First published 2016
At twenty-four, Karen Shirk faces a future confined to a ventilator after a neuromuscular disease leaves her immobile. Every service dog agency in America turns her away. They say she's too disabled to qualify. Her nurse suggests an alternative path: find a puppy and train your own service dog. Karen takes the advice. She raises Ben, a German shepherd who pulls her back from despair and into engagement with life. The experience sparks a larger question in Karen's mind about how many other people remain isolated without the help they need. Her answer becomes 4 Paws for Ability, a service dog academy that has now trained over a thousand dogs. Melissa Fay Greene follows Karen's journey while exploring the latest scientific research on human-dog relationships. She profiles families whose children have been transformed by their service animals. The book examines how dogs, long dismissed by scientists as artificial creations, now receive serious study from neuroscientists and animal behaviorists who recognize their unique abilities to heal trauma and disability.
Genres: animals, non-fiction, biography-memoir, disability
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-adversity
285 pages · Kindle Edition · Ecco