num_pages: 352
description: 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 Shirks service dog academy 4 Paws for Ability is restoring broken children and their families to life. Long shunned by scientists as a man made synthetic species and oft- referred to as Mans 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 Karens 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.
language: English
title: The Underdogs
publisher: Ecco