Chasing the Blue Sky by Will Lowrey – a #BookReview

Title: Chasing the Blue Sky by Will Lowrey

Genre: Animal Care and Pets, Animal Rights, Dogs

Publisher: Lomack Publishing

Publication Date: November 3, 2018

• ISBN-10:173293990X
• ISBN-13:978-1732939905
• ASIN: B07K5MM6WJ

• Print Length: 191 pages

• Source: Author Request

Title and Cover: Chasing the Blue Sky – Immensely appealing cover instantly tells the story

Book Blurb:

In the sweltering heat of a Clay County summer, a chained dog gives birth to a spirited, black puppy named Toby. Taken from his mother’s side at just a few weeks old, Toby soon wins the love of an adoring family. But just as quickly, he finds himself struggling to survive in the unforgiving world of the county animal shelter.

But he’s not alone – a motley cast of homeless dogs and a devoted pair of shelter workers will give anything to make sure Toby makes it out alive.

Chasing the Blue Sky is the compelling, emotional story of one dog’s journey to find his place in the great big world.   

My Review:

Extremely difficult subject for most anyone who has an empathetic ear for our animals, this book explores the journey of a dog who is also a mixed breed pit bull and black. Unfortunately, the latter two have depressing chances of being happily placed in forever homes. I would love to say this is a doggy story in the spirit of W. Bruce Cameron (A Dog’s Way Home), but, no, it is not, though it is certainly a story that needs to be told. And told over and over again.

Toby is the story of a young pit mix surrendered to an animal shelter without having taken the time to investigate alternatives. His family had relegated him to the yard and discovering they were expecting a third child, decided he represented more time and money than they’d be able to offer.

The narrative paints a grim picture of an animal suddenly confronted with extreme sensory overload from the barking of other dogs to the smells of fear, strangers, kennels stretched to capacity, and the courageous but dwindling numbers of volunteers. The well-developed characters, reflected a sense of purpose, trying their best to quiet and relax the animals, keep their kennels clear of excrement, exercised, and fed. There were a variety of canine characters contained within the county shelter whose stories touched the heart and sounded amazingly real, easily pictured.

It’s an overwhelming task given the sheer numbers of animals placed yearly in shelters (depending on whose stats you believe from six million to more than seven million yearly with only one-quarter to one-third placed). One of my favorite characters was Anne who projected a calm, loving profile to her charges. On the whole, an ode to shelter volunteers and the work they all do to return some of the love given so freely from those who were “surrendered,” many for ill-considered reasons.

Several messages of importance conveyed here from the work of rescues and dog (or cat) adoptions to the interpretation or misinterpretation of animal reactions and body language to extreme circumstances. The narrative portrays Toby’s story as he proceeds through the system. Dialogue, both human and animal, felt realistic for the most part. I did have a problem (1) in the timeline I perceived and (2) the exceptional anthropomorphic feelings expressed. But education is good and who knows how much a dog really understands or can communicate with each other.

I received this ebook download as a result of the author’s request for an honest review and these are my opinions. Recommended as a book everyone should read, whether considering a surrender or not. It’s a powerful, gripping, and emotional read and whether or not you agree with the sympathies of the author definitely gives you food for thought.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author:

WILL LOWREY is an attorney and animal rights advocate from Richmond, Virginia. He holds a Juris Doctor from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. Will has been actively involved in animal causes for over 15 years, including experience with animal sheltering, pit bull advocacy, natural disaster response, animal fighting cases, roadside zoo closures, Native American reservations, community outreach, protests, and public records campaigns. He is also the author of “We the Pit Bull: The Fate of Pit Bulls Under the United States Constitution” published in the Lewis and Clark Animal Law Review Journal, Volume 24, Issue 2. For comments, questions, copyright, or ordering information, visit lomackpublishing.com

©2018 V Williams