What a Difference a Dog Makes, Dana Jennings
What a Difference a Dog Makes, Dana Jennings
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What a Difference a Dog Makes
Big Lessons on Life, Love and Healing from a Small Pooch

Author: Dana Jennings

Narrator: Dana Jennings

Unabridged: 3 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/02/2010


Synopsis

A must-read for every dog lover—a short, tender, and uplifting tale of a cancer survivor and the life lessons shared with him by his beloved family dog.

Our dogs come into our lives as “just the family pet,” but before we know it they become drinking buddies and fuzzy shrinks, playmates and Cheerios-munching vacuum cleaners, alarm clocks and sleeping partners. And, in their mys­terious and muttish ways, our dogs become our teachers.

When Dana Jennings and his son were both seriously ill—Dana with prostate cancer and his son with liver failure—their twelve-year-old miniature poodle Bijou became even more than a pet and teacher. She became a healing presence in their lives. After all, when you’re recovering from radical surgery and your life is uncertain, there’s no better medicine than a  twenty-three-pound pooch who lives by the motto that it’s always best to play, even when you’re old and creaky, even when you’re sick and frightened.

In telling Bijou’s tale in all of its funny, touching, and neurotic glory, Jennings is telling the story of every dog that has ever blessed our lives. The perfect gift for animal lovers, What a Difference a Dog Makes is a narrative ode to our canine guardian angels.

About The Author

DANA JENNINGS is currently a feature writer at the New York Times and writes a popular weekly column about coping with prostate cancer and its aftermath for the Times’s “Well” blog. He is the author of five previous books, most recently Sing Me Back Home. He lives with his family in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Anne

This book is short and sweet. It shares what every dog owner knows, consciously or not, that dogs give us as much if not more than we ever give them. They contribute to our well-being, both mental and physical and ground us to the present in ways that other loved ones can't. The book isn't a revelat......more

Goodreads review by Jamie

I decided to read this book to give me a few ideas about a blog post I'm writing based on the influence a dog has on a human's wellbeing. One concept the author talks about is "living in the moment" - how, for the most part, dogs embrace every moment, not worrying about the future or stressing about......more

Goodreads review by Luann

I might be unfairly judging this book since I just recently read a couple of dog books by Gary Paulsen. Sorry to say that this pales in comparison. I especially had a hard time getting past the writing style. I found it very tedious to read more than a chapter or two at a time. There were just too m......more

This is a Goodreads First Reads book, thank you to Goodreads and Doubleday for the free review copy. This was a quick, enjoyable read, more for dog lovers than cancer patients, about growing up and growing old with "mans best friend". I was expecting a biography about Jennings personal battle with ca......more

This book isn't just about the lessons the writer, Dana Jennings, learned from his dog while battling cancer. The story reads more like a biography told through the pets of his life. Dana Jennings tells stories about many of the animals in his life. Bijou, a miniature poodle, is the dog that teaches......more


Quotes

“A poodle named Bijou teaches her cancer-stricken master how to savor his life in this heartfelt gift of a book.”
Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human

"The setup is moving and Jennings is a charming writer... [his] wry sense of humor shines through... It's the rare reader who won't take some pleasure in Jennings's strength (and how smitten he is with the noble Bijou)."
—Publishers Weekly