Garrison Kelly’s Reviews > Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul > Status Update

Every death that takes place in this book is overshadowed by the kindness and love of the precious animal babies. The two African dogs, Bozo and Skippy, were the greatest examples of this. They were shown kindness and they repaid it by protecting their healer from rabid hyenas.

Pets are more than just fluffy friends. They're healers. They're the linchpins of our mental and physical health. Give yours extra pettings tonight.

These stories are getting more and more heartbreaking as the reading journey goes by. The one about Cheyenne the elderly Pointer comforting a cranky father during his final days was especially touching.

I'm seeing a lot of three-dimensional character work in these nonfiction stories, especially the one about Cory, who grew bitter about not being able to play baseball anymore after losing his leg in an accident. We like well-rounded characters.

The fact that there's a story in here about selling horses to circuses makes me uncomfortable, given circuses' track record with animal treatment. You could chalk this up to being a "different time", but that doesn't excuse anything.

Precious fur babies are getting the spotlight and it warms my heart to see it. I guess that's why it's called Chicken Soup for the Soul.