Dogs of Dreamtime

By Karen Shanley

Lyons Press, 238 pages, $14.95

Available on Amazon.com   

Have you ever dreamed about dogs? Surely you have. But you've probably never dreamed of them like Karen Shanley has.

When her beloved Sheltie, Kiera, dies, Shanley dreams she's come back - as an Aussie pup somewhere out there that she must find. And find her she does. Superstition? Wish fulfillment? Maybe. But chilling nonetheless, when she finds Kiera 2 at a breeder's. And she falls into something resembling a nightmare more than a dream when she also takes home her new dog's sister, the deaf Molly.

Thus this haunting memoir of a woman's devotion to her dogs also becomes an undercover dog training diary. That's because the trouble brought home with these two dogs, and with Molly's replacement, a dog named Magic who brings it into his owner's life only in a most paradoxical way, bring Shanley to the brink. Her family suffers from her dogs' sufferings, and she must find a way to reach these otherwise unreachable animals. (Her story becomes a triumphant advertisement for positive reinforcement and clicker - or "kind and gentle" - training, likely the only type that would work with dogs this sensitive and smart.)

There is sadness here, too, but Shanley learns how to transform it - by first allowing herself to fully experience it. Although this is a very personal story, with very particular challenges arising out of very particular dogs, there is a message here for everyone. From tragedy can come release, so long as one remains open to following one's dogs wherever they may lead. Even into the world of dreams and back.

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