2017 Reading Challenge discussion

Maybe it's because I am falling in love with a new dog that I loved this book so much. Or maybe it's because the author, a former journalist, has the gift of metering out stories and details at a pace that leaves us satisfied and yearning for more. Or maybe it's because German Shepherd Solo, the hero of the story (although Warren wouldn't like us to think of him in this idealized way), is one of the most engaging and entertaining characters headliner subjects to come along the pike in a long while. I simply adored the book and the dog.

Solo, so named because he was a litter of one, was meant to focus on university professor Warren, to "complement [her] academic life... not disrupt [it]". But Solo had his own destiny, and part of the book is about how Warren helped him to discover and realize it. Solo enjoys life as a cadaver dog, a dog who uses his nose to hunt for dead humans (who smell different from life ones). Solo's housemates are Megan, an inherited setter and, towards the end of the book, new shepherd Coda.

One of the joys of the book for me was that while reading it I began to observe my own new dog more closely, and open my mind to a wider range of possibilities for her to enjoy her life to its fullest.

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