READ THIS: Paws and Effect by Sharon Sakson
Skilled writers know how to navigate their genres and chosen topics, whether they are journalists, biographers or memoirists. Among these, however, lies a subset of writers who infuse their prose with generosity, so much that the reader understands that she is not reading a chronicle but rather, is participating in the act of bearing witness to the events that occasioned the creation of the text.
This book is driven by emotion and the bond between dog and person that transcends many human relationships and the reader becomes quite aware of how little words can mean and how important actions are, as illustrated by the canine persuasion.
Paws & Effect by Sharon Sakson explores the strong bonds that can develop between canines and their human handlers and attempts to explain why dogs work so hard for humans for little reward. Whether the pet is a service aide, hunter, retriever or alert dog, Sakson presents the view that humans have only begun to understand what dogs can offer. She also puts forth the thesis that most people, even highly experienced dog handlers, must necessarily unlearn what they thought they knew about canines’ limitations.
Sakson introduces her book about the healing power of dogs with a personal story: the account of the death of her mother and how, in the acquisition of dogs, she was able to put away thoughts of suicide. The storyline is a familiar one: a child gets a companion animal and becomes more confident and more willing to engage with life. There are many variations on this theme throughout the work, ranging from the comfort provided to the elderly in nursing homes to the calming effect a service dog can bring to a physically handicapped or autistic child. While the examples are happy ones that reinforce the commonly acknowledged beneficial nature of companion animals, they are not the most engaging ones in the work.
Sakson is as her most engaging (and convincing) when she introduces the reader to the opportunities afforded by canines’ powerful sense of scent. She sought out dogs that alert their owners to impending seizures, migraine headaches and diabetic events. These dogs, called “alert dogs,” are thought to be able to smell the subtle but critically important changes in blood chemistry that occur before a debilitating physical event. Some dogs, such as a pair of Akitas featured in the book, not only alerted their human companion but physically prevented the seizure sufferer from being in a position of harm. The examples, though admittedly anecdotal, offer a glimpse into the possible contributions that canines could make to human medical science.
Ironically, it is the medical community that seems most skeptical about the power of dogs and their ability to sense harm through scent. Sakson devotes a whole chapter to the notion that some dogs can be trained to detect human cancerous cells in the way that some dogs can be trained to detect explosives and illicit narcotics. She offers intriguing scientific evidence that canines can distinguish between healthy and cancerous human cells, even in instances in which “accepted” medical testing missed the diagnoses. Like any good journalist, Sakson presents the competing viewpoint from the medical community: mostly that the evidence that any dog can smell cancer in humans is hokum. But Sakson counters with data from respected medical professionals and with the theory that more research should be done to incorporate canines’ sense of scent into the arsenal of modern medicine used to fight cancer.
The chapter devoted to Fluffy, the dog that came home from the war in Iraq, was depressingly informative about the sad history of military service dogs. Sakson introduces the reader to the military’s policy in Vietnam that left thousands of donated bomb-sniffing dogs behind to either be euthanized or eaten by the South Vietnamese. Determined not to have the tragedy repeated, military dog handlers launched an effort to have dogs officially decommissioned, then retired, after their tours of service. In 2000, Congress passed a law that allowed handlers or “qualified people” to adopt a retired Military War Dog. However, the law did not account for dogs that “enlisted on the battlefield” and were, therefore, illegal pets at best and nuisances at worst. Sakson carefully chronicles the story of Fluffy, an “enlistee” during the Iraq War, and shows how determined and concentrated pressure from dog lovers across the country helped reunite a human hero with his canine war companion.
The best line in the book comes from Jennifer, a Georgia native who has devoted her life and career to training service and alert dogs for sick children and adults with disabilities. When asked why dogs remain loyal to humans, even after abuse or mistreatment, Jennifer replies that “It’s a mystery....it’s the only thing that points to any lack of intelligence in a dog.” Sakson’s skillful writing and love of all things canine help limn this mystery and contribute to the rightful sense of awe any reader or dog-lover should hold about the blessings given by our four-legged best friends.
Paws and Effect is a wonderful informative book about how service dogs relate to the special people in their lives. Exceptional, personal stories about how dogs aid their human friends are illustrated and the author gives much deserved credit to those many people and organizations who raise and train these special service dogs. There are also amazing stories about how our "BEST FRIENDS" help us by just sharing our lives as family members and companions in our homes and neighborhoods.
A great read for anyone --- A MUST READ FOR DOG LOVERS!
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This was evaluated by the Whom You Know Reading Panel as well as Peachy Deegan.
