Rating: 
Summary: Thank God for Mr. Grim!
Review: Mr. Grim is a living saint in the mold of Brother Francis. If you believe that a dog dumped by someone who doesn't want him anymore will end up wild and free like a wolf . . . if you think neutering your dog will somehow affect your own manhood . . . if you think your dog should have "just one litter" because "the kids should see the miracle of birth" . . . read this book and then try to sleep at night. Dogs are not wolves in Snoopy costumes, able to return to the wild at a moment's notice. Dumped dogs die slow and terrible deaths, and dogs born on the street live short and wretched lives. They need us. They can't survive without us. Our ancestors made them that way, and passed on to us the responsibility for their life and death. Randy Grim knows this in his guts.Read this book, and when you stop shivering, call your local animal shelter and ask them what they need most. And if you see a dog wandering alone, look into its eyes. You'll know what I mean when you're done with The Man who Talks to Dogs.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: One of the nicest and most lovable things that people do is to take care of dogs. Everyone knows how devoted dogs are to their owners (for which the word "guardians" is being used by those who do not like to think of such noble and friendly animals as property) and how devoted the humans are to their dogs. But like anything else that humans do, there are people that mess things up, and in some cases, mess things up horrifyingly. There are dogs who are mistreated and abandoned, and there are not enough shelters to take care of all the strays. Countless dogs end up officially killed because culling them is the sad best solution to a problem dogs didn't cause and humans did. There are people who are making a difference, and in _The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of America's Wild Street Dogs and Their Unlikely Savior_ (Thomas Dunne Books), Melinda Roth has given a touching portrait of an unlikely, flawed, and genuinely gifted dog-lover who is getting help for helpless dogs. Randy Grim is the founder of Stray Rescue in St. Louis, a position he describes as being captain of a punctured life raft. He is a bundle of phobias. "I have to take one Xanax for driving, one and a half for shopping malls, two for walking through an airport, and three if I have to _eat_ in an airport." But he can do things like drive, even over feared bridges, without anxiety if he is on duty rescuing dogs. There is a good deal of unpleasant but essential reporting here, a good deal about what happens to dogs bred for the "sport" of dogfighting, and dogs from puppy mills. Grim drives out into the wilds of the city to try to befriend the dogs and eventually corral them into his care. He meets some cast-off humans as well, and helps them when he can; he knows he should feel more sorry for people, but he knows there are other agencies doing that: "Nobody is worrying about these dogs out here who don't know how to hunt or how to fend for themselves or how to survive." The dogs go to Grim's basement for basic care and beginning lessons in associating with humans. A friendly lawyer helped get Grim's efforts certified as a non-profit organization, and some news stories helped get the word out so that he now has a group of dedicated foster parents to nurture terrified, injured, and crazy dogs fresh off the streets. The dogs are finally adopted out, and plenty of the adoptions work out well for all concerned. Grim has become a national figure in the dog rescue world. There is a hilarious account of an Animal Planet crew sent to film his adventures in catching strays ("Look! I'm being filmed _and_ driving across a bridge, and I'm not freaking out."). When the story aired, there was more recognition, which meant more people called him to pick up dogs, but also more donations and more volunteers. "I'm not perfect," Grim says, "but I know that if it wasn't for the dogs, I would have ended up a lost soul with a bleak life." This is a lovely story of redemption, of lost dogs and a lost man who made a difference helping each other.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Redemption
Review: One of the nicest and most lovable things that people do is to take care of dogs. Everyone knows how devoted dogs are to their owners (for which the word "guardians" is being used by those who do not like to think of such noble and friendly animals as property) and how devoted the humans are to their dogs. But like anything else that humans do, there are people that mess things up, and in some cases, mess things up horrifyingly. There are dogs who are mistreated and abandoned, and there are not enough shelters to take care of all the strays. Countless dogs end up officially killed because culling them is the sad best solution to a problem dogs didn't cause and humans did. There are people who are making a difference, and in _The Man Who Talks to Dogs: The Story of America's Wild Street Dogs and Their Unlikely Savior_ (Thomas Dunne Books), Melinda Roth has given a touching portrait of an unlikely, flawed, and genuinely gifted dog-lover who is getting help for helpless dogs. Randy Grim is the founder of Stray Rescue in St. Louis, a position he describes as being captain of a punctured life raft. He is a bundle of phobias. "I have to take one Xanax for driving, one and a half for shopping malls, two for walking through an airport, and three if I have to _eat_ in an airport." But he can do things like drive, even over feared bridges, without anxiety if he is on duty rescuing dogs. There is a good deal of unpleasant but essential reporting here, a good deal about what happens to dogs bred for the "sport" of dogfighting, and dogs from puppy mills. Grim drives out into the wilds of the city to try to befriend the dogs and eventually corral them into his care. He meets some cast-off humans as well, and helps them when he can; he knows he should feel more sorry for people, but he knows there are other agencies doing that: "Nobody is worrying about these dogs out here who don't know how to hunt or how to fend for themselves or how to survive." The dogs go to Grim's basement for basic care and beginning lessons in associating with humans. A friendly lawyer helped get Grim's efforts certified as a non-profit organization, and some news stories helped get the word out so that he now has a group of dedicated foster parents to nurture terrified, injured, and crazy dogs fresh off the streets. The dogs are finally adopted out, and plenty of the adoptions work out well for all concerned. Grim has become a national figure in the dog rescue world. There is a hilarious account of an Animal Planet crew sent to film his adventures in catching strays ("Look! I'm being filmed _and_ driving across a bridge, and I'm not freaking out."). When the story aired, there was more recognition, which meant more people called him to pick up dogs, but also more donations and more volunteers. "I'm not perfect," Grim says, "but I know that if it wasn't for the dogs, I would have ended up a lost soul with a bleak life." This is a lovely story of redemption, of lost dogs and a lost man who made a difference helping each other.
Rating:
Summary: Heroic Tails
Review: Randy Grim hates being called a hero. He feels like a fake when people use that term to describe him because, in his eyes, he's a frail and fearful person, full of complexities and issues. It takes all his energy to face life's challenges but, for some reason, it all changes when he's on the trail of a dog that needs his help. Then he's a fully focused, driven machine that will wade through filth, skid along icy, dark streets and face down the roughest, toughest people to accomplish his task. He can't and he won't leave that canine alone on the street.
This book is fast paced and fascinating. I was hooked from word one. The author has managed to weave together the story of a fascinating, though reluctant hero with the graphic and gritty reality of the price being paid by the strays in our midst. The author dissects the various causes and brings the tragic results into sharp focus. It is hard to blink, to look away, to pretend it doesn't exist. Those weary, confused eyes stare back from the pages.
While we witness the dark side of humanity and it's wretched victims, we are also allowed to share the small and great triumphs that result from Randy's dedication. Many are the hurdles that have to be overcome but, step by step, the right people join the battle, sanctuary is provided, supplies appear and donations arrive.
This is how heros and saints come to be. It's the leap of faith that says, "I don't know whether I'm making a difference. I don't know how I'm going to manage but I will. Because I'm not taking my eye off this one, and the next one, and the next one until they're safe." One small miracle at a time creates a haven. For the strays, for the people who care and for the children who see that brutality or indifference are not the only choices.
Thanks Randy, for showing the way and thanks Melinda, for telling the story so well.
Rating:
Summary: Heroic Tails
Review: Randy Grim hates being called a hero. He feels like a fake when people use that term to describe him because, in his eyes, he's a frail and fearful person, full of complexities and issues. It takes all his energy to face life's challenges but, for some reason, it all changes when he's on the trail of a dog that needs his help. Then he's a fully focused, driven machine that will wade through filth, skid along icy, dark streets and face down the roughest, toughest people to accomplish his task. He can't and he won't leave that canine alone on the street.
This book is fast paced and fascinating. I was hooked from word one. The author has managed to weave together the story of a fascinating, though reluctant hero with the graphic and gritty reality of the price being paid by the strays in our midst. The author dissects the various causes and brings the tragic results into sharp focus. It is hard to blink, to look away, to pretend it doesn't exist. Those weary, confused eyes stare back from the pages.
While we witness the dark side of humanity and it's wretched victims, we are also allowed to share the small and great triumphs that result from Randy's dedication. Many are the hurdles that have to be overcome but, step by step, the right people join the battle, sanctuary is provided, supplies appear and donations arrive.
This is how heros and saints come to be. It's the leap of faith that says, "I don't know whether I'm making a difference. I don't know how I'm going to manage but I will. Because I'm not taking my eye off this one, and the next one, and the next one until they're safe." One small miracle at a time creates a haven. For the strays, for the people who care and for the children who see that brutality or indifference are not the only choices.
Thanks Randy, for showing the way and thanks Melinda, for telling the story so well.
Rating:
Summary: Read It In One Sitting!
Review: The Man Who Talks to Dogs was an incredible book . I couldn't put it down. This is the true story of one man's desperate, heartbreaking love for dogs--of anguish, brutality and hope. Randy Grim dedicates his life to saving the big-city feral-dog population of St. Louis, single-handedly braving the mean streets to rescue God's lost angels--those half-wild, half-domesticated dogs existing on the borderlines of urban society. In this story, Randy brings to light the terrible struggle of these animals, who haunt burned-out buildings, eating out of garbage cans, dropping dead in the streets of starvation and illness, some never having come close to a human...or worse yet, falling prey to the sadistic cruelty of dog-fight rings or random violence. Thru this man's tireless efforts, many of these dogs have been saved, rehabbed and adopted to loving homes. Some of their stories are told in this book--- I guarantee that you will never forget them. Randy is an incredible human being and an inspiration to all of us....Get this book, read it and live it--it is a great lesson in compassion for the creatures with no voice--- and how one person can make a difference, one dog at a time.
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