Daisy to the Rescue

Title: Daisy to the Rescue
Author: Jeff Campbell
Publisher: Zest Books
ISBN: 978-1-936976-62-1

“By gathering these unexpected, sometimes heart-stopping tales of courage and compassion, this book celebrates the incredible animal heroes who help us exactly when we need it most – sometimes at risk to their own lives,” Jeff Campbell writes in his book, Daisy to the Rescue: True Stores of Daring Dogs, Paramedic Parrots, and Other Animal Heroes.

This three hundred and thirty-six page hardbound targets young and old readers who enjoy stories about animals protecting humans. With no profanity or extremely violent scenes, it would be a good source for a book report about animal heroes for middle school aged children.

After acknowledgements, the table of contents, and a foreword by Marc Bekoff, a twenty-five page introduction discusses how the fifty plus stories were chosen along with questions and answers regarding theories why animals’ behaviors are emotionally connected to people. Some save lives; others change lives permanently.

Divided into four parts, the book contains almost all true stories which are seventeen regarding domestic companions, fourteen involving service animals, ten about wild saviors, and nine that are legends and folktales. An extensive sources and further reading list and comprehensive index complete the book.

At the start of each four-to-six page story is a black and white drawing with statistics regarding the name, species, date, location, situation, human involved, and legacy. Intermittently spread throughout are sidebars and gray-shaded notes of historical information, additional instances, and animal comparisons.

From common pets of dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and pigs to untamed wolves, elephants, gorillas, monkeys, kangaroos, whales, and dolphins, these special animals protect, help, and care for mankind.

Learn about Mkombozi, a mixed-breed dog in Kenya who found an abandoned two-week old girl in 2005. Or Molly, the Louisiana pony who survived Hurricane Katrina but lost her leg when attacked by a pit bull and aids the handicapped. There is the unnamed gray seal who saved a drowning woman in the freezing North Sea in 1999. Or the wolves who allegedly raised two young girls in India until they were rescued.

With Daisy not being the only star in the book, she was a Labrador retriever in England who was one of the first trained cancer-detection dogs, saving her forty-five year old owner from breast cancer.

With many fascinating stories about experiences people witnessed involving the love and compassion of animals, the book is uplifting and positive, wanting readers to love their pets more, knowing both would protect each other however possible.

Thanks to Zest Books and Bookpleasures for furnishing this complimentary book in exchange for a review based on the reader’s opinions.

 

This review will be posted on Bookpleasures and Amazon with links on Bookfun.org, Godinterest, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

 

GRAMMARLY was used to check for errors in this review.