Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love »

Larry Levin and his family live in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. He is an attorney in solo practice. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for twenty-six years. Their sons, Noah and Dan, are eighteen. Oogy is eight.

In 2002, Larry Levin and his twin sons, Dan and Noah, took their ailing cat to the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia to have the beloved pet put to sleep. What began as a terrible day suddenly got brighter as the ugliest dog they had ever seen—one who was missing an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue—bounded up to them.

The dog, whom the family immediately took home and named "Oogy" (an affectionate derivative of "ugly"), had been tied to a stake and used as bait for fighting dogs when he was four months old.

OOGY is the story of a dog who thinks he's a boy, of the men and women at the animal hospital who were determined to rescue him even though he didn't seem to stand a chance, of why the Levins have to close the refrigerator door with a bungee cord, and how adopting Oogy brought the Levins (whose sons are themselves adopted) even closer together.

Publishers Weekly

Attorney Levin shares the by turns horrifying and heartwarming story of Oogy, his gentle pit bull who went from brutalized bait for fighting dogs to beloved family member and therapy dog. The four-month-old pup was discovered near death: maimed, missing an ear and half his face, with numerous other life-threatening injuries. A kindly animal hospital worker marveled at his sweetness despite his intense suffering and persuaded the shelter not to euthanize him. Oogy finds a home with the author, his wife, and their twin sons--both adopted--and the puppy's hijinks (eating homework, opening and raiding the fridge and pantry) ensue. As remarkable in spirit as he is distinctive in appearance, the extraordinary Oogy receives a hero's biography from adoring Levin, who both recognizes himself in and feels rescued from the grip of his own childhood traumas by his indomitable companion's capacity to survive. (Nov.)