Lost Souls: Found! Inspiring Stories about Basset Hounds, Duffy Kyla, Mumford Lowrey

Excerpt: "Shortly after adopting Cooper my mother visited. Before running to the store, she'd pulled 24 meatballs out of the freezer and placed them in a dish by the stove. We returned to find the dish where we left it, but no meatballs (surprise ). Several months later she visited again - this time putting a baked ham in the same dish the meatballs had been stolen from. Having to again leave the house, I wisely hid the ham in the laundry room. Nevertheless, we came home to find it, along with the glass dish, in the family room How did Cooper get the dish off the dryer without breaking the glass? Where was all the grease? Only Cooper knew for sure and he wasn't telling. But my wild, young Lab was training me... Next time I'll remember to close the laundry room door." -Mary Campisi

Excerpt: "While searching Petfinder.com in May, I found what I considered to be a treasure: Snowy, a deaf, blind, three-year-old, double-merle Sheltie. She was residing in a shelter in Missouri, half a continent away from our home in Pennsylvania, but, despite the distance, I knew she was meant to become a member of our family. I contacted the shelter, only to find out that I was too late. Snowy was being adopted by someone who lived in can you believe it Pennsylvania Hmm, what were the odds of that? In August, I was still thinking about Snowy when I received an email from Northern Chesapeake Sheltie Rescue (NCSR) about two double-merle Shelties they had recently taken in. I did not think much about it until, later that week, I saw a post on the NCSR email list asking a question about a blind, deaf female double merle. I brushed aside the stray papers to find the picture of Snowy. My eyes went immediately to her face. Could it be?" -Debbie Bauer

Read more about Treasure and other wonderful rescued dogs inside

Excerpt: "As I stepped through the door and onto the cold concrete floor, I was practically bowled over by a huge Golden, barreling towards me at full-speed As he humped my leg and chewed on my forearm I looked around the sterile room, bare except for a dog crate, food bowl, and water bowl. Through the sliding glass doors I could see that the Scotties had a wonderful yard to play in, so why was this Golden stuck in the basement like this? There was no way I was leaving him there." -Shereen Raucci, regarding Pierce

Excerpt: "After foster Fanny busted through the kitchen baby gate, I found her upstairs in the bedroom with a shredded a box of tissues littering the rug. I was furious and determined to kick her out for this and previous antics, but the rescue politely asked me to hold her one more day, as they thought they had a family for her. Upstairs as I cleaned the mess, I realized it was not actually tissues at all. Fanny had peed on the rug and tried to dig to China to cover it. What I thought were tissues were actually white shreds of carpeting that were dug up from the bottom of my purple rug Although I was really ticked, I must admit the ridiculousness of it all made me laugh, and as her imminent return to the rescue approached, and Fanny started her please don't give me back, I love you routine by approaching me and putting her head on my shoulder, I decided to let her stay...forever." -Rose Van Der Velden

Read more about Fanny and other amazing Pugs inside

Excerpt: "The first few months with Clem, my adopted Cattle Dog, were impossibly difficult. She was skittish and shy of everything. She constantly chewed and got in the trash. Every noise and movement caused her to roll over and pee in submission. The shelter s behavior helpline was quick to suggest giving her a job to do, attending classes that used positive training techniques, and providing lots of exercise. Playing disc, flyball, and agility immensely helped her behavior to improve Clem knew I would change from pajamas to jeans before taking her outside. One day, as she whined to go out, I said, Hang on You know I have to change my pants. She cocked her head to one side and trotted off to the bedroom. Thirty seconds later she came back dragging a pair of my jeans that she had dug out of the laundry basket. I had never taught her this trick. That s when I realized she was much smarter than I had thought " -Aly Jabrocki

Read more about Clem and other great herding-breed dogs inside

Excerpt: "Wrinkles was found in a large pineapple field on the west side of Maui when he was a couple weeks old. We adopted him, and Wrinkles fit right in with our routine. One day we were watching a friend work on my broken-down car, and when we finally looked up, Wrinkles was missing. At first we didn t believe that our dog had run away, but after searching for him everywhere around our home, we knew he was gone. We drove my husband s truck around the neighborhood looking for Wrinkles until exhaustion finally forced us to retire for the night. The next day, I was up with the sun. While readying myself to start searching again, I heard a noise outside. I walked through our back yard and noticed something moving inside my broken car. When I opened the back door, I found..." -Celia Lumsden

You'll have to read the book to find out

Excerpt: "Angel, a stray who had been abused before I adopted her, has really lived up to her name. I live alone and have multiple sclerosis (MS); Angel is perfect for me because we take care of each other. However, it turns out I m not the only one she s watching out for. One night during the wee hours, Angel became restless and woke me up. I rarely go out late at night, but she seemed so anxious that I figured I should take her out. Since she stays by me either on or off the leash, I unhooked her leash so she could do what she needed to do, but instead of going back to the grass, Angel ran into the parking lot and went between two vehicles. When I caught up with Angel, I found her sitting next to one of our tenants, who was lying on the ground in a fetal position with his walker nearby..." -Jan Nash

Read this exciting story and more in the book

Excerpt: "When we first brought Bella home from the rescue, our 10-year-old English Bulldog, Tonka, did not appreciate her enthusiasm to become instant best buddies. Bella took a quieter approach the second time we introduced them, which went well, and though Tonka remained the boss, they reached an agreement. Tonka quickly learned that Bella had many talents; for example, she could shield him from the rain when he used the bathroom. His strategy was to wait until Bella did her business and then quickly run down the stairs and stand under her to pee. Bella Umbrella tolerantly waited, checking between her front legs to make sure she was covering him completely. She s his perfect big little sister." -Debbie, Scott, Kaitlyn, and Ben McIntyre

Read more about Bella and other wonderful Great Danes inside

Excerpt: "My mother-in-law lives next door, and while my husband and I were out running errands, she heard a commotion coming from our home office. One by one, our Beagles were jumping out of our office window like paratroopers Now, you have to picture a 73-year-old woman trying to convince seven mostly self-absorbed Beagles to come back into the house after just a few minutes of unbridled freedom. She managed to wrangle two or three of the more compliant hounds and get them back inside before my husband returned home and rounded up the rest. Lesson learned. Thanks to our Beagle gates (not just for babies anymore ), our dogs have been safely secured ever since." -Paula Roy

This thought-provoking compilation, with introduction by acclaimed actress and animal advocate Linda Blair, shares the discrimination that Pit Bull owners face and the joy these dogs provide which makes it all worthwhile. A must-read for Pit Bull lovers and open-minded people who want to learn more about the breed. A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF PROCEEDS FROM EVERY SALE IS DONATED BACK TO PIT BULL RESCUE GROUPS.

Excerpt: "One day my daughter called me in a panic: 'Mama I saw this Pitty girl at a shelter in Boston... She needs a forever home. She needs YOU.' I only knew what I heard about Pit Bulls (nothing good), but eight-month-old Fergie, who was born to be a "bait" dog, stole my heart. At the same time an unfortunate cat/kitten situation also needed my attention. Was it possible for me to foster a mother cat with her six-week-old kitten in the home of a Pit Bull? To my surprise, Fergie acted like she was their mother, sleeping and cuddling with the cats. What do I now know about Pitties? Devoted, lovable, and intelligent - I'd get another in a heartbeat." -Gail Reed