From Publishers Weekly
Told by her pastor that animals don’t have souls, young Rose (Body Sharers) didn’t believe him and she still doesn’t. This memoir, which recounts her lifelong passion for animals, gathers momentum and gains the reader’s full attention when the adult Rose adopts a Border collie, the runt of a litter. Demanding and ditzy, beautiful and bright, Kierney becomes the love of Rose’s life. The dog understands whole English sentences (according to her besotted owner) and possesses great joie de vivre. But Kierney is not an easy pet: she demands most of Rose’s time and attention, and she bites. The family veterinarian gives her a diagnosis “she’s insane” that mollifies Rose and husband Joe for a while. However, when the next vet diagnoses epilepsy and the dog begins to have frequent grand mal seizures, they realize the severity of Kierney’s problems. . . . Yet seldom has the intensity of a dog-human bond been expressed so clearly. Forecast: Rose’s success in fiction her first novel was a PEN/Hemingway finalist may attract critical attention to this nonfiction effort. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Against the backdrop of her relationship to a variety of animals, Rose depicts her development from defiant, 12-year-old atheist to mystically inclined Roman Catholic, from meat eater to vegan, and from literature to creative writing in her academic concentration. The heart of the book, though, is the portrayal of her deep commitment to a “behaviorally challenged” dog. Fans of the border collie will find considerable validation of Stanley Coren’s (The Intelligence of Dogs, LJ 3/15/94) ranking of the breed as first in intelligence in this stunning memoir of the author’s beloved Kierney. “She was grasping entire strings of words, even when the sequence and some of the words varied,” Rose writes. Rose’s Body Sharers was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award for Best First Novel, and the writing here is of the same high quality, with scenes of harrowing emotional intensity. Highly recommended for all public libraries; academic libraries at schools that offer creative writing classes, animal behavior studies, and theology departments will also want to consider seriously. Cleo Pappas, Lisle P.L., IL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Seattle Times writer Ranny Green
“For the Love of a Dog is an absorbing blend of tension and passion, firmly tethered to reality. It’s must reading for anyone who has ever been owned by a dog.”