The Dogs Who Found Me: What I've Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind » (Bargain)

Ken Foster is the editor of two anthologies, including Dog Culture. His collection of short stories, The Kind I'm Likely to Get, was a New York Times Notable Book. His work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, and The Believer. He has taught at The New School, Florida State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. He lives in New Orleans, with at least three dogs.

A favorite author reveals his experiences rescuing abandoned dogs--and offers solid advice for readers who "find" dogs.

Publishers Weekly

After Foster adopts his first dog, Brando, from a shelter, he can't help noticing an alarming number of stray dogs, which he had never noticed before. Once he starts looking for them, he finds strays everywhere: on the side of the road, at the dog park, at gas stations and stuck in drainage grates. But this book isn't about Foster as much as it's about his dogs, who help him through 9/11 (he lived in Manhattan then), a heart condition that lands him in the hospital and the deaths of two good friends. Foster's relationships with the three dogs in his life aren't a one-way street, though: when one dog gets a urinary infection every time Foster leaves, Foster realizes she "was trying to hold everything in until I returned." As if channeling the frank and fundamental nature of dogs, Foster's sentences hide little pretense or poetry. It's an appropriate writing style that lets Foster present his joys and sorrows plainly. Interspersing vignettes on topics such as missing dog posters, shelters, heartworms and understanding dogs' body language, Foster fleshes out this charming account of a life among dogs while providing hints for would-be dog savers. (Mar.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.