Review: Rose: A Dog and her Work
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 13, 2013
I cried thru the last half. I'm mad at the author for revealing so soon that they planned to have Rose put down at a specific time in her life. I don't blame him for the decision, given Rose's need to work and physical condition, that made sense, we should not keep pets alive for our pleasure if they are suffering, but WHY did he reveal that so early in the book?? I skimmed most of the rest. I gave the book 5 stars anyway because until Rose was actually put down and the author and his wife described how they were grieving, getting a new but smaller farm and another herding dog, I put the book down (at 75%) and rated what I had already read 5 stars. Everything later was like brown paper wrapping on what had been a wonderful present.Omigod, how I loved Rose, and how lovely were the words and photos Jon Katz used to share her with us! I especially liked the message, repeated often, "she was born to work." "she loved to herd." "she herded everything - ducks, sheep. horses, people, geese..." and the final days  of her life, gazing out the window, so sad because she had no purpose, and she knew it. They weren't "her sheep" anymore because she couldn't herd them anymore.