Ellie's Story

Ellie has always been smart. That's why she was chosen for a special purpose. She was trained as a puppy in how to track and find people. At first, it was just a game to make her human happy. But as she grew up, she could sense that her work was important. Whether it was finding injured humans in disaster zones or comforting people when they were sad, she helped people when they most needed it. But what would happen if she couldn't do her job any more? Would she still have a purpose? Would she still have a human who loves her?

I was completely fascinated by the training process for a search and rescue dog from the dog's perspective. Cameron does a great job describing what it's like and imagining how a dog would puzzle out what humans want it to do. The story goes along at a pretty fast clip through Ellie's life with a lot of tear-jerker moments, but things always work out in the end.

Ellie's Story by W. Bruce Cameron

Erica's Picks
3rd -6th
Tags: Animals, Contemporary Fiction, Tear-Jerkers

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