Book reviews: Puppies, mysteries, and memories

If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you love dogs. Whether you are introducing a puppy to your household, needing a little leisure time spent with a novel, or celebrating canine companions, you will find just what you are looking for in these books.

Welcoming Your Puppy from Planet Dog: How to Go Beyond Training and Raise Your Best Friend by Kathy Callahan. New World Library, 2024. Softcover, 234 pages.

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Just picture it: that adorable puppy you’ve adopted and brought ceremoniously into your home. It’s the stuff dreams are made of — or, in some cases, nightmares. Not all potential or new puppy guardians have a true grasp of the realities of raising a puppy, as dog behavior expert Kathy Callahan knows. What begins as a love fest can wind down into sleepless nights, soiled carpets, and unwanted behaviors such as jumping on people. No one is happy, including the cute bundle of fluff.

Fortunately, Kathy has the answers, and in her wise and often humorous book Welcoming Your Puppy from Planet Dog, she lets readers in on the secret of raising a happy, well-mannered dog. It isn’t rocket science to understand that a new puppy in your home is a stranger in a strange land. The key, according to Kathy, is empathy and trying to see your home and family from a confused puppy’s point of view. Through practical advice and positivity, the author helps readers and their puppies start off on the right paw and build a loving relationship (not to mention get a good night’s sleep).

Pumpkin Spice Puppy: A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery by Laurien Berenson. Kensington Cozies, 2024. Hardcover, 192 pages.

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When fall is in the air, so are all things pumpkin spice — especially in the small Connecticut town where amateur sleuth Melanie Travis lives with her poodle. In this 30th installment of the popular Melanie Travis Mysteries by Laurien Berenson, Melanie finds herself embroiled in yet another case of foul play. This time out, the victim is the proprietor of the local pet supply store.

In her work as a teacher’s aide at a private school, Melanie helps her students in a scavenger hunt and, in doing so, makes a shocking discovery. Laurien’s trademark familiar characters and well-crafted plot make Pumpkin Spice Puppy another doggone good cozy mystery.

I Wish the Rainbow Bridge Had Visiting Hours: A Veterinarian’s Memoir of Love, Life, and Letting Go by Brian Joseph. Advantage Publishing Group, 2024. Hardcover, 204 pages.

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Personally, I think all animal lovers owe a debt of gratitude to English veterinarian James Herriot, the author of the beloved All Creatures Great and Small series about his work as an animal doctor in Yorkshire. However, I suspect all the vets with a yearning to put pen to paper — or fingers to keyboard — and tell their own stories are even more thankful to James for paving their way into memoir writing.

Dr. Brian Joseph, one of the most recent to join the pack, has written a delightful and often poignant debut in I Wish the Rainbow Bridge Had Visiting Hours: A Veterinarian’s Memoir of Love, Life, and Letting Go. This first volume in Brian’s memoirs focuses on the much-loved canines who have shared his home and heart, from Gordon setters to Bernese mountain dogs. Told with humor and obvious love, these tales span decades and are filled with the joy that comes from living with dogs and the heartache that comes when helping them cross the Rainbow Bridge. All in all, though, Brian’s book is a loving tribute to his dogs and the friendship and wisdom they have brought into his life.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.