Review of ‘Ambassador Dogs’ by Lisa Loeb

My Rating (****)

More recently, I have been reading a number of books on dogs, all of which have stolen my heart. This one (Ambassador Dogs by Lisa Loeb) is another beautifully written book on dogs. This book deals with the dogs which have helped humans at one or more levels-emotionally, intellectually and physically. After reading the heart-warming stories of this book, I certainly felt a sign of respect not only for the work these dogs are doing but also for the people who facilitate these works through their efforts.

The author traveled a lot to collect these gripping and heartening stories. Her travels take the readers to South-eastern Pennsylvania, to the countryside and the countries of Chester, Delaware, Bucks, and Montgomery. The readers get introduced to a number of well-established facilities. The author shows connection with dogs through rescue, therapy, protection, and education. The function of dogs as depicted in this book throws light on one very important social practice. The book demonstrates that dogs at this moment represent an important cadre of ambassadors that are well-equipped with their outward needs and personalities to be important stewards for promoting and helping the health of social relationships, and, in turn, a general concern for local communities. While the topics discussed are mainly related to people residing in America, the same is true for other countries too.

In recent years, it has been shown that social interactions with pets can help to buffer people from the damaging influence of negative life-events and stress. The most frequently used term is ‘animal-assisted therapy’, now commonly practiced in nursing homes, prisons, psychiatric facility, and various other institutional facilities. One can even see other terms such as pet therapy, pet psychotherapy, pet facilitated psychotherapy, four-footed therapy, pet mediated therapy and pet oriented psychotherapy to describe the therapeutic uses of animals. All of this shows that while humans may remain in total ignorance of or chose to ignore the vast majority of animals surrounding them, these animals have a profound significance on humans. Humans are, in fact, dependent on other animals in various ways as this book shows.

The book is filled with a large number of beautiful photographs which enhance the quality of the book a great deal. I loved reading this book and would recommend it to all.

(This book was provided to me by the publishers through NetGalley)