Stealing Love: Confessions of a Dognapper--A Memoir

by Mary A. Fischer

By day, Mary A. Fischer is a respected, award-winning journalist who covers the criminal justice system. At night, sometimes, she is also a dognapper—trading in her tailored suit for a sleek thief’s outfit, complete with black turtleneck and flashlight—as she commits misdemeanors in the name of love. More than once she has staked out a neighbor’s home, snuck quietly into their backyard, and jimmied a lock to rescue a very grateful dog that was being abused. It’s a risk every time, but for Fischer the danger of standing idly by while innocents suffer is greater still.

Her own painful experiences of loss and neglect have led her down both covering the law and breaking it. When she was four, her mother was committed to a mental institution, and she and her sister were sent to a strict Catholic boarding school run by nuns who believed in discipline, not affection. In the absence of her adoring mother, love was something she had to work for, something she had to steal in bits and pieces.

Growing up, Fischer developed an acute sensitivity to injustice that has taken her on assignments around the world to visit people in prison who have been wrongly accused and convicted. Her best-known stories—the McMartin Preschool child sexual abuse case, Wayne Williams, the so-called Atlanta Child Murderer, and the 1993 Michael Jackson scandal—took a unique, unpopular stance only to be validated later on. Her motive in both journalism and dognapping is the to stand up for the underdog and defend those who can’t defend themselves, be they human or canine.

Stealing Love is a moving memoir of lost—and rediscovered—love and illustrates firsthand the power of the individual and the incredible bond between humans and dogs.

Genres: Memoir, Dogs, Nonfiction

267 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2006

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just for the record, I thought most of this book would be about her various dognappings. It's not, but I'm not complaining. Her poor mother! I so felt for her. Really sad but good.

[Cheryl L.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others noted, the title and cover lead you to believe the book is about the author's life as a dognapper. It isn't. That part of her story is covered in the first several and last twenty or so pages.

This is however a good read. It is a well-written, engaging memoir. Even if your family dynamic differs from that of the Fischer family, there is much to relate to in this memoir.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disappointing. Very little about stealing or animals. Well written but, in the end, pretty dull.

[calico Rosenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehh. unfortunately, Fischer is not a great writer. I think her childhood may have been more tramatic than the impression her words give, but it doesn't translate. she re also repeated a lot of things, and contradicted herself. I dont know if her mother willingly went to the asylum, or if she believe/s/ed she did, she stated contradictively ove rand over. and, she preceeded the nature of every event with like 10 elaborations of how bad it was and what would happen, leaving nothing to surprise or self-interpretation. and there are just so many grammar errors--i eventually realized that if id been the publisher who decided iwanted to publish, i wouldn't have bothered trying to fix them either. example ("the parallels between our past suddenly became as clear as if someone had turned a light on in a darkroom') (i wrote this down and the page number but it is not with me.)
first off, 'as clear as THEY WOULD HAVE if someoneone? became clear, as if someone? and then youre missing matching articles... but most of all, if you turn the light on in a darkroom, things do not become clear, rather, the opposite... unless you have already fixed, in which case it is pretty much just a regular room, your photos fill up and nothing is visible at all.


lastly, across the book there about a max of 20 pages devoted to the marketed/advertised subject/plot matter of dog theivery. how inane.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the title of this book was misleading (making one think it was all about her rescuing dogs) I didn't mind because the story of her life growing up was so heartbreaking and honest. I loved her voice and the way this book flowed. I truly could not put it down.

I hated her father from the first fourth of the book and even though I understood that she had no one else to rely on except for him after he committed her mother, I find it hard to accept that after she found out the truth she didn't end up hating him as much as her sister did (and as I did). The man not only wrecked her mom's life but her and her sisters as well just so he could have his own way. What an ass and what a shame! She is so honest about her feelings about her mom, believing that she had left them because she didn't love them enough, and in response treating her mom badly for years, she was strong enough to admit it and own up to it and that speaks highly for her. This had to have been a gut-wrenching book for her to write. I'm just glad she did. A very honest and moving memoir. I hope she does a follow up.

[Linzy Stahle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was under the impression that this would be all about the author's role in saving animals from cruel masters or situations. Instead, I read the author's whole life story (with a few interesting moments, but mostly just bland) of her disfunctional family and her small acts of defiance as a teen and young adult, leading up to her just plain bragging about all the innovative work she's done as a journalist. The actually dognapping (You know, the ones in the TITLE?!) are not brought up until the last 1/4 of the book and then is only detailed for about 25 pages. Then she goes back to how her life growing up screwed up her future relationships and she jjust became too whiny and boastful at the same time. I only gave it more than 1 star because the work she did with animals is intriguing...I just wanted more of THAT story.

[Eva Nickelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a book about focused on rescuing dogs (and I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the heartbreak of abused dogs), with Fischer's story interjected. Instead, this book is a mostly linear look at Fischer's life, from her mother being institutionalized for nine years to her fight for justice for the wrongly convicted. The dog-napping only appears as a teaser at the very beginning and as the very tail end of the book. It was interesting and well-written, but I kept looking at the adorable little dog on the cover and the subtitle, and I felt as though the publishers had packaged this book as something different than it is.

[Naomi Krokowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree the cover and cute dalmatian had me thinking this is a book that had a lot more to do with the dognapping than it actually did. However, the author's story was as compelling to me as it was painful. I ended up very much enjoying it, even if it kept me teary-eyed often. I believe this book belongs under the heading of "Memoirs of people who have every right to complain but choose not to" along with Jeannette Walls' The Glass Castle and James McBride's The Color of Water.

[Amy]

I didn't finish this book. However, the author's childhood memories of her mother's being institutionalized in an enormous mental hospital in Los Angeles in the 1950s was...positively...brutal...and sad. I was so sad I couldn't keep reading.

Funny thing is, my own sister rescued a dog And Gave It To Me. I love this dog!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journalist by day, a dognapping-dog rescuer by night, that's what Mary A. Fischer's memoir is about. Since I used to be a journalist, and wish I had the guts to be a dognapping-dog rescuer, I loved this book. But I would recommend it to anyone because it's a very moving book and shows what good one person's passion can do in the world. The title is very appropriate.

[Allison · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off when reading the title, you would think that this whole book would be about a person who is a dognapper. Well she is.... the very last 50 pages of the book. The rest of the book is about her upbringing. I kept waiting and waiting for her to get to the part where she was actually doing the dognapping. As a novice reader this book was very disappointing.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not at all what I thought the book was going to be about. A very emotional look at the mental health care system in the 50's and the effects it had on children of an institutionalized mother. Mary Fischer does an excellent job conveying emotions into words.

[Courtney Milford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lady goes into the yards of people who abuse their dogs and steals them. Crazy? Or just kind.

[Kristi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is supposedly written by a professional writer, but it doesn't read like it. And the story just drones on and on.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this for someone who wants to read a story about a dognapper...

The book is basically her life story, and the last 40 pages or so actually talk about dognapping.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this moving memoir. Fortunate animals are the ones rescued by the brave author.