Rating:
This reading journey marked with rereading this book over the years is a journey of personal growing up, maturing, and watching the life of my own pets. And it is a journey of disappointment.
I loved and adored this book as a child. It was one of the best books to read before going to bed. Or to find entertainment during a long bus ride. I loved the dogs who ran through the pages. They jumped around, played, raised adorable puppies, roamed the wild, lived their lives. And then the dogs slowed down as their age took their energy and strength. And they left the pages and left me with a feeling of hollowness and sadness. But I felt thankful I was able to witness their turbulent lives and rejoiced and grieved with them. Simply, this book looks like a perfect mix of adventure, nature observation account, animal family drama, and often the tale of loss and hardship.
But there is a major problem. The dogs featured in the book are not fictional characters, nor wild animals. They are pets of a human being living in the human society. A society full of advantages but also mortal dangers. And the human owner, the author of this book, may have served the readers with a beautiful story that makes people smile and weep. But nothing justifies the fact she allowed her dogs to endanger themselves and other animals and people. Or she put them into dangerous situations in her own home where the dogs abused and even killed each other. Things like roaming the dark streets without a leash and crossing full roads in the darkness could end up in a tragedy and loss of human lives. Allowing a dominant dog to enter a space with a low-ranking mother with newborn puppies and killing the puppies because of the dog hierachy could be seen as natural in a forest. Not in a human living room. The author seemed to be a great storyteller with fascinating understanding of animal life. But I came to a conclusion she is nothing more than an extremely irresponsible dog owner who should never ever be allowed to have pets.
Glenn's Nest 