August 17th, was International Homeless Animal Day and I am excited to share a book with you that moved me in more ways that I can even begin to mention, that ties in perfectly with the importance of International Homeless Animal Day.
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FROM THE PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE
IT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
Here is an excerpt about the book from directly from author Nick Trout, that he wrote in an email to me:
The Wonder of Lost Causes is about a shelter vet on Cape Cod, a boy with a chronic illness and a totally unadoptable mutt that transforms both their lives. It’s also very personal to me since the boy in my story has the incurable disease cystic fibrosis, a disease I know all too well through my twenty-six year old daughter, Emily. Bark Magazine said, “be prepared to be transported into a world where the love of and attachment to a dog can not only be life-affirming but also life saving.”
FROM THE PUBLISHER: THE WONDER OF LOST CAUSES shows us all the joy, purpose, and hope a dog can bring to the special people he claims as his own, shaping their future and transforming their lives.
Kate must live with the fact that every abandoned dog is on two-week deadline to find a human–and the scarred, mistreated wreck that turns up doesn’t stand a chance. Named Whistler, he’s too old, too ugly. But the dog forms an instantaneous, almost magical connection with Jasper. The dog never makes a sound, let alone a bark, yet he speaks to Jasper in a myriad of mysterious ways, forging an indelible bond with the boy. The clock’s ticking, the dog’s future hangs in the balance, and Jasper would do anything to find him a home; but Whistler has chosen them—for a reason.
Please enjoy the interview with author Nick Trout that I found online:
To say that this book is touching is an understatement. I have read countless books that feature rescue animals and by far, The Wonder of Lost Causes is my current favorite.
The lessons contained in this 400+ page book are many. A few lessons come in the form of quotes spoken by characters in the book:
“Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.”—-Unknown.
From Jasper the boy with Cystic Fibrosis: “Different doesn’t mean abnormal. No one needs to feel embarrassed about being different. “
Jasper speaking about Whistler: “I’d bet a new pair of lungs on the fact that Whistler found me because I am the first person who can actually “hear” him….he kept running until he found someone who gets him, someone he can “speak” through. What’s been missing in Whistler’s life is me.”
Another “Jasperism” “dogs never care if you smell funny, are having a bad hair day, or seem to be missing a leg. Dogs don’t gossip. Dogs don’t backstab. Dogs don’t do mean.”
From Jasper’s senior friend, Burt speaking about Whistler: “His looks will only put the wrong people off. Even if he’s a two on the outside, doesn’t mean he’s not a ten on the inside.”
“Dogs aren’t afraid to die. That’s why they’re so excited to live.”
I learned about Cystic Fibrosis, ( a disease I knew virtually nothing about), I learned about what a single mother with a child who has this disease has to juggle to cope and often the wrong decisions she is forced to make to help her cope. (It is hard enough in a two-parent household to make the necessary accommodations and provide the necessary treatment, let alone a single mother).
The book is written in segments that are devoted to Jasper and HIS thoughts, as well as his Mom , Kate and HER thoughts. I found Jasper’s sections to be incredibly inspiring, often hilariously funny. Kate’s sections reveal a mother who is stressed to the max, who is trying desperately to do everything right for her child, but the nagging question is, is HER “right”, the “RIGHT” that Jasper truly needs?
I learned that we are all in some way, “lost causes”, until we find that someone, that pet, that reason for living that makes US all the “wonder” that we really are deep inside.
FROM Jasper’s mother Kate: “He (Whistler) shows up and now a part of me feels like I’m the one wandering through life, that I’m the real stray.”
Whistler (and Jasper) teach all of us the TRUE potential of an “underdog.”
I venture to say that every one of you who are reading this feel as if even without words, our dogs SPEAK to us. I have always been proud to say that I feel I understand the subtle expressions in my Dakota’s eyes, his body language, even his barks. I feel a deep, deep bond with my “boy.” Our dogs teach us so much, they love unconditionally.
We could all benefit from learning to be more dog-like by living in the moment, living in the NOW.
I cannot stress enough how this book is a MUST-READ. It will touch you deep in your core, it will make you laugh, cry (just a little…. I promise! This is NOT a negative, downer book!), you will admire Jasper’s persistence, strength and bravery just as you will admire Whistler for the same. Jasper and Whisper are virtually one…………in the end, isn’t that something that we ALL hope we can say about ourselves and our own dogs? Every dog we have had the pleasure of sharing our lives with leaves us better, leaves us with more than we had before they entered our life. How lucky we are to be able to SEE it, UNDERSTAND it and APPRECIATE it!
“In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived. How well we have loved. How well we have learned to let go.”—–Jack Kornfield
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr.Nick Trout works full time as a staff surgeon at the prestigious Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of five books: DOG GONE, BACK SOON; LOVE IS THE BEST MEDICINE; EVER BY MY SIDE: A Memoir in Eight (Acts) Pets, THE PATRON SAINT OF LOST DOGS, and the 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir, TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS: A Day of Humor, Healing, and Hope in My Life as an Animal Surgeon. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Kathy, their daughter Emily; their adopted Labradoodle, Thai; and Emily’s service dog, a black Labrador named Bella.
