The Underdogs - Children, Dogs, and the Power of Unconditional Love [Large Print] (Paperback, Large type / large print edition)

From two-time National Book Award nominee Melissa Fay Greene comes a profound and surprising account of dogs on the front lines of rescuing both children and adults from the trenches of grief, emotional, physical, and cognitive disability, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The Underdogs tells the story of Karen Shirk, felled at age twenty-four by a neuromuscular disease and facing life as a ventilator-dependent, immobile patient, who was turned down by every service dog agency in the country because she was "too disabled." Her nurse encouraged her to tone down the suicidal thoughts, find a puppy, and raise her own service dog. Karen did this, and Ben, a German shepherd, dragged her back into life. "How many people are stranded like I was," she wondered, "who would lead productive lives if only they had a dog?" A thousand state-of-the-art dogs later, Karen Shirk's service dog academy, 4 Paws for Ability, is restoring broken children and their families to life. Long shunned by scientists as a manmade, synthetic species, and oft- referred to as "Man's Best Friend" almost patronizingly, dogs are finally paid respectful attention by a new generation of neuroscientists and animal behaviorists. Melissa Fay Greene weaves the latest scientific discoveries about our co-evolution with dogs with Karen's story and a few exquisitely rendered stories of suffering children and their heartbroken families. Written with characteristic insight, humanity, humor, and irrepressible joy, what could have been merely touching is a penetrating, compassionate exploration of larger questions: about our attachment to dogs, what constitutes a productive life, and what can be accomplished with unconditional love.

General

Imprint:	HarperCollins Publishers
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	May 2016
Authors:	Melissa Fay Greene
Dimensions:	182 x 119 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	480
Edition:	Large type / large print edition
ISBN-13:	978-0-06-246723-2
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Disability: social aspects Books > Health, Home & Family > Family & health > Advice on parenting > Child care & upbringing > General Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Domestic animals & pets > Dogs > General Books > Biography > General Promotions
LSN:	0-06-246723-9
Barcode:	9780062467232

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