Saving Cinnamon. The Amazing True Story Of A Missing Military Puppy And The Desperate Mission To Bring Her Home

by Christine Sullivan

Set against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan, Saving Cinnamon chronicles the love story of Navy Reservist Mark Feffer and a stray puppy he bonded with while stationed outside of Kandahar. When Mark is about to return stateside, he decides to adopt Cinnamon and sets up her transport back to the U.S. But the unthinkable happens and Cinnamon is abandoned by the dog handler who was supposed to bring her home, and disappears without a trace. Mark and his family start a desperate search for the puppy which lasts 44 days and ends dramatically when Mark and Cinnamon are finally reunited. This is a touching memoir told by Mark’s sister, who initiated the rescue efforts.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Dogs, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Memoir

Paperback

First published December 21, 2009

Reviews

[Ryann · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the writing to be disjointed, rambling and extremely repetitive, the author to be annoying and self-absorbed, and the plot unworthy of a book. I think the author lacks appreciate and understanding for other cultures and inserts herself more into a central figure of this story than she actually was. I realize it's a true story, but it didn't need to be written. They didn't really save the dog's life and it's not as important as a lot of what is happening in that area of the world. I am a HUGE dog lover, but with the thousands they spent on one dog that already had a good home, they could've saved hundreds of dogs in the U.S.

[Amnicon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started to read this book. When I first read about it over on Amazon, I thought "Saving Cinnamon" would be a wonderful story of a soldier working really hard to bring his partner-dog home with him.

It's not exactly that. Cinnamon is a dog that found her way onto one of the army bases and many people took care of her. Instead of the soldier telling the story it is his sister that is telling the story.

Right off the bat I didn't like the writing. It was kind of disjointed. Then I realized that it was the sister of the soldier who wanted to bring the dog home that was the author That didn't set a very good tone for me. I tried reading it some more and I just could not get into this story. I got maybe 40 pages into the story and I realized that she was talking about a man named Dave and this wasn't her brother. The author kind of popped back and forth about who she was talking about and I decided that I just did not want to try and power through this book and waste my time trying to keep it all straight. The author's editor did her a disservice by not working with her more closely and tightening up the story and make it more flowing and understandable. At times it seemed she the writing had followed her thought process and wasn't in any particular order.

[Cecily Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an intense little mission to get this dog a good live! I can't imagine going to that length for anything but it was an amazing representation of perseverance and love. I am a pupper lover so this book definitely made me smile.
Good Read!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I’m such a sucker for animal rescue stories.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story, filled with hope and determination, and one woman's struggle to help her brother be reunited with a pup he befriended while on duty in Afghanistan. The book is one of those truly beautiful animal stories I find myself picking up time and time gain, and before long, you find yourself enamored with Cinnamon, and amazed at Chris' determination to get her to the US. The book is emotive, well written and a truly lovely story- the pictures will make you smile, and no doubt remind you of your own beloved animal. A recommendation for animal lovers everywhere, and anyone who has let a furry, hairy or even scaly animal into their heart and home.

[AnnieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

The weird point of view (told by the sister) made it hard to get into.

The narrator made another mark against it.

Finally the disjointed writing and difficult plot line.

Those three things meshed together to take a nice dog story into a never ending saga. It just never came together. I think if it was told from the soldier's or the wife's point of view, it would have connected.

Never have I ever been so disconnected from an animal story.

There are many great dog and soldier stories. This isn't one of them. Pass this one over.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was interesting only because I'd already read a similar encounter No Buddy Left Behind. It really drags out the story by reprinting every email sent between several people in the story. It does a good job of justifying all the time and money spent getting this one dog home, but it could have been done in a lot fewer chapters. I realize the author was trying to convey the agonizing time spent searching for the dog, but it was not suspenseful.

[Kelsey Wilkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was really endearing, but the writing got in the way of enjoying the story. I think the main problem was that the writer had about enough meat in the story to create a feature magazine article, but tried to stretch it to book length. Her awkward attempts at filling space with anecdotes about other dogs and family members left me wishing a solid editor had intervened and suggested a different forum for this story.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story about a soldier in Afghanistan who decides to adopt a puppy that has kept him company during his tour of duty. Cinnamon's journey to the US was very difficult. Somewhere out there is a man named Matthew Roberts that I despise and would spit on if I met him in person.

[Carly Laferriere · Rating 1 out of 5]

The overall story/plot was good, but the author's tone bugged the heck out of me. The middle of the book seemed like a mix between a pity-party she had for herself and a rant about the guy who left the dog at the airport. I gave up with 30 or so pages left and put the book away.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story, but the writing was somewhat repetitive.

[Cora · Rating 1 out of 5]

In 2005, Cinnamon was brought to Camp Shirzai in Kandahar by an American soldier, as a stray puppy. There, Cinnamon was loved by all the military personnel stationed at Camp Shirzai. She was showered with affection, fed, adored by all. In return, Cinnamon gave the military personnel a sense of home. A sense of "normal". She reminded them of pets waiting overseas for their people to return. She brought happiness to all who adored her in return.

Then, here comes Navy Reservist Mark Feffer, serving a six month deployment. He decides, "cute dog, imma take her home." He's an officer and apparently used to getting what he wants without question, so he orchestrates some under the table maneuvers to get her transported to the US.

When the individual who agreed to transport Cinnamon runs into complications at the airport, he leaves her. A caring man named Katib rescues Cinnamon from the airport and takes her home to his family. At this point, Cinnamon is happy and well cared for. This should have been the end of the story.

Christine Sullivan has different plans though. She leads people to believe that her brother was rescuing Cinnamon and that it is vitally important that this dog be found and sent to the US.

It's really difficult to review this book without providing spoilers, but I would have liked to have known a few facts before I committed myself to reading this book. Here is what I found:

1. The wrong person wrote this book. Christine was the sister of the person having the direct relationship with Cinnamon. Without understanding WHY Mark felt like he had to relocate Cinnamon, I have to assume what I wrote above, "cute dog, imma take her home". Christine's motivation became clear; she had nothing else going on in her life, was seeking attention, and thus fixates on this mission.

2. This book is poorly written. Lots of tedious facts about emails and phone calls, melodrama, and self promotion by the author. LOTS of self promotion. I'm not even sure she had her brother proof it before she had it published. How many times did she refer to her Navy brother as a soldier? Surely he would mention that Soldiers are Soldiers, Marines are Marines, Airmen are Airmen, and Sailors are Sailors. Or possibly he didn't realize this only being a reservist?

3. It should not have been titled "Saving Cinnamon". At best, it was "Relocating Cinnamon". Or at worst, "Saving Cinnamon from What My Brother Subjected Her To". When you look at the pictures of Cinnamon before this ordeal, she looks so happy, well fed and healthy. Then in the pictures of her after her horrible journey, she is skinny and lacking the spirit that she had in Camp Shirzai. My heart absolutely broke reading what these selfish people put her through.

4. The author took advantage of so many people, monetarily, resources, time and through prayer requests. The prayer part rubbed me the wrong way because instead of maybe praying for Cinnamon to be safe, and for God's will to be done, the prayer request was specific....bring Cinnamon "home". Cinnamon was fine in Camp Shirzai. Cinnamon was fine with Katib. Cinnamon was fine at the second base after she was taken from Katib. It looked like prayers had been answered over and over again. But it wasn't the answer Christine wanted.

I just hated this book on so many levels I can't even put it into words. It's terrible that they put this dog through everything they did. It's terrible that this self absorbed woman kept pressing and pressing for the relocation to happen. It's terrible that she benefits in any way from this book. I do not recommend this book to anyone. The one star rating is for the pictures of Cinnamon...such a beautiful dog. A real gift to the military personnel stationed with her. So sad they were robbed of her.

If you want to read a book about how very much a dog means to military personnel serving abroad, I suggest Judy: The Unforgettable Story of the Dog Who Went to War and Became a True Hero

If you want to read a book about a woman who really saved a dog in Turkey (many dogs) I highly suggest Saving Lucy: A girl, a bike, a street dog.

[Diane Stultz · Rating 3 out of 5]

In honor of pet rescue month, I picked this audio book up at my local library. As the author states, this is a story of "love, hope, perseverance, and triumph." It is a true story, so who cannot get into a feel good story about saving a dog?? The premise is a soldier stationed in Afghanistan adopts a puppy that roams onto the base. When he learns that his deployment is ending, he cannot bear to leave the puppy (named Cinnamon) behind. From there the story, told from his sister's point of view, takes you on a journey of trials and tribulations in the process of getting this puppy to the states. There are many snags in this process and you begin to feel the anxiety of the family and people involved. However, there are many people (friends and strangers) that prayed and offered support in lots of ways to "save Cinnamon". Although this was an audio book and it entertained me as I drove, it was not the best written story.. lots of jumping around and extraneous information. However, I did fall in love with Cinnamon and found myself cheering for her safe return to the states and to the soldier that took care of her. I also was amazed at the number of people involved (willingly) in her rescue. It gave me comfort to know that there are still great people out there in the world.

[Mez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purchased this book thinking it would be an amazing and interesting read, much like “Marley and Me.”

I was wrong. For some reason I was bored and it just kept going on and on and on about emails and what not. I would rather have read about what the dog was doing in Kyrgyzstan... but it went on about the emails and contacts it took to retrieve the dog from overseas.

Pretty boring too. Nothing fun. ALSO. The dog was found and was living a seemingly happy life with people overseas who seemed to love and nurture it. So it seemed so selfish for the author to desperately want the dog back, even though another family had already fallen in love with it and was taking good care of Cinnamon.
I felt like this book was a bit self centred on the authors behalf. Probably didn’t need a story written about it but anyway.

Got annoyed reading it 3/4 of the way and just gave up.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started out with high hopes for this book, but as I read I got angry. It's one thing to want to save this dog from a questionable future in Afghanistan. But when the dog was lost while being shipped home, and while searching for her, it was found she'd been adopted into a loving home, they should have let her go. There are enough dogs in the US needing homes. Instead they insisted Cinnamon be torn from a home she'd lived in for a month, a home where she was loved and cared for. It would have been different if her future was still in question, but it wasn't. At this point I found it very selfish, and I could not finish the book.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um. Okay, so I'm glad I read this so that I know the story of little Cinnamon and her crazy rescue from Afghanistan. It's hard not to like a good rescue pup tale, especially when it is a true one. But the writing? Oh man. It left a lot to be desired. Disjointed, repetitive, confusing. Also, the narrator (the soldier's sister) was extremely egocentric and inserted herself into every piece of the story, when it wasn't even hers to tell in the first place. I'm glad I now know Cinnamon's story, but I wish someone would've helped the author tone down her ego a bit by editing her finished product.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Feffer falls in love with a stray puppy while he is temporarily stationed in Kandahar. When he decides to adopt her he has to make all the arrangements to get her home. The first dog handler that starts her on her journey leaves her behind without letting anyone know why or where. From there she is handled by several people who may or may not take care of her. In the meantime Mark's sister begins the process of finding her and getting her home. Cheered on and helped by many people she brings about a miracle.

A good story with a good ending.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The true story of a puppy rescued by an American soldier's family from Afghanistan. Unlikely as it sounds, even after all the hoops are jumped through, it goes awry. The companion abandons her at the airport and doesn't contact the soldier. But this is a story of perseverance. Cinnamon finally makes it home after hours and days of emails, phone calls, and helpful strangers.

[Jamie Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute story. Written in a way to create drama where there really wasn’t that much. In knowing soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan I think there are a lot of stories to tell. This one was so fluffy. I would say that if misplacing a dog was the worst that happened, they are exceedingly blessed.

[Elizabeth]

These types of books always get to me. A lost puppy in a war zone and a dedicated soldier who loves them and will stop at nothing to get them home. This was a good easy read. I finished it in a couple of days. Definitely read if you need a happy ending.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a story of an amazingly joyful homecoming. Cinnamon is a morale booster to many people. She made everyone feel good, like a little piece of home many of the troops who had pets of their own. Saving one animal will not change the world but surely the world will change for that one animal.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but a bit too detailed. Was over it by the end.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, but seemed repetitious at many junctures. But I kept reading wanting to get to the happy ending. Liked the pictures also!

[Stacey Whitman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story overall

[Nancy Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

True story and good reading, but I'm just not that much of a dog person.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiration to persevere despite all obstacles.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting, feel-good, happy ending story. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something in the telling of Cinnamon's story bothered me, though.

[Misty Melsheimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of the story is quite good. A soldier befriends a dog while deployed, and when his deployment ends, he attempts to bring the dog home with him. However, the dog ends up lost after not being able to board her scheduled flight, and so a frantic search is started to find the dog. Sounds like the sort of tale that would have me weeping by the end. However, the writing was awful, and I found the soldier's sister (the author) to be quite annoying. Yes, she was instrumental in finding Cinnamon, but she seems like a busybody who gets overly involved in the business of others. She makes calls on others' behalf even when told not to. Once she asked a friend to talk to his friend to get Oprah to help them out. He refused, and she said that she KNEW Oprah would help if only she could talk to her. She assumes everyone will be invested in what's important to her, and she's relentless.

The writing really detracted from the story. Parts were very redundant, and it is clear the author is not a writer by trade. This book would have benefited from some serious editing. Again, the premise of the story was good. All it needed was a better storyteller.

For someone in the market for this kind of book, I would recommend One Dog at a Time by Pen Farthing. The writing leaves something to be desired in that story as well, but you care less as Pen is a much more likable figure and the tale really pulls at the heartstrings. I felt much more emotionally connected to Pen and his plight than to Christine and hers. Pen makes the story about the dogs. I felt Christine made much of the story about herself.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ranks as one of my all-time favorites! The book begins by telling the story of a man (Mark) who, quite unexpectedly, is deployed to war. Having not had a family member deployed, it gave me real insight into how the family can be affected by something like this when it is unexpected. Once in Afganistan, he meets a dog who lives on base. This dog is just a puppy and is not always treated well by some, although he is loved by most military folks on the base. When Mark finds out he will be going home, he decides to attempt to adopt the puppy named Cinnamon and bring her home with him. This proves to be almost impossible and the story gets very gripping as they tell the tale of how hard her travels are. The author did a wonderful job of keeping the readers interested. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to read the outcome of Cinnamon's travels. They included several pages of Cinammon that are just beautiful. This book would appeal to both animal lovers and those interested in military stories.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. If you love dogs then you'll like this one. The writing style makes it a quick read. There is no unnecessary describing of scenery or other minute details that are not pertinent to the story.

The story is about a puppy named Cinnamon who is living on a military base in Afghanistan. A soldier who helps raise her on base decides to bring Cinnamon home to be his dog in the US. After his tour of duty, about 6 months, he has to go through debriefing at another base therefore he sends Cinnamon with a military dog handler instead. This dog handler was supposed to get Cinnamon on the plane, transfer at another airport and then be met at the US airport to give Cinnamon to a friend of the new owner. Cinnamon never got on the plane due to some paperwork issues. She was left at the airport. When she doesn't show up at the US airport with the dog handler the work begins to find out where Cinnamon is and to get her home.