Lost Dogs

I was hesitant to read this since I thought some of the dogs would die however it was still worth reading and I'm glad I did. It was very sad though

This isn't a horror story, not in the usual sense. But to an animal /dog lover, it is definitely horrifying. Sad. Philosophical. It's certainly readable, but I don't care for the unrelenting sadness. The author supposedly wrote a different ending, probably because people objected to this one. My only real quibble is that this ending is a hard reach in my opinion. I can't say more without spoiling it. It's a good exploration of how dogs may think and perceive the world. The main characters are well developed, but the secondary characters are a bit flat. For the most part, that's fine since they aren't really intrinsic to the story.The ending seems unfair to me.

This story is well-written and definitely different! I enjoyed it immensely. I "belong" to six dogs currently and have "belonged" to many more over the years. The depiction of their reality rings true.I'm hoping Buddy's and the other dogs' stories continue.

I am a cat person. Even so, I appreciate and enjoy dogs, and I love heroic adventure starring animals of all sorts. Kilgore has taken everything doggie and lovable about dogs and set it against a bizarre, apocalyptic event that destroys almost the entire human population of earth. Dogs have been man's best friend and companion for eons; but what are they without their people (or "Belongings," as the dogs call them)? Well, for a long time, they are lost. Lost Dogs is the story of the aftermath of an ongoing event that changes everything, the dogs who are left wandering and unbelonging, and the gradual transition to finding themselves once again in the new reality.The far-and-away star of this book is the dogs' personalities. Buddy, the German shepherd protagonist, is a good, solid citizen. Full of love, common sense, and the instinct to be vigilant and responsible, he struggles to hold everything together, survive, and safeguard the increasing number of other lost dogs who fall in with him and his beagle-mix housemate, Sally. Sally is sweet and sensible but prone to wander and lose her way. They are joined by neighbor Pomeranians, Penny and Poppy, who are simply hilarious. Then there's Jake and Lil and too many others to mention in this review.The world-changing event itself is never fully explained. Sometimes alien, sometimes almost rhapsodic, and at one point sentient even, it lends itself to any number of reader interpretations. It plays the role of both antagonist and setting, an oppressive and unpredictable backdrop against which the drama plays out. It provides food for thought as well as the impetus that sets the quest in motion.Buddy and his companions will cheer you, horrify you, break your heart, and make you laugh out loud. Wonderful book.

It was well written, but it's not my kinds of story. If your a dog lover read this. It's not my kind of story. Don't get me wrong it was a cute story.

Reading this I cried over and for imaginary dogs. As a life-long lover of dogs, I have never read a better dog story. I was not interested in an "alternative ending".

I almost don't know what to write about this book. Am I glad I read it? Yes. I did not like the Sci-fi aspect of it and I found that very distracting to say the least. We've had many dogs, cats, birds, snakes, chickens, pigeons, fish, name it. But, when it comes to dogs or cats being the most intelligent of the animals we take into our "families," I feel very different. When I was young, I loved them so much and, of course, broke down, when they died. As I grew older, I was without any animals while having children, but needed the companionship and love that only animals can give us as I grew older. A beautiful Chesapeake dog that we eventually had to put down to cancer. A love like no other.Then, much later, a cat because I could no longer walk the dog, so to speak. Our growing older makes us think so much differently than when we are young. This beautiful, wonderful, loving cat taught me so much more than I ever had before. What happens to him when we die? Where does he go? How will he feel? Will he have to fend on his own? The questions became endless for me and these thoughts really concerned me. As I was reading the book, so much came back. I asked God a very special favor! If He saw "ahead" of time that something would happen that either the cat would suffer or somehow be in danger of dying in pain all alone, please, please take him before no matter how much I would miss him. It nearly broke my heart when, all of a sudden, soon after, we had to put him down. He was only 4 years old and a beautiful golden tabby, so sweet - he started curling up and wanting to do nothing but sleep, after being so active. He was a born hunter and he spent so much of his days outside hunting. He was so happy.I took him to the vet because I was afraid that, if he was so sick, he might go off and die by himself and I would never know what happened to him. Well, that was the day that we had to put him down. He had caught leukemia and he had a raging fever. It was too late for him even though he had received all his shots, including the yearly shot for leukemia. I'm looking at his picture now. The tears don't flow quite so fast (a year has passed) but my heart feels so lonely for him. I loved him so much.A few days after he passed, we had a freak wind storm. I know he would have been outside and there is no way that he would have survived. Trees were falling everywhere. Reading this book brought so much back and, to me, Rex (in the book) was so wrong but I now understand that each dog was affected by his own earlier experiences. But Buddy and Sally both understood the joys of being loved and owned by humans and owning in return (believe me!). Tks to the author for writing this book. It might help people to think about pets in their wills and possibly find a solution for them too. Do pets grieve? Of course they do. Since the beginning of time, they have so adapted to humans and their thinking that, I feel, they have adopted much of our ways, maybe, without realizing it or out of sheer love. For those reading to the end of this, please be aware of Rob's punishment for Buddy when he was a little pup. Yes, the pup will respond "correctly" according to the human owner, but will not "understand" what happens and why he was beaten. He is responding in fear - not love! This is cruelty! Love is what holds us together - humans and animals. Fear is not the solution to anything. Even though some may disagree, I believe "true pets" love us much more than we love them but love IS a great equalizer in time. Tks again to the author for the book.

Great book!!!

I gave this book a day to stew in my head before I reviewed. It really leaves you with a lot of emotions and thoughts by the end of it. Which, to me, is the sign of a good book.The neediness and almost-human qualities many dogs around us everyday comes across so clearly on the pages of Lost Dogs. So does their energy which, I confess, made for a difficult read at times.It's a very stream-of-consciousness sort of writing, which isn't quit my cup of tea; nevertheless I found Lost Dogs to be intriguing, well-paced, and whispering to something canine inside me.Every Friend(dog) in the story has a distinct personality, goal, and motive which makes for an intense cast. Their struggles to find what they're looking for (no spoilers) and their need to be with others and to Belong is truly touching and remarkable. It translates well to humans and dogs alike.P.S. Jake, Roy, and "no name" were my favorites.