How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too
Starred review from February 25, 2019
The premise put forward by Novello, president of Humane Society Silicon Valley, in her first book is a simple one: rescuing a pet from a shelter helps both the animal and the owner in numerous ways. This collection of anecdotes, bolstered by the requisite statistics and studies, proves her point time and again. Novello opens with the story of how two Parkland School shooting survivors found solace in a pair of rescue dogs, one a mini Australian shepherd trained as a therapy animal, the other a puppy (of an unspecified breed) recently rescued from an abusive home; both were powerfully effective in helping their owners recuperate from trauma. While not all of Novello’s accounts are this dramatic, they’re equally impactful, variously showing how animals can help owners overcome the loss of a child or the suicide of a loved one, combat mental illness, adopt a healthier lifestyle, and even enhance a child’s cognitive and emotional development. A selection of resources, such as volunteering tips for people unable to commit to pet ownership, rounds out the book. It’s an impressive and inspiring work guaranteed to spur a visit to a rescue web site or trip to the local Humane Society. Agent: Bonnie Solow, Solow Literary Enterprises, Inc.
April 1, 2019
In 2010, after a career in the technology sector, Novello put her lifelong love of animals to work as president of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. Four years ago, the author cocreated Mutual Rescue, an initiative highlighting the shared benefits of adopting shelter/rescue animals. The organization's first short film, Eric & Peety, based on Eric O'Grey's book, Walking with Peety, shares Grey's and Peety's physical and emotional--weight loss and loneliness--transformations. Following the release of more films comes this eponymous book, cowritten with Graves. Chapters begin by describing the healing power animals can have for people of all ages and in all manner of physical, mental, and emotional trauma. These individual stories become the base for research on topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder, mindfulness, and addiction, moving the narrative beyond what rescuers already know and into a well-developed argument for how animal companions help us live fuller, healthier lives. VERDICT Blending emotional appeal with scientific evidence, Novello presents a sound basis for the community benefits of rescuing shelter animals and supporting animal welfare organizations.--Meagan Storey, Virginia Beach
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