A review by lovelyjanelle13
Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Mark Beckloff, Dan Dye

5.0

Going into this, I should’ve expected, been prepared to cry. Dogs just seem to have that affect on me whether happy or sad, and this book had both. The stories Dan told of his crazy miracle albino deaf dog made me laugh, cry, smile, and gasp, so much so that I had to look up videos just to get more. Death is one of the few, maybe only promises in life that is always fulfilled, so you think as a species we’d be better prepared, but then again humans can watch the same video ten times and laugh every time so why should we not be expected to mourn each death, even of those we don’t personally know. I’ve had dogs my whole life, lucky enough to only have had to suffer through the death of two after long lives of treats and belly rubs, but as time passes, something as a teenager couldn’t seem to move fast enough, now I find myself begging for it to slow down, for my shih-zu that still looks like a puppy despite being nearly fifteen, for my long haired chihuahua who’s coat once shined blue in the light that now has more gray than blue, for my jack russel who’s legs just aren’t like they used to be, for my toy chihuahua who as a puppy had to scale the couch by hooking her claws into the fabric now jumps flawlessly onto most furniture, for my lab who’s been proven to no longer hold the title of most energized recently dethroned by my new great pyrense boxer mix who will not, cannot stop holding onto me as if I’m going anywhere, at least not by choice. I think the thing I really got from this book was to appreciate all the moments, after all dogs lives are typically only a fraction of ours, but we’re in most of theirs.