Book reviews: Pets who come to our rescue

We all know how much our animal friends help us through life’s challenges. But certain dogs and cats have specific skills to come to our rescue, as seen in a memoir about a search-and-rescue canine, a fictional story about cats in Japan who lend a paw, and a pup who came into a little girl’s life when needed the most.

A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team by Suzanne Elshult and James Guy Mansfield. Lyons Press, 2025. Softcover, 314 pages.

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Certain books just draw in readers from the very first page and keep them turning the pages to discover what happens next. No, I am not talking about a recent bestselling mystery novel. In this case, the book — A Dog’s Devotion by Suzanne Elshult and James Guy Mansfield — tells the tale of Keb, a 4-year-old search-and-rescue canine. Keb uses her skills to find victims of natural disasters and crime.

As the book opens, Keb, Suzanne, and Guy are working amid the devastation of the 2014 landslide that buried Oso, a small town in the state of Washington. Keb was able to help recover many townspeople who had passed away in the fast-moving disaster.

The book also chronicles search-and-rescue efforts on snowy mountains, in forests, and through rugged landscapes from the Pacific Northwest to as far away as Norway. Even more fascinating than Keb’s adventures is the backstory of how search-and-rescue teams train and function. Anyone who enjoyed Scent of the Missing, a similar examination of a search-and-rescue team by Susannah Charleson, will find Keb’s story equally intriguing.

We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida; translated by E. Madison Shimoda. Berkley, 2025. Hardcover, 304 pages.

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There’s nothing like a cat — as characters in Syou Ishida’s charming novel learn — to soothe the soul and make the world a brighter place in times of trouble.

In We’ll Prescribe You Another Cat (the author’s sequel to last year’s bestseller We’ll Prescribe You a Cat), readers once again travel to the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul, a nondescript building with no actual address tucked away on a cobbled alley in the Japanese city of Kyoto. As in the earlier book, patients seek out the clinic for its unique approach to curing what ails them.

Syou Ishida’s novel consisting of interrelated chapters is sure to appeal to cat lovers. Through its use of magical realism, We'll Prescribe You Another Cat is indeed balm for the soul.

Molly and Potato: A Heartwarming Children’s Story of Love by Kelly Curtin and Molly Hallinan. Curtin Publishing, 2025. Hardcover, 28 pages.

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Life isn’t always easy or fair, as pediatrician and cancer survivor Kelly Curtin and her daughter Molly Hallinan attest in their poignant but ultimately joyous children’s book Molly and Potato.

In this story based on their life, the pair explores what happens when a dog-loving little girl’s mother is diagnosed with cancer. Showing the impact cancer has on the family in clear, age-appropriate language, Kelly looks at the emotional ups and downs Molly faces and how she copes with them. Her coping skills get a huge boost when Potato, a dog from a shelter with some emotional baggage of his own, joins the family.

Told from the dual viewpoints of child and dog and aimed at a 5- to 9-year-old audience, Molly and Potato tackles a tough topic with sensitivity and truthfulness. And it proves that love goes a long way toward making the hard times better.

Are you the author or publisher of a book about animals that you would like considered for review? Please send the details to editor@bestfriends.org.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. 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.