The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances

by Ellen Cooney

A novel of a young woman who, despite knowing nothing about animals, signs herself up for dog training school at The Sanctuary, where she discovers that rescue can find even the most hopeless among us and that friends come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds

Genres: Fiction, Animals, Dogs, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Book Club, Adult

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Ellen Cooney is the author of eleven novels, most recently A Cowardly Woman No More (Coffee House Press, April, 2023). Her short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Fiction, New England Review, and many other journals. She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. Born in Clinton, Massachusetts in 1952, she lived for many years in Cambridge, and taught writing classes and workshops at Boston College, Northeastern University, MIT, Harvard Extension School, and the Seminars at Radcliffe. She lives in Phippsburg, Maine.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

“…there is such a thing as joy being bigger than the container that holds it.”

THE MOUNTAINTOP SCHOOL FOR DOGS AND OTHER SECOND CHANCES is a great title, but just an okay book. I have recently adopted a rescue which is probably the reason why I stuck with this text, otherwise I am not sure I would have finished it. It is sloppily plotted, almost juvenile at moments, and the overall reading experience was not one that drew me in.

The story is written from two points of view, which alternate. One point of view comes from Evie, a young recovering addict, who has accepted a job to learn how to be a dog trainer and the other from middle aged Mrs. Aberchon, a women carrying her own battle scars. Stylistically I did not care for the chapters that featured Evie’s voice. I will say however, that the last two chapters are easily the text’s strongest.

I don’t feel the reading of this book was a total wash because there are some pleasing moments scattered throughout the text.
Author Ellen Cooney does a nice job with her descriptions of some of the dogs and personifying some of their thoughts/characteristics. It is relatable.
There are also moments of excellent insight, like this clever (and achingly accurate) depiction of loneliness. “She hadn’t liked how it felt to wander around by herself, trying to seem like she was someone temporarily separated from her friends.”

Here are some lines/moments from the text that made an impression:
• “…with the outer crust of anyone who used to be tender.”
• “I was supposed to have learned to stop fooling myself.”
• “Abandon. To turn away on purpose from someone you were supposed to never turn away from. Bad verb. Bad word. Bad everything.”
• “Rescue. Best. Verb. Ever.
• “I wondered, how can anyone go to a place inside someone where the loneliness is, when the someone was never anything but lonely?”
• “Sometimes, the peacefulness happens to me all by itself, out of nowhere, for absolutely no reason.”
• “In case you haven’t discovered this yet, dogs don’t tell lies.”
• “I bet their brains are hurting, just from memories.”

This read started out so promising, and despite some good lines/moments, it just did not hold up and was not a great read for me.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Overall. I truly wanted to like this book. I still want to like it, but quite a few things kept fighting against me. The ideas are there; I very much liked the premise of this book and how dogs and humans can work to rescue each other. However, on the execution level, things simply did not jive with me.
I think my biggest issue is with the main character, Evie. Although we are inside her mind for 75% of the book, I am left with knowing very little about her. We get a few select flashbacks and some connected information through randomly convenient interactions, but I can't define her. She's a 20-something blob who happened to have some kind of breakdown and yet still has it kind of easy. Never quite sure how she got to that point, and nothing is completely resolved. She ended up simply being a slightly annoying host for this story -- someone I couldn't get on board with because I didn't think she deserved where she was (and that is addressed, but not a length). The side characters were more interesting for me. I looked forward to the handful of chapters that were from the perspective of Mrs. Auberchon. I liked her. Seeing Evie through her eyes made Evie better to me. But then Evie took over the narrative again and I was lost. Giant George could have been taken advantage of more often, too.
Also, there isn't enough interaction with the dogs, as odd as that may sound. You get a good cast of them, but the time you could be spending with the dogs is filled with Evie listing vocabulary words instead. But the writing is great when it comes to the dogs. They have their own personalities and parts in the story. Plus, the dogs are getting just as many (if not more) second chances than the people... so, shoudln't we hear more about that?
Even though I had a difficult time falling into this story, I can see many others enjoying it once it's done with its final coat of polish. It would be a great discussion for book clubs, and I would also recommend it as an "Adult book for Teens" title. You really can't go wrong with the theme of second chances and finding a different level of yourself through befriending an animal. I have friends who work at animal shelters, and their work is not quite what you see here, but it has the same base. Dogs are an embodiment of grace. Extremely forgiving and understanding, despite their inability to literally speak with us. They can heal almost anything; and while Evie's situation was never quite unearthed, it's obvious that her experiences with the Mountaintop School gave her a new perspective and a much-needed purpose.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am probably the perfect reader for this book. I am a dog nut who is involved with rescue animals and sit on the board for a positive training obedience school. So it's not to hard to believe that I really liked the DOGS in this book. I found the people slightly less likable but I guess I have more patience with broken dogs than I do with broken people. The writing style was very stream-of-consciousness, which I didn't mind too much. However some of the run-on sentences were a little hard to follow. But the time I got to the end of the sentence I had forgotten the beginning and had to go back and re-read it. My biggest gripe with this book was the abrupt ending. It felt as if the author just stepped away for a break and then never came back and finished the story. I would like to hear much more about the school and students!

[Khris Erickson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a positive reinforcement dog trainer who works at an animal shelter. I hated this book.

Evie majorly anthropomorphizes, which initially didn't bother me because it truly is something that people do with animals. But as a student in a dog school she never learns that a lot of her anthropomorizing is erroneous and can actually get in the way of becoming a good trainer.

She apparently spends good money to be a student learning how to become a trainer, but she doesn't get any instruction. Apparently if she spends enough time with the dogs she'll become enlightened on her own and magically become a great trainer. I've spent enough time learning about dogs, training and teaching pet dog owners to know that just isn't how it works. Dog training is part science and part art form and to become a great dog trainer you need to learn a lot about learning theory, how to apply it, natural dog behavior, how to read dog body language, and different techniques on hot to train behaviors.

There's a theme throughout the book about the "Alpha" which is supposed to relate to the dogs. Unfortunately the author didn't do her research to find the whole alpha thing has been dismissed by professional dog trainers because it's based on incorrect information about how wolves in the wild structure their pack, and because it's irrelevant in actual dog training.

I also had problems with the structure of the sanctuary and the fact that they actively steel dogs from people they think aren't treating dogs properly. No doubt there are organizations out there doing this, but I don't think this is ethical, nor is it professional. Animal welfare is also trending towards trying to work with owners through education and helping with giving services so that they can be better dog owners and keep their dogs. Most people neglecting their dogs do so because they don't know any better and can improve with education. Additionally, those people who have dogs stolen from them are very likely to get another dog and treat the next dog the same way.

[Debra · Rating 2 out of 5]

There may be a novel in there, but between lists of dog breeds, screeds on dog training, etc. I didn't see one. Too bad, because it sounded like my kind of book had it been less full over over-serious earnestness.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reese, age 3. Royal poodle, chocolate brown, approx. 85 pounds. Flew to Pennsylvania from Oklahoma in a small crate on board three airplanes. Considered by his family to be quite quirky. Very loveable. Hates tight spaces and shows symptoms of claustrophobia. Shows instant distrust of tall lanky boys with glasses and dark hair. Hates denim jackets and ball caps. Extremely energetic, and possibly believes he is human. Loves to run and be outdoors. Fiercely loyal. Loves to play and loves to cuddle. Will instantly love you if you give him food. Unless you are a tall lanky boy with glasses and dark hair. Then he will hate you for no reason whatsoever.

I love my dog. Seriously. I can't get enough of him sometimes. And every time I picked this book up to read, I just kept giving my big monster great big hugs, because that's what this book makes you do. It makes you see how magical and wonderful these canine companions are to our own lives. That little blurb and pic is of my own big boy who is so special in my life. But, this dog hates my brother (the tall lanky boy with glasses and dark hair) and people who look like my brother. Its also true what I say about him hating denim jackets and ball caps. Even if he sees me wearing such items, he won't come near me. It makes me wonder about the farm on which he was raised and where he spent the first five months of his life. Was there someone there, maybe a boy who looked like my brother who wore denim jackets and ball caps, who mistreated him in some way?

There seems to be a trend, especially in young adult fiction nowadays, that really hones in on those with problems. Drug and alcohol abuse, suicidal tendencies, post-traumatic stress disorder, you know, issues . Well, this book does that too. Except half the characters in this book about individuals with issues are, well, dogs. Because, as illustrated above, animals can have issues too.

This novel focuses on Evie, a twenty-something girl with issues who applies for and is accepted as a dog trainer for a mountaintop animal rescue center called The Sanctuary. The problem is, Evie REALLY has issues and she knows nothing whatsoever about dogs. At first she stays at an inn at the foot of the mountain where The Sanctuary is with only a mysterious and cratchety middle-aged woman named Mrs. Auberchon for company. Then the dogs come. Each dog has his or her own issues which are told to Evie by means of a piece of paper with information on it, similar to my own description of Reese at the beginning of this review. At first, Evie is really unsure of what to do, but as the novel progresses, these dogs really seem to get through to her, and they touch her life in some way. Mrs. Auberchon, the enigmatic and elderly "sisters" who run the Sanctuary, and another trainer in the form of a teenaged boy who refers to himself only as "Giant George" are the human characters in this story, and like Evie, seem to have conflicts and struggles that they are all working out in their own ways. However, each character seems to relate to the dogs better than the other humans. As Evie tries to get through to these dogs and train them to integrate back into normal society, cracks in her own problematic life begin to heal as well. As she works with them, its almost as if she begins to project emotions and feelings into these canines, and the whole book becomes some kind of weird doggie rehab. But in a strange way, it totally worked and I was completely invested in the outcome.

This novel was strangely compelling, and I read it very quickly. There were times where I genuinely could not put it down to save my life, but there were also a lot of issues with it. The writing is so-so, and the book was addled with cliches but overall I found the book quite enjoyable, albeit predictable. What saved this novel for me were the dogs. I LOVED every single dog in this book and found their characters so dynamic, interesting, fun, and compelling. It was the humans which brought this book down for me. I didn't care as much about their storylines, and found them all to be pretty flat and one-dimensional. Particularly Mrs. Auberchon and Evie. Evie was a cookie-cutter "troubled girl" right from the start and nothing happens to elevate her much beyond that. Mrs. Auberchon was a caricature of the introverted, guarded, older woman with an obvious past, and the story really does nothing to shed much light on either of their past stories. Usually this bothers me, as I need to know and don't like loose ends, but honestly, I didn't care much that I didn't get their complete histories. That, in and of itself, says something.

But then there's Tasha, the insecure Rotweiler with a heart of gold, a big slobbering tongue, and major abandonment issues. And Dora, the feisty "alpha" scottish terrier who was locked in an abandoned apartment for three weeks until someone found her. And Dapple, the beautiful but terrified hound mix who was rescued from a puppy mill where she was constantly impregnated to spawn different breeds of hunting dogs. There's also Boomer, Josie, Shadow, Hank, Alfie, Rocky, and a whole herd of Pitbulls, rescued from a dog-fighting ring. These are the stories I longed to hear, and the endings I yearned for. And in this way, this book did not disappoint. It made me long to drive to a shelter and adopt another dog. This is not the most well-written book, and it definitely had its problems, but every animal lover should read this. It tugs a mean heartstring, and it feels genuine without being sappy or emotionally manipulative.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The GR reader reviews are all over the place for this book. I understand the objections, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is shamelessly, unabashedly anthropomorphic, and I loved that. The dogs are just great-Hank, who's terrified of stick shapes; Shadow, who won't bark; Tasha, a rambunctious Rottweiller mix; Boomer, a comfy old grandfatherly Golden; little Josie, who has a biting habit; Dora, who establishes herself rapidly as a queenly alpha, and finally, Alfie, a gorgeous greyhound who doesn't give a damn about anything. Characters all.

The humans who inhabit the book and the "school" itself have an almost fantasy-like quality. The Sanctuary is a spooky old complex located at the top of a mountain (we never find out where) and is run by a small group of aging ex-nuns. There is an equally spooky inn at the foot of the mountain which serves as the gateway to the refuge and is run by the acerbic, authoritarian Mrs Auberchon who we learn early on is also the Warden of the Sanctuary. We have Evie whose first-person narration tells most of the story; she's obviously intelligent and she has money from somewhere, but she has a "past" involving drugs and a series of rehabs and has applied to be a trainer at the refuge. Giant George is just a young teenager, but he's a seasoned trainer who lives at the Sanctuary with the nuns and the dogs. Then there is a small army of anonymous volunteers who somehow find abused animals and execute their rescues. It's all very mysterious, and most of it is never fully explained. This seems to be the basis of many of the lower ratings. I found myself thinking of fairy tales which are full of engaging characters and creatures and similarly do not provide the back-stories and narrative exposition one might expect or want in a novel. Many readers found it unsatisfying, but I found it magical and enchanting.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second chances--for rescued dogs, for first-time dog trainers, for homeless teenaged guy.

This book meanders a bit, but in a totally appropriate way. Rehab is not easy for either the dogs or the people, but it has moments of great excitement for breakthroughs and moments of hilarity.

If you are very tender hearted you may be put off by some of the descriptions of the very physically and emotionally battered dogs who are rescues. But the book is mostly about hope and recovery of a more normal life.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first experience with Cooney’s writing, but as a dog-lover and shelter-dog supporter, from its description, this book seems like the perfect one for me! Unfortunately, I think my expectations were much too high. Right from the start, the book gives an unfavorable first impression. The chapters, though brief, suffer from verb-tense inconsistencies and the shifting perspective also makes difficult to feel a firm connection to the story itself, not to mention the characters.

Even as the unusual style choices settle a bit, the book runs into some rather “preachy” parts as Evie learns about abused dogs, training and statistics. I suppose it will make dog-loving readers think about their own answers to some of the questions Evie poses, but the book falls into an unfortunately common trope of this subgenre in being as heavy-handed with its lessons for readers as it warns against that same tactic for teaching dogs. Sort of ironic, I suppose...

But, frankly, I don’t like the book at all. I wish that I had not read it through until the end. Parts of it are interesting and I do like how the author assigns dog-like actions and characteristics to its human characters, but it prevents them from ever feeling completely genuine as people. And though the dogs feel more authentic, oddly, there are not enough scenes with them to compensate. What is most disappointing, though, is just how devoid of fun this is. There is absolutely no humour here - which is one characteristic of dogs that desperately needs to be woven into this novel! It may be a book about second chances, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be such a downer! The ending, too, leaves a lot to be desired - it’s very abrupt with many loose ends. I genuinely wish that I had set this one aside much earlier!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine that your family had a new baby and suddenly, they began beating you. The people that you have always trusted, for years, become frightening strangers.

Imagine you are an athlete who has been kept in a crate most of your life, trained with less than gentle measures, and then tossed out when you can't race any more.

Imagine you have been kept caged up for so long, in solitary confinement that your routines are the only thing you know.

Imagine that the family who should care for you splits up and there is no stability in your life and you are frightened, rebellious, and hostile, and you start hurting yourself to relieve your pain.

Now, imagine that you wind up in a place where people want to help you, but you are going to have to trust, to learn, to get outside your sad past.

It is hard, whether you are human or canine. But people can help dogs and dogs can help people

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge dog lover so I enjoyed the book – the dogs were my favorite. Well, most of the dogs.

I am a big dog lover so Josie and Dora weren’t really a favorite of mine, but I loved Hank and was bummed he left so soon. I loved Boomer as well (pit bulls and goldens are my dogs of choice!). (And I enjoyed Shadow, Tasha, and Alfie.)

I have had a tickle to want to open a rescue shelter myself and this definitely pulled at those heart strings.

I felt like I could connect to the book with the way that Evie communicated with the dogs and of course, the dogs themselves; but I am still struggling with all the holes that were in the story.

We eventually learn Evie had a history of cocaine abuse as well as substance abuse “treatment” of some sort. And we know she doesn’t have anyone in the outside world, but that is all we know. Nothing more.

We can gather that there is a story behind Giant George, Mrs. Auberchon, and the sisters; but again, no more.

I really would have liked the holes filled in a little more – to learn more about the people that we and the dogs interacted with.

Still, I rated this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounding it up to a 4 star read.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about dogs!! Rescue dogs!! It's a dream come true, except it's boring. I tried so hard to like this book, but the characters and the story were just plain boring. I was more interested in Giant George than anyone & you get the least about of information on him, so that was definitely a bummer. I would like to read at least one other book of Ellen Cooneys books, because I have read a lot of good reviews about her, but in my opinion this was not the best representation of her writing.

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love dogs. I love books. I do not love books about dogs. Either they are too depressing or they are too happy. This one was more on the depressing side. Evie is a young woman recently out of rehab who finds herself employed as a trainer at a dog sanctuary. Evie' s background is never really explored although the dogs she trains are specifically introduced with the conditions they were rescued from. There aren't enough success stories to make this less than depressing.

[Jan Stites · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like dogs, stories about redemption, or just a great tale (or tail) (groan), this is a wonderful novel. I fell in love with the book and the characters, both human and canine, almost immediately. The author's styles is crisp, the story moving, and the hopeful possibility of connection and change quite rewarding. Deserves much more sales.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I was going to love this book when I started it, but I got confused with the setting and the characters.I enjoyed learning more about dog rescue and liked watching Evie conquer her addiction problem.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a good book. The mountaintop school is for dogs who have been rescued from bad situations. However, the mountaintop school also provides a rescue for people coming from bad situations. Evie is the main character and although her background is not clearly described, the reader is presented with enough information to know she has a troubled past and the dogs are helping Evie to have a second chance.

Evie is not the most likeable character but she begins to improve similar to the dogs who must learn to acclimate to their new surroundings. I really enjoyed the supporting characters such as Giant George, Mrs. Aubuchon, the sisters (read the book and you'll understand), as well as all the dogs and their personalities. This book was listed as a favorite by indie bookstores and it is worth the read.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read all year. Nearly every character, human or canine, is in recovery of some kind, and Ellen Cooney tells their stories beautifully and economically. Having looked at some of the other reviews on Goodreads, I would say that if you need everything spelled out and a complete backstory for each character, you may not like this book. If you are able to pick up on small cues and read between lines, it will probably suit you. And if that applies and you also love dogs, this is definitely the book for you. I recommend it very highly.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book until the end. It just stopped. Gave me no closure at all. Is there going to be a sequel? Love the rescued dogs and the hell they are overcoming, especially Alfie the Greyhound, the description of his suede fur, soft ears and big brown eyes. It reminded me of my rescue Greyhound Mariah. The sweetest dog ever. She died last September while having her teeth cleaned and it broke my heart. I'll never know now if Alfie came out of his shell and was adopted.

[Jennifer Pruett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read, full of compassion for abused dogs and the people who rescue and try to rehabilitate them. Almost everyone in this story has trauma in their background, and the dogs help them as much as the other way around. I found the end of this book a bit confusing- no spoilers - I may re-read the last (long) chapter to see if that helps. Even with that, I recommend this charming book which is both funny and poignant.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know...it was fine. I didn't particularly like it, but I didn't dislike it either. He narrative tone was pretty good, but it was a little uneventful for me in the long run.

[Teddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes we are being rescued when we don't even know it.

[Kristine Raugust charette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. I loves the personalities if the dogs :)

[Enchanted Prose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still recall the pleasure of a novel by Ellen Cooney I read nearly 10 years ago: A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies (published in 2005, historical fiction/1900’s Boston). And, for some unknown reason, have yet to read Lambrusco, published a few years later (also historical fiction/1943 Italian Resistance movement), awaiting on my shelf (not much longer!). So, when I learned the author had written a new book about animal rescue, so different from these, I was excited to read it, especially since my family has rescued three beloved English Setters.

Rescuing Dogs, Rescuing People (present day, Maine?): You do not have to be a dog rescuer (or other animal rescuer) or dog lover to appreciate this novel. All you need is a heart.

As any volunteer for any noble cause knows, the giver gets as much (or more) than the giving. The giver who touches your heart in THE MOUNTAINTOP SCHOOL FOR DOGS AND OTHER SECOND CHANCES is Evie, a 24-year-old broken soul whose soul-searching voice narrates this affecting story. Occasionally, she curses but mostly she comes to us sadly, pensively, in poignant prose.

We meet Evie the day she arrives at the “Sanctuary,” a “sprawling, rugged, stone and wood lodge built a hundred years ago as a ski resort,” now a dog rescue center. Its starry logo is a dog “tilted upward, head high, front paw lifted, like he was walking around in just air.” This “place of refuge” is the last stop for these dogs, saved by an underground “Network,” having failed everywhere else. Evie answered an ad she found on their website, paid fees for what she assumed was a traditional training school with classes, textbook, teachers, students. But the sanctuary that sits atop a snowy mountaintop in an unknown locale is anything but conventional. And Evie, who has never owned a dog, is the only trainee.

I’m guessing the novel is set in northern Maine, the state where the author lives, for there are clues beyond being snowbound: people attired in park ranger garb, elderly staff, and a rescue scene off the mountaintop to a neighborhood that’s a: “came-to-life picture of a perfect place in America to live.” Yet nothing is perfect here for the poor dog being rescued, one of the many thoughtful messages Cooney makes. This one: things are not what they seem to be.

At the base of the mountaintop is an inn, room and board included with Evie’s fees. Here she meets the innkeeper, Mrs. Auberchon, 50, another lost soul (less obvious) who is also “Warden of the Sanctuary,” which means she observes dogs upon arrival, communicating with them through “computers, cameras, speakers, mikes, magic.” The pros/cons of the solitary nature and value of technology in the lonely lives of these two loner characters is another message. While enough of Evie’s past is revealed over time to grasp why she’s a human stray, Mrs. Auberchon’s comes to light only at the tail end, along with a glimpse into the evolution and future of the twosome’s relationship. While there are other people in the story, volunteers and staff, it’s Giant George, the only other young person, a 15-year-old boy who perceives himself to be a Great Dane, who – aside from the dogs – contributes to the rescue of Evie. For that’s what this heartfelt tale is really about: Evie’s rescue. “Rescue,” Evie says, the “Best. Verb. Ever.”

Rescue is part of Evie’s alphabetic voice. Cooney has cleverly structured the novel as an A-Z glossary of dog-related vocabulary – details about breeds, traits, behaviors, training – reflective of Evie’s avid research. It’s delivered in down-to-earth prose, metaphors for human behavior and understanding. Dog/human terms include: Abandon, Adoption, Alpha (bullying), Appreciation, Bonding, Companion, Connection, Depression, Family, Fear, Forgiveness, Gains, Goals (“totally overrated”), Home, Loneliness, Losers, Obedience, Second Chances, Shelter (“a place you’re glad to be”), Rehab, Surrender, Treats, Trust, Victories. A few more examples show why Evie refuses to discuss her past, and hint at her healing:

Abuse: “Sometimes you don’t call it abuse even when it is happening to you … You just call it “my life.”

Gentle: “Good adjective. Good non-alpha thing to be. Good thing to aspire to, but not until you’re ready to stop being a softie, desperate to be liked and admired.”

Hope: “Can I have it?” – “Can I actually figure out what it actually is?”

Real: “You cannot be fake with dogs”

Truth: “The truth is there are moments when I am very, very peaceful.”

Of course, it would be remiss not to mention the important dogs in the story. They arrive with handwritten assessments of their condition, including prognoses for adoption, many poor: Shadow, a hound mix with a nasty infection from a choke collar; Hank, a Lab/Pitbull crazed by wooden objects; Josie, a small mix still biting at 8, who “wasn’t the only one in this room with memories needing erasing;” Tasha, a Rottweiler who needed an owner who could handle her intimidating size and strength;” Dapple, an underweight, withdrawn, overworked greyhound; and the “pitties,” whose foreboding arrival is anticipated by all, except unknowing Evie. They were trained for dogfighting. Yes, this practice still exists. In “many states,” Cooney chillingly points out, it’s “not a serious crime to abuse animals.”

When we’re introduced to Evie at the inn, she’s very anxious. When one of the dogs knocks her to the ground, the fall mirrors her life: a “pattern of being knocked to my feet.” She doesn’t even realize she’s being tested, that her training has begun. For days, she tries to figure out what’s going on, and is understandably upset when she overhears Mrs. Auberchon confiding to Mrs. Walzer, the baker of dog treats, Evie will never last the week. Little by little, Evie proves herself with the dogs. When she’s granted permission to go to the mountaintop, you feel the emotional significance of her acceptance: “The light in the windows had the mellow glow of candlelight, and for a few moments I was enchanted, as if I’d entered a Christmas card or a carol.”

On the mountaintop, she’s greeted by Boomer, an older Golden Retriever, whose golden heart cannot be overstated. Boomer may be aging but his “spirit was like a genie in a lamp, as alive as anything.” When Evie hugged Boomer: “It was the first time finding out what it’s like to be held in the arms of someone who has no arms … He was good at holding. He was doing a better job with me than I’d ever done with myself.”

As Evie works with the dogs, her conversations with them are not just reflections about them but herself. Her voice brightens when she speaks to little biting Josie: “You would not believe how much I get it that your will is a whole lot bigger than your body. I’m in awe of that. I mean, I know things like that.”

You can’t help but admire the way Cooney delicately sends us many wise messages, such as when Evie appraises the former ski lodge’s shabbiness on the outside, yet it still retains “personal dignity, the kind that only comes from inside.” Or when Evie appreciates how a dog can have a “heart twice the size of its body.” Cooney wants us to appreciate Evie as twice as powerful as she seems on the surface. Evie possesses an inner strength we ought to be a little in awe of.

Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)

[Lisa of Hopewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
My Interest

I put this book on my TBR when it was released. I was, again, hunting for an audio and found it available at my library.
The Story

Evie answers a job ad to train dogs. Or is it dogs training people? She isn’t sure. Is there a manual? A textbook? Or is she writing one? When the story opens she is stuck down the mountain from the dog sanctuary at an Inn run by a crusty old lady.

Evie’s own past is a bit cloudy, but she seems to have a few things in common with some of the dogs. As does Big George, a kid who helps with rescues. And the dog-treat baking woman and, well, and each of the volunteers who come in and out of the story working with the dogs. And, are there nuns (or ex-nuns) in this book?

And then there are the rescue missions–cloak and dagger operations to save dogs. These made the book have an element of a thriller.

But it is the dogs–their personalities, their friendships, and their pasts, and their play, that make the book so memorable.
My Thoughts

No animal has ever left my home except by a natural death or an unavoidable euthanasia–by “unavoidable” I mean kidneys failing and death being days of misery away. Never out of “inconvenience.”

What caught my eye though was her monologue on adoption. (I’m sorry–it was too long to copy down on the side of the road while listening to the book in the car). You see, I’m a mom through adoption. I love the progress we have made on protecting and saving animals, and admire the people who have made that happen, but people often live 60 to 80 years longer than our pets (some even more than that). I’d love to see the same zeal applied to “rescuing” adoptable children in the world’s foster care programs. That warmed my heart.

This is an interesting book. It is not for everyone. I live out in the country. Pittbulls and others are rescued from fighting out here as well as in the cities. It’s a scourge. I felt genuinely bad for the other dogs (even though this was a novel and they were all fictional) at all the attention given to the arriving “Pitties.” I think there is little hope for former fighting dogs. That’s sad, I know, but had I been in charge, I would likely have had them put down. Too many awful things happen to people–especially children, when exposed to fighting dogs.

Also where I live, Amish farmers and others “farm” popular breeds of dogs–i.e. run puppy mills. I HATE THAT. I hate it with all my heart and soul. Dog fighting and puppy mills are so horrendous–yet we turn a blind eye, just as we do to the abuses to kids in foster care (which have a much greater impact on our world).

Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who is realistic about the world today and the animals in it. There are no “trigger” moments in my opinion (your personal past may make you see it differently, ok?). Things may seem to be heading that way, but they stop short of it. If you enjoy dogs, you will want to meet Hank, Boomer, Tasha, Dapple, and all the others. This is their story and it is a good one. It shows that one person getting involved can make a big difference. We need to be reminded of that every day.

I’m sorry that this is a “dark” review–it is still a good review. The book is well worth it. I listened to the audio version.
My Verdict
3.5

Reading notes only--not a review
Snoopy a "smug little jerk?"

In a place where no one is having sex. So? Most of life is spent doing things other than having sex. Geesh....

[LibraryCin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Evie has travelled to work (or volunteer?) at a dog rescue at the top of a mountain. However, she lied and said she had experience training dogs. Meanwhile, she looks things up online to help herself out. She is delayed for a while at the bottom of the mountain where she meets Mrs. Auberchon, who is in charge of the lodge she is temporarily at, and “Giant George”, a teenager who also works/volunteers at the rescue. And she meets a few of the dogs on their way to the rescue.

I listened to the audio. Although I liked the idea of the dog rescue and some of the issues that the book brings to light as to some of the awful ways dogs are sometimes treated and why they might end up at a rescue, I wasn’t impressed with this rescue – seems to me this is a pretty disreputable place. They let Evie go straight in and start training without training her themselves? They stole at least one dog (the new Evie and teenager George were sent to do this), probably more. I didn’t really like Evie, and I wasn’t interested in her background, so I mostly tuned that out. The 2.5 stars is for the dogs and the general information about dogs included in the book.

[Gloria Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evie comes from a troubled background. She is in her twenties but unsettled. Knowing nothing about dogs, she signs up to take a training course in the rehabilitation of rescue dogs. We look at the world through her unstable point of view.

Mrs. Auberchon provides us with an alternate point of view. She runs the inn which is attached to the mountaintop sanctuary in Maine. Like so many applicants for the training program, Evie won't last longer than a week, or so Mrs. Auberchon figures.

Connecting the sanctuary to the inn is the jeep, driven by Giant George, a fifteen-year-old boy who provides Evie with the most direction. All the adults seem distant, uncommunicative. And though Evie meets several disturbed dogs, she sees no evidence of a program she is to follow. Nevertheless, she carries on, mostly on her own and comes to see each dog as a person, comparable to human personhood. The program, such as it is or isn't, lasts a snowy winter, and during that time more than just the dogs are transformed for the better.

Here is an enjoyable read with lots of humor and insight.

[Julie Cahillane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had a hard time reading this because it didn’t make sense. Finished the book and still don’t understand it. The main character is in a program to learn to be a dog trainer but never receives any training? She seems to just be placed in a room with some quirky dogs and just figures it out? That would be the most irresponsible and dangerous for the dogs and human. The characters are not developed and you never really get to know them. While the story weaves in some realities of animal rescue, it is overall an incomplete and unrealistic portrayal.

[Teresa Anderman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t have high hopes for this but obviously...I planned to pass it along to friends after I read it. Instead, like a rescue dog, I’m keeping it here, near my heart. It’s about broken dogs and broken humans and how they save each other. Inspiring. Tender. Heartbreaking. Funny. Read it. Ok?

[Susan Gaston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an amazing book - brought me to tears.

[Kanwaljit Deol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a dog lover, but this book made me look at them the way I look at human beings.