Wednesday, October 10, 2012

One Good Dog - One Good Book

One Good Dog
by Susan Wilson
Published by Wheeler Publishing,
a part of Gale, Cengrage Learning
Copyright 2010

One Good Dog, by Susan Wilson, is a moving story about how a dog can merge into our life and help us learn about our own humanity. It is a story told from two points of view: the main character, Adam March, and the unnamed dog who he encounters. Both are hardened warriors. Adam in the trenches of the corporate world, where he has clawed and climbed his was up out of poverty and the foster homes in which he was raised to a life of nothing-but-the-best luxury. The dog, a pit bull mix, who has slashed and killed his way through human-arranged dog fights just to remain alive in a small cage without human kindness or the normal social contact with other dogs. Their story is told with unflinching clarity and simplicity, making it the kind of good book that you can’t wait to continue reading.

The brief prologue, told from the dog’s point of view, introduces us to these two warriors making eye contact for the first time and the dog recognizing Adam as a fellow warrior. Though Adam and the dog don’t meet until later in the book, the prologue peaks our interest and we want to read more. We are introduced to Adam living the high-stress life of a corporate executive in a plush office, with three homes and a token wife focused on climbing ever-higher on the social ladder to keep their daughter going to the right schools, wearing the right clothes, and knowing the right people. Adam’s house of cards comes tumbling down when his assistant leaves him a Post-it with the message, “You’re sister called” and we learn that Adam’s sister disappeared from his life when his was young. His emotions spiral out of control as memories of his past life as an abandoned child intrude on his upwardly mobile. In a rage, he slaps his assistant, which causes him to lose his job, his wife and daughter, and most of his money. Frankly, we don’t feel sorry for him at this point because he is callous about his underlings and too proud of his top-dog stance.

We meet the other top-dog as he enters his newest fight. The pit bull’s attitude toward his opponents contrasts brilliantly with Adam’s.  Where Adam’s is malevolent, the dog’s is benign. His “sorry I had to kill you, but good fight” show’s more compassion than Adam’s detestable attitude toward the Judge and his court-invoked volunteer work at the Fort Street Center offering food and shelter to homeless men.  Ironically, the law intervenes in the life of both characters. Animal Control invades the house where the pit bulls are fought and rescues the dogs. Only our top-dog escapes them, dragging the pole leash behind him.

It is not surprising that we like the dog more the Adam at first. However, as Adam works through his emotional baggage to learn compassion for those less fortunate than himself, we develop an attachment to Adam. Each step Adam takes brings him closer to the kind of man we might befriend, until eventually he learns about forgiveness. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about growing, changing and becoming a better person.