Skeezer: Dog with a Mission

by Elizabeth Yates

True account of a "canine co-therapist" who helps emotionally disturbed children.

Genres: Animals

158 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Elizabeth Yates, author of over forty books for children, was born in New York State on December 6th, 1905. Determined to be an author, she moved to New York City to launch her career. She worked a variety of jobs including reviewing book, writing short stories, and doing research. She moved to England with her husband and wrote her first book, High Holiday, based on her travels in Switzerland with her three children. The family returned to the U.S. in 1939 and settled in New Hampshire. Yates won the Newbery Award in 1951 for her book, Amos Fortune, Free Man, a biography of an African prince who is enslaved and taken to America.

Yates conducted writer's workshops at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Connecticut, and Indiana University. She also served as the Director of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind.

Yates was widowed in 1963. Elizabeth Yates died Sunday at a hospice in Concord, New Hampshire on July 29, 2001 at the age of 95.

Elizabeth Yates' books have been described as "the result of extensive research, a strong underlying belief in God, and a vivid imagination."

Reviews

[CindySR]

Skeezer was possibly the first emotional support animal to work at a medical facility. If not the first, definitely one of the best. Recommended quick read if you can find a copy.

[Janice]

I enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me so much of a dog we owned when our children were growing up. I am sure our children would have enjoyed this book also.

Second time reading this book. Read it to my Mother and May. They really enjoyed it.

[East-Daikon]

If anyone has seen the movie and is thinking about reading this, the book and movie are quite different. Reading the book I was tense the whole time bracing for the upsetting scene near the end... but it never came??? The movie seems to be heavily fictionalised to tug at your heartstrings and focused more on the young nurse than the patients and Skeezer. (The movie is online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYTxUugbVEQ TIP: set the subtitles to "Spanish (auto-generated) << English" in your settings to follow along)

The book is much more focused on the children and Skeezer which is what makes it better than the movie imho. I'd describe it as case studies of six different patients and how they interact with Skeezer. Notable events in Skeezer's life outside of her work are also included. It's narrative non-fiction that adults would enjoy but also would also be suitable for ages 10+.

If you have an interest in mental health (particularly if you enjoy reading children's case studies like in Loss: Sadness and Depression) AND you love dogs you may enjoy this. It's available to read for free online: https://archive.org/details/skeezerdogwithmi00yate/mode/1up

And finally to honour her memory, a photo of the real Skeezer: