A Dog's Way Home: A Novel

I finished reading "A Dog's Way Home" and first thing this morning was a plan to write a review.I was luckily chosen by the publisher to read an advanced copy of the book.W. Bruce Cameron's books have been my favorites, and this one is right at the top. A Dog's Purpose will always be my favorite, as it was the first "dog" book of his. But "A Dog's Way Home" is right up there.This book, as are the others, are written from the point of view of the dog. In this case, a possible Pit Bull mix, named Bella. She, as all dogs I've known or have been part of my family, does all she can to please her "person". She wants to be a "good dog", she wants to "give comfort", she wants to do all of the things that all of our pets want. And, as usual, she learns these things from her "person".However in this book, Bella, the mix pit bull, is not "welcome" in the town she lives in, in fact, she is legally banned as animal control deemed her a "pit bull", that legally can be taken by animal control and put down. Her person does all he can to keep her with him, she gets lost. She learns things from other people and other animals on her travels of trying to "go home", all things that kept her alive, as she helped others live. While lost,she gave comfort, was a good dog, and at times, knew she was doing something that her person would tell her she was a bad dog. But, it was all in the quest of "Go Home". It amazes me that Mr. Cameron can "be the dog" as he does....My little dachshund is a work in progress to being "Bella".This book is working to remove the stigma of pit bulls and other dogs that some consider "dangerous". I've always known that pit bulls can be soft and gentle. Any dog can. Any dog can be mean, angry and dangerous, if that is what their owner teaches them to be. That's the problem, some pit bulls and others were taught this. Bella was taught to be "a good dog". Not all pits or similar are mean by nature, they are taught that. It's not the dog, it's the person!For this wonderful book, if Amazon permitted 10 stars or above, that is what I would give it. An amazing book that I hope will help remove the stigma on breed specific dogs, as they are not "bad dogs", they were just not taught "LOVE".Hopeful that Mr.Cameron won't mind, a one line quote from this book that stood out to me, Bella had a thought "If a dog couldn't trust humans, how was life even possible"Keep on writing Mr. Cameron, this "person" will continue to read!

I learned something with this book – that I need to stop being surprised just how good W. Bruce Cameron truly is. I have loved all his books – from the No. 1 best-seller "A Dog's Purpose" to his "Repo" series and everything in between, but his latest, "A Dog's Way Home," is as much a delight as anything he's done. Once again, Cameron is telling a story from a dog's point of view, and he doesn't disappoint or, most importantly, repeat himself. There are certainly those elements that fans of Cameron crave – the humor, the warmth, the emotion, and a gosh darn good dog, but there is also a call to arms in this book, which deals with unfair laws in some parts of the country that are outlawing pit bulls. What Cameron always does best in his books is to drive home a message, and he skillfully does that here. You will pull for Bella every step of the way in "A Dog's Way Home," and you will feel strongly about many of the human characters, too, which may be the best part of the book. Cameron has always made readers love the characters in his book – be they human or canine, but "A Dog's Way Home" in, however strange this may sound in a book about a dog, it was the humans who ended up starring in this great wag-of-the-tail tale. Dog lovers will see a little bit of themselves in the various humans who, in their own ways, loved Bella, needed Bella, found comfort in Bella. It was a joy to read this book. Pure joy.

This is wonderful story about a short-haired muscular mutt struggling to find her way home. Bella was seized from her owner because of Denver's breed discriminatory law. The book was so engaging I actually stayed on a plane to finish it while the rest of the passenger's deplaned-and that has NEVER happened. Let's hope folks who live in communities with breed specific or breed discriminatory laws buy copies of this book for their public officials and rise up to get breed discrimination repealed. Politics is not a spectator sport. In America responsible dog owner's should be allowed to own whatever breed of dog they choose. It's that simple.

Bella is a mixed breed, stray puppy who finds a good home with Lucas and proves her worth with an innate ability to detect his mother’s seizures before they occur. Bella also visits the VA hospital, and cheers the patients up with her gentle love and caring behavior. But an animal control officer accuses Bella of being a pit bull. He’s got a reputation. It’s said that he has identified more “pit bulls” than the American Kennel Club. In Denver where this story happens all it takes to brand a dog a pit bull is for two animal control officers to say it’s a pit bull.There are several tests to determine if a dog is vicious. One is to toss a meaty treat on the ground. If the dog grabs it, it is labeled as vicious. This is a test Bella fails. Bella is threatened with arrest and death if she stays in Denver. A rescue group finds a foster home for her, 400 miles away, but Bella misses Lucas, her master and she runs away. Her quest takes her over rugged, dangerous snowy mountains. She befriends a cougar, and a homeless war vet; she saves an avalanche victim. Her adventures are many as she finds people and animals she cares for and some of them care for her. If you love dogs, you will love this book. Dogs are often unfairly discriminated against. Pit bulls are actually one of the gentlest breeds, and most people who report pit bull attacks don’t even know what a pit bull looks like. Dachshunds are the most likely dogs to bite.

?Having just finished reading this book, I found it a very good read, (purchased on Kindle), and although fiction, it was written in a very similar vein to those about Alfie the Cat written by Rachel Wells, and also about Molly and the Cat Cafe by Melisa Daley.Both books there written from the point of view of the cats, as is this one about a dog called Bella and her long trip home back to Lucas, her owner. You will love this story, and how many lives Bella was involved with.

This writer is so good at dog stories, I just hope he keeps writing more as I will buy them all.

A charming and touching story and an imaginative depiction of a dog's mind.It was very convincing.The story is very gripping.

It's amazing to find from this book how a dog's mind works and how loyal they are. A lovely book.

Very good story