Book review: ‘Old Dog, New Dog’

Old Dog, New Dog: Supporting Your Aging Best Friend and Adding a New One by Kathy Callahan and Helen St. Pierre. New World Library, 2025. Softcover, 119 pages.

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Some books really hit home. Such was the case with Old Dog, New Dog by senior dog advocate Helen St. Pierre and puppy expert Kathy Callahan. When my guide dog Laurence retired, some friends of mine welcomed him into their hearts and home. As Laurence approached his 13th birthday, they decided to add a puppy to their family. Fortunately, my friends — seasoned guide and service dog raisers — knew the ins and outs of how to integrate Charlie, a 2-month-old puppy, into their home while also attending to Laurence’s needs. A year later, Laurence and Charlie are besties who enjoy walks in a nature reserve and cuddle together on the sofa.

Adding a younger dog to a home where a senior dog lives doesn’t always go so smoothly. Despite people’s best intentions, they can find themselves torn between meeting the very different needs of canines of such different ages. Perhaps they would have been better prepared had they picked up a copy of Old Dog, New Dog.

In this unique book, the authors combine their knowledge about senior dogs and puppies in helpful, direct prose. They address such issues as making a decision to add a new dog during an elderly dog’s golden years, what problems could arise and how best to manage them, and how to say goodbye to an aged canine friend.

As I read this book of clear and simple advice, I wondered why, in over 30 years of reviewing animal-related works, I had not come across such a much-needed book before. In Old Dog, New Dog, the authors have filled a void by writing a user-friendly guide to integrating canines at very different life stages into a home that is a happy one for dogs and their human families.

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