Book ~ "Rescued: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach Us about Living with Purpose, Loving with Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things" (2017) Peter Zheutlin

From Goodreads ~ In "Rescued", Peter Zheutlin interweaves stories and lessons from families who have welcomed rescue dogs into their homes with his own zany experiences adopting one for the first time in midlife to reveal what we can learn from these animals who were once lost and are now found. 

Blending keen insights and advice on navigating the complexities of caring for a rescue dog with humorous (and occasionally heart-wrenching) anecdotes, each chapter reveals important life lessons we can learn from second-chance dogs, such as:

• The truth about living with a rescued pet: it is not one continuous Hallmark moment
• How rescue dogs can heal us just like we heal them
• Surprising new ways they can teach us to rediscover and celebrate our joyous inner child, accept change gracefully, and forgive others and, most importantly, ourselves 

For anyone who loves, lives with, or has ever wanted a dog, this irresistibly charming book will warm your heart and show how the dogs whose lives we've saved can change ours for the better too. 

When Peter and Judy's children were getting older and about to go away to university, he was looking forward to being an empty nester.  For many years, Peter had resisted getting a dog.  Then they dogsat for a friend and that softened him up to get a dog of his own.  They ended up adopted Albie, a rescue dog from a high-kill shelter in Louisiana.  Eventually they added Salina (he fell in love with her when he was with Greg Mahle, who runs Rescue Road Trips) and Jamba to their family.

This book is about Peter and his rescue dogs, with a focus on Albie and Salina.  It's also about different people who had adopted rescue dogs ... why they have done so, where the dogs come from and their past (if known) and the status of the dog today.

Peter discusses that when you are adopting a rescue dog, it is much more than buying a puppy from a pet store (that is probably coming from a puppy mill).  Adopting a rescue dog is giving them a chance for life ... otherwise they probably would be euthanized.  Many dogs have been dropped off by the side of the road, tied up outside 24 hours a day/7 days a week, or worse.  They are grateful to have a loving family, food in their belly and a warm bed, whether it be for 10 years or just a year.  Their last thought is that someone loved them.

Unfortunately we will outlive our pets.  But that opens up another spot in our homes and hearts to rescue another.

"The best way to honor a dog's memory is to get another. For many devoted to rescue, the best way to honor a dog's memory is to SAVE another." Peter Zheutlin

I love reading books about animals and enjoyed this one.  We no longer have dogs but do have two rescue kitties.