and he dumps her saying he only wants to be involved with another Christian. And finally, when Mary gives up on finding a good man - but finding her way back to God - she meets Viktor, a widower, and his daughter, Molly, who loves Rufus.

Annnd...Rufus stops talking because he's fulfilled his purpose.

There are some fun moments here and there and some nice descriptions - I particularly liked when Mary complained (regularly) that she was definitely a published author and she did know how to word correctly even if descriptions were failing her at that time. But me not being in the target audience...I was figuring Mary would find her happy ending and find her way back to her God and yes, that happened.

[R.E.J. Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was suspicious of the title of this book, but not because I think God wouldn't enable a dog to talk to further His purposes. After all, He enabled Balaam's donkey to announce the presence of an armed angel blocking Balaam's path. Rather, and I'm ashamed of my cynicism, I thought somebody was going to use this approach to parody the fine novels being written about Jesus's appearances to hoi polloi to bless them. How bad was that? Well, I was wrong. From the opening page, I was drawn into the protagonist's world. This is first-class Christian fiction from the first to last page. Its pace satisfies this impatient reader, although I can be satisfied by more subtle and in-depth characterization if the writer can achieve it, and this author can. The pace is just the metronome for the story--and I love a rapid pace in a thriller. But this isn't a thriller where physical death is at stake. Rather, the stakes are both spiritual and physical. I'm not going to give you any spoilers. This story will encourage those who are bloodied by life's trials and those not bloodied but whose friends are.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decided to read as we recently got a mini-schnauzer and the story-line sounded interesting. I did not enjoy the style of writing (very clunky and stilted), some of the words the author used actually made me cringe. The main character was a multi-published author and the story was written in first person. But some of the narration written for her was terrible (such as "egads")..in fact there were many references to her saying/thinking (I know you would not believe I am a writer using a word like that). I could not relate to Mary the main character. She came across as rather condescending and very one dimensional, got no feeling of any emotion she was feeling throughout the book. It definitely felt like a man trying to think as a woman might..but failed miserably. Although fictional, I was disturbed at the amount of human food she fed her pure bred mini-schnauzer....he begged for cookies from visitors, ate McDonalds, hamburgers, key-lime pie, left over food she didn't eat, etc, to the point a friend of hers commented on the dog being fat. That in itself was enough to put me off Mary. Jim... you could have done so much more with the story and the characters.

[Debbie Wentworth Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Fassler's life went on hold when her husband and only child died in a car accident. Two years later, she thinks that buying a miniature Schnauzer puppy, that she names Rufus, would help her be less lonely and fulfill an item on her dead husband's bucket list. Like most pet owners she talks to her dog, but, to her great shock, Rufus talks back to her. In English. In full sentences. What's more, Rufus talks to God, whom Mary hasn't been speaking to since the accident.
Mary's friends Ava and Beth keep trying to get her back into life, but Rufus's advice works better. She tries dating but Rufus's opinion influences her choices. She begins to break loose of the shackles holding her to her heartbroken past and to follow Rufus into a new life with God.
Krause pulls off the talking dog aspect very well. He treats Rufus as though this is possible, though unusual. He adds some humor. Sometimes it's a little hard to tell how much time has passed, but it's an enjoyable read, worthy of trying another by him.

[Donna Marino · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this text. When I chose it, I thought it would be something like A Dog's Purpose, but it didn't come close. It is a rather silly fictional memoir, following the life of a middle aged widow and her dog. The dog doesn't talk to God; he talks to her on their walks, and only on their walks. I have given the work a two star because I found some of his comments cute, including his love of key lime pie and his anxiety about the availability of his crunchies. Beyond the occasional smile at the description of the dog's antics, I found myself either bored of annoyed. What I found most troublesome was the tone. I did not feel that this male author captured the tone of his female protagonist. I wonder what he would have produced if he had started with a male protagonist. I recommend this book only if you have nothing else to read.

[V W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a religious person and that was always going to be a issue to me reading this book. I’m a mad dog owner of two schnauzers, one talking, both characters! OK mine talks like a real dog and has lots to say to everyone but we have our moments. I connected with the bond between them and the characters. Probably too much emphasis on the amount of food described, as i kept imagining Mary more like Mrs Doubtfire! The loss of my family dog in a road accident and the schnauzer connection made me blub like crazy in the middle of the book. Even when I knew Rufus survived I couldn’t control myself, and yes, I felt that punch as if I had planted it.

I gentle read which I enjoyed and a happy ending for all.

[Sharbol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book very difficult to read and to believe the story about the dog speaking to people and God.

The character narrating the story confused me- at first I thought it was a man, turned out to be a woman, whose career was as a Grammarian. This made the book even more difficult to read, using words like Akimbo, Paroxysm, Insouciance, Apoplectic, etc., leaves you to chasing down The Dictionary every other paragraph.

The dog, had no believable story line to explain his ability to talk to the Grammarian and it confused me that the dog understood the fancy words being used after just becoming so new to the English language enough to speak it with humans.

I was not amused.
NEXT BOOK PLEASE!

[Michael Ann Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I thought the title was cute and I like animals. It was not what I expected and took me awhile to get into it. I guess I thought it would be funny and it was at times. I like the way the dog let us know how a dog might be thinking. Our dog is very afraid of thunder storms too. It shows how we turn from God at times that we should be turning to Him. It was a good message to those hurting for one reason of another. I think the Holy Spirit was helping this lady work through her sadness and bring her back to happiness. Not sure if the dog was really talking. I would recommend this book to young adults and up.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what I think of this book. It was an enjoyable read, but I think the title "The Dog That Talked to God" is perhaps a bit to grand for the way the story was written. You would expect something more poetic or so, and this book isn't that. It reads like a diary (which was probably the goal), with all the non-poetic jibberish that fits a common person's train of thought. If that makes sense.
It's an easy read though, and even though the main character is very different from me, and makes choices I would never make, in some way she was still relatable and, in the end, even a bit likable.

Also, a bit less "go figure" would have made this book better. ;)

[Lorrie Newmister · Rating 4 out of 5]

A widow named Mary is angry at God for the loss of her husband and child in a car accident. Mary has a dog named Rufus. Rufus talks to Mary when they take their night time potty walk. We don't know if this is really happening, or Mary is imagining things. But Mary has the support of her dog and her girlfriends. Rufus hates the winter in Chicago and wants to go to the ocean. Being a writer, Mary picks up and moves to Atlantic Beach, buys a little house, gets a job at a small newspaper. She goes on a few dates. Mary's world opens up and she starts talking to God again. Characterization is great, but the proofreading is poor.

[june · Rating 1 out of 5]

Talking Dog

I bought this book believing the title and then the blurb talking about it. The first 2/3 of the book could be edited out. From the time she moves to the sea side is when the book got interesting. It is not about a talking dog. It is about a woman’s journey back to God after losing her husband and son to a drunk driver and somehow an 18 wheeler was involved. Leave all the stuff in Chicago and start where she leaves Chicago and travels south! It was a better book after that! Thank you June

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an easy book to label . . . but I enjoyed it! Not a fast-moving plot or particularly romantic or deep, yet it's good reading. The heroine, Mary, is difficult to like for much of the book--she is frustratingly stubborn, and I would like to say that I can't relate to someone like that . . . but I do.
Rufus is adorable, and the book wouldn't be what it is without him. Sort of a parable with a touch of fantasy and some beautiful meaning without preaching.
I'm ready to read more by this author.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. Cute book that lays out great truths. It is especially fun if you have ever loved a dog. :) In a nutshell, and without giving spoilers, dog helps woman through life in a miraculous way by being able to "talk" with her - even though no one else can hear him. Lots of lessons learned and lots of experiences shared between the two.

It's very light reading - quick read too - but it can make you stop and think too. I would recommend this for anyone 12+. Fun and good book!