Amazing Dogs: Stories of Brilliance, Loyalty, Courage, and Extraordinary Feats.

Gordon Turner is the author of Empress of Britain: Canadian Pacific’s
Greatest Ship and the editor of SeaFare, a quarterly newsletter on sea
travel.

This book certainly lives up to its title and subtitle. The author has brought together a collection of heartwarming stories about dogs that testify to their bravery, devotion, mental alertness, and ability to sense danger. Amazing Dogs is divided into four sections: “Beyond Belief” deals with dogs as heroes; “Lending a Hand” tells of Seeing Eye and therapeutic dogs; “Hard at Work” contains accounts of their accomplishments in times of war and in the 9/11 catastrophe; “A Dog’s Life” includes tales of their fortitude.

Most of the stories comes from Canada and the United States, but there is also a fair sprinkling from England, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority are from recent years, but some are from the distant past. The author’s love of dogs is apparent, and she always shows them in a positive light. These pages are exclusively about dogs’ appealing traits and thus contain nothing about, for example, vicious attacks on children by pit bulls.

Wojna writes in an undemanding style, making her book an easy read.

However, its flaws are an irritant. One photo has no connection with the text; one headline is not related to the story that follows. A dog is stated to have travelled by rail and ship for 132 days at an average of almost 1,100 miles a day—and this in 1895. Still, it is likely that dog lovers will enjoy the book.