The Dog Who Saved Me: A Novel
Written by Susan Wilson
Narrated by Fred Berman
4/5
()
About this audiobook
In Susan Wilson's The Dog Who Saved Me, former Boston K-9 unit policeman turned animal control officer in bucolic Harmony Farms is up against rescuing a gun shy and wounded dog gone feral, and proving that his low-life older brother is back in the drug business.
Boston police officer Cooper Harrison never thought he'd go back to his hometown, Harmony Farms. But when his faithful K-9 partner Argos is killed in the line of duty, Cooper, caught in a spiral of trauma and grief, has nowhere else to turn. Jobless and on the verge of divorce, he accepts a offer for the position of dog officer in Harmony Farms, leaving the life he spent twenty years building behind.
And so he finds himself back where he started. Where his father was once known as the town drunk and his brother outgrew juvenile delinquency to become a drug dealer. Where he grew up as 'one of those' Harrisons. Cooper does his job with deliberate detachment, refusing to get emotionally invested in another dog the way he had with Argos-until he finds himself rescuing a wounded and gun-shy yellow lab gone feral.
Cooper never thought he'd find himself going back in order to move forward, and yet Harmony Farms is the one place where Cooper must learn to forgive and, only then, heal. All with the help of a yellow dog.
Susan Wilson
From the time I was a little girl, the word "writer" held a special significance to me. I loved the word. I loved the idea of making up stories. When I was about twelve, I bought a used Olivetti manual typewriter from a little hole in the wall office machine place in Middletown, CT called Peter's Typewriters. It weighed about twenty pounds and was probably thirty years old. I pounded out the worst kind of adolescent drivel, imposing my imaginary self on television heroes of the time: Bonanza, Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. Those are my earliest memories of my secret life of writing. For reasons I cannot really fathom, I never pursued writing as a vocation. Although I majored in English, I didn't focus on writing and it wasn't really until I was first married that I hauled out my old Olivetti and began to thump away at my first novel. This was, as I recall, an amorphous thinly plotted excercise in putting sentences together and has mercifully disappeared in some move or another. I didn't try anything more adventurous than some short stories and a lot of newsletters for various things I belonged to until we moved to Martha's Vineyard and I bought my first computer. My little "Collegiate 2" IBM computer was about as advanced as the Olivetti was in its heyday but it got me writing again and this time with some inner determination that I was going to succeed at this avocation. I tapped out two novels on this machine with its fussy little printer. Like the first one, these were wonderful absorbing exercises in learning how to write. What happened then is the stuff of day time soap opera. Writing is a highly personal activity and for all of my life I'd kept it secret from everyone but my husband, who, at the time, called what I did nights after the kids went to bed, my "typing." Until, quite by accident, I discovered that here on the Vineyard nearly everyone has some avocation in the arts. Much to my delight, I discovered a fellow closet-writer in the mom of my kids' best friends. For the very first time in my life I could share the struggle with another person. I know now that writers' groups are a dime a dozen and I highly recommend the experience, but with my friend Carole, a serendipitious introduction to a "real writer", Holly Nadler, resulted in my association with my agent. Holly read a bit of my "novel" and liked what she read, suggested I might use her name and write to her former agent. I did and the rest, as they say, is history. Not that it was an overnight success. The novel I'd shown Holly never even got sent to Andrea. But a third, shorter, more evolved work was what eventually grew into Beauty with the guidance of Andrea and her associates at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. The moral of the story: keep at it. Keep writing the bad novels to learn how to write the good ones. And, yes, it does help to know someone. Andrea might have liked my work, but the path was oiled by the introduction Holly Nadler provided. Hawke's Cove is my second published novel, although there is a "second" second novel in a drawer, keeping good company with the other "first" novels.
More audiobooks from Susan Wilson
One Good Dog: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Good Dogs: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dog I Loved: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Man of His Own Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dog Who Danced: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Complete Guide to Lose Weight, boost metabolism and a Live a Healthier Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beauty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plant-based Cookbook for Beginners: 100 Dеliсiοus Rесipеs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsАnti-inflаmmаtοrу diet Cookbook for Beginners: 101 Easy-To-Cook Recipes to Reduce Inflammations & Slow Down Skin Aging Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat a Dog Knows: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cannabis Cookbook for Beginners: A Complete Cookbook to Prepare the best Cannabis Recipes and Cannabis Extract Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Dog Who Saved Me
Related audiobooks
Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bad Dog: A Love Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What a Dog Knows: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emory's Gift Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's Journey: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fast into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and Their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dogs of Christmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piglet: The Unexpected Story of a Deaf, Blind, Pink Puppy and His Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Wonder of Lost Causes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weekends with Daisy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's Courage: A Dog's Way Home Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Street Cat Named Bob: And How He Saved My Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lacey's Story: A Puppy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lost & Found: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Earnest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's Promise: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gizelle's Bucket List: My Life with a Very Large Dog Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Dog's Way Home: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incredibull Stella: How the Love of a Pit Bull Rescued a Family Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Dog's Purpose: A Novel for Humans Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life from an Unlikely Teacher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dog Crazy: A Novel of Love Lost and Found Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Gift From Bob: How a Street Cat Helped One Man Learn the Meaning of Christmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Contemporary Women's For You
Weyward: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Mrs. Parrish: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Listen for the Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Idea of You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Starts with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love and Other Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Things We Cannot Say Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bright Young Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5None of This is True: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Eve Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ugly Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Apothecary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Dark Vanessa: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Regretting You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5November 9: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reminders of Him: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Then She Was Gone: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slammed: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wrong Place Wrong Time: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After I Do: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe in Another Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Firefly Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winter Garden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5GO AS A RIVER: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Five Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for The Dog Who Saved Me
14 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cooper has a great K-9 partner. They trust each other and have each other's backs. One day during a bust everything seems to go wrong. Cooper is distraught over what happened that day and makes a change in his life. He goes back to his hometown to be a dog catcher. Doesn't sound like a fun job, but maybe it will give him time to heal. The saying goes , "You can never go home again " may hold true for Cooper. He has a lot of past hurts that need to be healed and a relationship that is long overdue for repairing. Can Cooper find peace back in his hometown? Will he let his heart heal? The author has written a very emotional story that delivers a beautiful bond between man and dog. It is sad in some parts but overall a great story that gives you a sense of hope and love. Is dog man's best friend? I encourage readers to take time to read this riveting story of a broken and hurting man and how a stray dog brings him hope and happiness. I received a copy of this book from The GoodReads Free Giveaway for an honest review.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Cooper Harrison was a member of Boston’s elite K-9 unit, until his canine partner, Argos, was killed in a bomb blast. Now Coop has returned to his small home town of Harmony Farms as the animal control officer (i.e. dog catcher). He suffers from PTSD and mostly keeps to himself. When he spots an obviously wounded and emaciated yellow dog, he decides to try to capture it. He gets help and advice from Max, the local veterinarian, as well as from Natalie, the owner of a horse rescue farm. Though I am not really an animal lover or a “dog person,” I have read a few of Wilson’s books and found them interesting and engaging. This is somewhat formulaic, but the lead characters are likeable and their back stories interesting enough to hold my attention. Coop’s situation is complicated by a troubled family background; his father is an alcoholic and his older brother a recently released ex-con drug dealer. Wilson uses flashback technique to give the reader insight into Coop’s childhood and the events that led to his Argo’s death. It’s a fast, quick read, that satisfied several challenges.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A heartwarming book that will make you both happy and sad. It will warm your heart and you will be happy you read it. There is hope within the pages and a story that I felt very personally connected to. I have to say that this book was one that just made me feel. And sometimes that it what a books needs to make you do, feel and be in the story and not focused on the day to day stresses. 4 stars
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Superlative storyteller Susan Wilson tells a compelling, poignant, and ultimately uplifting tale in "The Dog Who Saved Me". While the story does not flinch away from abuse, hardships, and tragedy, it also celebrates survivorship and the triumph of the spirit, both human and animal. At the heart of it all is an extremely well-written, well-paced police story. Cooper Harrison thought he had left his troubled youth behind when he moved from small-town Harmony Farms to become an officer in a Boston K-9 unit. Unable to overcome his grief when beloved canine partner Argos is killed in a bombing incident, Cooper tries to drink away his sorrow and come to grips with the physical limitations of his own injuries. When his marriage and career come to an end, a call from an old friend, now the police chief of Harmony Farms, offers Cooper a chance to start over. He never imagined he would end up as the Animal Control Officer back in his home town, but that's just where he lands. Now he has to face his father, Bull, known as the town drunk, and his older brother, Jimmy, fresh out of prison after serving time on drug charges. Cooper's work as an animal control officer is vastly different from his duties as K-9 unit officer. He's now a lawman, a handyman, a counselor, a psychologist--both for humans and animals, and he's a tracker, a super-sleuth, and much, much more. Along the way he begins a romance with lovely woman, Natalie, who rescues and rehabs horses and has her own set of emotional issues. Linking all of these people together, in ways never anticipated, is a yellow dog. Not just any dog, but a purebred yellow Lab, a victim of abuse, and a survivor of severe hardship. It will take all of Cooper's skill, intelligence, and innate compassion to capture and revitalize this dog, but eventually dog and man will offer to each other the gift of hope. The characters are beautifully-layered and shaded--definitely beyond stereotypes--and you may find yourself rethinking some of your own relationships with others. The storyline is so involving that it will keep you intrigued until the last page is turned, and you will be thinking about all you've read far beyond "The End". With "The Dog Who Saved Me" author Susan Wilson reminds us that while some people are habitually rotten, beneath the crust of the crustiest humans there beats a heart, and above that heart is brain with a surprising variety and depth of thoughts. A highly recommended read from a very gifted author.Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cooper Harrison was an officer with Boston’s K9 unit until the day his K9 partner, Argos, is killed in the line of duty. Devastated by Argos’ death, he can’t move on from the grief and ends up losing his job and his wife. When a childhood friend calls and offers him a job as an animal control officer in their rural hometown, he doesn’t really jump at the chance to start over; because the town has too many memories that Cooper would just as soon forget. There are bad memories of his dad being the town drunk, and his mean low life older brother who is a thief and drug dealer serving time. But without another option, Cooper reluctantly moves back home and is determined to be all business with the animals he comes in contact with; especially one scared and wounded dog he’s been tracking down. This is a page turner of a novel and I loved every page of it. All the characters are memorable, and the ending doesn’t disappoint. I liked how the author wove Coopers back story, and the dogs’ back story into the chapters. I’m recommending this 5 star novel to all my friends who have rescued dogs, who love animals and those who enjoy mysteries.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I really really wanted to love this book. I was very looking forward to reading it. Such a dog fan and I love me a good dog story. Yet, I was instantly bored and it did not take me long to give up on this book. The story line and characters were uninteresting. The dog was even unmemorable. If you can take a story and make the dog even unmemorable that is just sad. I thought it might have been my mood and so I came back to the book for another try. I picked it up and started to read a random section in the middle and it was not my mood.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have loved every single book I have read by Susan Wilson....but.....the ending....yes, it was "okay" but somehow, I wanted just a little more personal compassion from the main character---Cooper, for this wonderful dog---along the way in the book so that the ending of "misty-eyed" would have happened for the DOG much earlier. Couldn't the dog ultimately love two people??