Book ~ "The Dog Who Saved Me" (2015) Susan Wilson

From Goodreads ~ Cooper Harrison, a member of the Boston K-9 unit, never thought he would ever go back to his hometown, Harmony Farms. But when his faithful canine partner, Argos, is killed in the line of duty, Cooper finds himself mired in grief. Jobless, on the verge of a divorce, and in a self-destructive rut, Cooper has little choice but to accept an offer for the position of animal control officer in Harmony Farms.

And so he finds himself back where he started. Where his father, Bull, was once known as the town drunk. Where his brother, Jimmy, was a delinquent and bully. Where he grew up as "one of those" Harrisons. Forced to face the past while dealing with the present-including his brother's continued involvement in the drug business, 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 trying to rescue a wounded and gun-shy yellow Lab gone feral.

Cooper never thought he'd find himself going back in order to move forward, yet Harmony Farms is the one place where Cooper must learn to forgive and, only then, to heal. All with the help of a yellow dog, who has a history - and secrets - that Cooper must uncover.

Cooper was a cop with the K-9 unit in Boston.  His K-9 partner, Argos, is killed in the line of duty and Cooper has a hard time dealing with this.  He resigns from the police force, ends up divorced and heads home to Harmony Farms to take a temporary job as an animal control officer.

His father, Bull, is still in town.  Bull was the former town drunk and despite being on the wagon for 750+ days, Cooper wants nothing to do with him.  His older brother, Jimmy, has just got out of prison for doing time for dealing drugs and Cooper suspects he's back to his old ways.

In addition to catching a runaway donkey and monitoring a crazy cat lady, Cooper captures a feral dog that has been beaten.  He brings the dog back to health again so he can find out who would do such a thing.  Still grieving for Argos, he refuses to get attached to the dog and doesn't even name it.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay. I was attracted to it because it's about a dog (and I love dogs).

I liked the writing style ... I found it was well-paced and moved along well.  It is written from different points of view ... it's first person from Cooper's perspective and third person when it is from everyone else's perspective, including the dog.  The story jumps back and forth from the past to the present but it was obvious what the timeline was.

I had a hard time relating to Cooper.  I know he was grieving the death of his partner and companion but I found him too cold and distant.  I felt bad for the dog.  It has been beaten and had a hard time trusting humans again.